Got a job interview or presentation? Here are 10 ways to sell yourself with confidence

From a job interview to being tasked with an important presentation at work, public speaking is intimidating. But don’t fear, Catherine Moonan, who worked on the ‘Dragons Den’, is here with tips to bring you the confidence you need.

PITCHING, presenting and public speaking can be a daunting experience, especially if we don’t do it that often. Many people I meet have a genuine fear of public speaking.

However, preparation and practice can certainly help to alleviate that fear. Here are ten tips here that should help you when preparing for a pitch, presentation or speech.

I based these tips on my experience on Dragons’ Den to date, along with training many corporate clients in presentation skills.

I find that a lot of people tend to over-complicate and over-intellectualise their pitch. If you keep it simple and interesting, you have a better chance of making it more memorable for your audience.

Just because you are standing in front of a group of people, it doesn’t mean that they will listen when you start speaking. You need to work hard at engaging your audience.

1. The starting point of any pitch, presentation or speech is your audience. Research your audience. Who are they? Why should they care? How are they going to benefit?

Find an emotional connection between you and your audience. You need to shift your perspective from what you want to say to what the audience needs to hear.

2. Structure your pitch, presentation or speech in a story format. Start with a wow opening that will capture the attention of the audience. This could be a question, a quote, a bold fact, figure or statement, a reference to a book, something you read in the paper or heard on the news. Have a limit of between three and five main points.

Close with a summary, thank the audience and provide an action/focus for the future.

Where possible, overlap the closing paragraph with the opening paragraph. For example, if you open with a question, quote or reference, mention it again in your closing. This brings the story full circle. It’s like ‘The End’ at the end of the movie. It adds a sense of completion for the person delivering it, and for the audience listening.

If using slides, start with the story and then work on the slides.

3. Ensure there is a logical link between your points. Take the audience by the hand, step by step through your speech, pitch or presentation. They should be hanging on to every single word.

4. Keep your pitch, presentation or speech as concise, clear and simple as possible.

Remember, less is more. Leave the audience wanting more instead of overloading them with too much information. Also, let there be no room for confusion. Avoid any technical jargon, including abbreviations or three letter acronyms. If there is one person in the audience who doesn’t understand something, that’s one person too many.

5. Engage and entertain your audience with relevant examples and anecdotes that they will remember. It’s not all about facts, figures and statistics. Think from the heart as well as the head. You want them thinking about what you said for a long time to come.

6. Your voice is like a musical instrument. It plays a huge part in how your message is received. You need to vary the pitch and pace of your voice. Use pause and emphasis.

This avoids any monotone for the people listening.

7. Ensure a confident posture. You need to appear confident in order to instil confidence in your audience – shoulders back, fix your feet to the floor as if there were roots growing from the soles of your feet. Keep your hands by your side and gesture as you would normally, as if you were having a cup of tea and a chat with someone. Use eye contact with a pleasant facial expression.

8. Nerves are normal — just manage them. Breathe mindfully, use visualisation and/or positive affirmations. Shift the focus from yourself to getting the message across to your audience. You need to mentally change the spotlight on you to a floodlight on the audience. It is not about you, it is about what you want your audience to do, think or feel as a result of the message you are communicating.

9. Practice your pitch, presentation or speech as often as possible. Preparation and practice is the price paid for superiority. Practice out loud in front of the mirror, in front of a video camera, in front of the cat. As part of this practice, you should also do a dress rehearsal, wearing the exact clothes you will wear on the day.

10. Be interested and passionate about the topic of your speech, pitch or presentation. It will have a ripple effect on your audience. If you are not excited about what you are presenting, how can you expect your audience to be.

One Take-Away Message:

Be yourself. Be the best of yourself. Have no fear. Allow yourself to shine.

Catherine Moonan’s book ‘The Pitch Coach: Your Guide to Presenting, Interviewing and Public Speaking’ is published by Liberties Press and is priced at €14.99.