How to present with confidence (even if you feel like an impostor)
Being a business owner or leader means having to speak and pitch with confidence. But it doesn’t always come easy. Here are some tips that can help.
Being a business owner or leader means having to speak and pitch with confidence. But it doesn’t always come easy. Whether you dream of sharing your message on stage to a crowd of thousands, or are preparing for a pitch to prospective investors and need to bring your most confident self, there are ways to overcome even the most stubborn stage fright.
Although let’s be honest, even us professional speakers still get those pre-show nerves.
Model your message
First things first, it’s incredibly important to approach, plan and deliver your presentation in a way that’s congruent with your message.
So if your topic is in the DEI space, then it’s essential to be as diverse, equitable and inclusive as possible in how you interact with the client and audience. If you’re speaking about empowering women into leadership, then model this by stepping into your own power at every point in the process.
Live and breathe what you preach and teach or people will pick up on your inauthenticity.
Focus on value
One of the things I learned early on from the speaking experts is to flip the way you approach your presentation or speaking event, so that instead of seeing it as an opportunity to fail, you see it as an opportunity to bring value to the people in the audience.
Whether it’s an audience of two or 200, the people in the room are there because they’re interested in what you have to say, or because someone else thinks they should hear it. So focus on what you want to share with them — whether you’re speaking from a place of experience and sharing life-changing wisdom, or sharing an amazing opportunity for them to be a partner in your business.
Focus on the value of the message you’re going to convey, not the fear you feel in delivering it because the information you’re sharing needs to be heard.
Hone your skills
Like most things in life, practice makes perfect.
When I started out on the professional speaker circuit I said yes to everything that came my way — from short presentations during online events, to intimate in-person settings and unpaid opportunities with community organisations, I saw every booking as an opportunity to hone my craft.
While I definitely agree that speakers deserve to be paid, and we should value the expertise and value they deliver, when you’re starting out it’s normal to say yes to some freebies as you’re building your profile and your confidence. And often those freebies deliver unexpected value exchange — many of my unpaid gigs led to larger paid opportunities down the line, so were well worth the effort.
If you’re preparing to present about your business, practice in front of your team, your family, your partner, even yourself — film yourself speaking and then watch it back to pick up on those unconscious habits (eg using ‘umm’, waving your hands around, etc) you might have and refine your presentation style.
Every presentation is an opportunity to ask for feedback and improve.
Read the room
Not every audience needs the exact same message, so it pays to do your research ahead of the event or presentation so that you can deliver on the expectations and outcomes of the event organisers and the people listening.
I’ve found that asking to speak with a few people from the audience ahead of time helps me gain a deeper understanding of the audience, including their motivations, dreams, and challenges. With their permission, I incorporate their unique stories into my keynote presentations to personalise the content as much as possible, ensuring the experience is accessible, digestible, and implementable.
I strive to use their language and speak in a way that resonates with the people within the room to build connections.
This can be used for any scale of presentation — it always pays to ask and stay curious, rather than assuming you know exactly what the audience wants. For example, if prospective partners want to hear less about your journey until now and more about your plans for the future, then knowing that will shape your message and give you more confidence in presenting it.
Celebrate your progress
Don’t forget to celebrate the little wins along the way. It’s easy to look at professional speakers and think they’ve always had the confidence and know-how to charge big fees and own the room, but everyone starts somewhere.
So after every event, presentation or pitch, take a moment to reflect on how it went, what you learned, and why it was a win.
Most importantly, remember that only you can share your message, information or expertise in the exact way you’ll share it — there is no one ‘youer than you’ – so stay true to your own voice because people deserve to hear it.
Danielle Dobson is the founder of Code Conversations, author of Breaking the Gender Code, and the 2024 recipient of the Next Level Speaker Award from Professional Speakers Australia.
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