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Apr 3, 2008

Overcome presentation gaffes with panache

Published on Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008
Breezing through a presentation and wowing the crowd with aplomb are the stuff that dreams are made of! The ground reality is that business presentations are pretty traumatic with blunders bungling up at every turn. Nervousness, mispronunciation, stammering or misplaced slides are discomforting enough, not to mention bigger howlers like forgetting lines, fumbling for answers or simply freezing up and blanking out completely.
Things can become quite harrowing, especially if you happen to mess up in front of the boss, top executives or important clients. With a pounding heart and dry mouth, you may try to salvage the situation by cracking a weak joke. But the tense apprehension makes the humour all the more inappropriate, thus drumming the recovery further into the ground.
Manage the moment as it unfurls
A gaffe is only as bad as you make it to be. The first step is to accept the fact that things can and will go awry – the computer may hang up, the microphone may disconnect or you may become paralysed with fear. Reconciling with this reality and thinking on your feet will stand you in good stead for setting things right again.
Nevertheless, your reaction should be shaped by the magnitude of the lapse. For instance, do not draw excessive attention to minor slip-ups in diction or delivery; they can be covered easily without anyone ever being wise to it. Even if someone grasps the slip, it will only paint you as human and approachable.
But, what if the presentation slides go dead or you happen to forget what you were saying? Panicking or trying to wobble through will only dig a bigger hole for yourself; instead be honest and take responsibility by sincerely owning up your mistake. The mishap cannot be concealed and failure to admit it will only translate into arrogance and insensitivity.
Openly acknowledge the error, apologise briefly without resorting to excuses and gracefully move on from there. Incessantly dwelling on the goof-up will only make it worse, as a performance coach highlights, “Your reaction can be worse than the blunder itself. If you become flustered or gush with apologies, you will put your boss on the defensive and make him more likely to be irritated by your performance”.
Take a moment to steady yourself with a deep breath and confidently shift the focus to the next idea/slide to get the presentation back on track. At this juncture, you can also inject a dose of self-effacing and appropriate humour and be on a roll again! In extreme cases, if you are too staggered to keep on going or simply cannot meet expectations, be upfront and request another opportunity to present your pitch. Promise that given another chance, you will come back and give exactly what the audience wants.
The road to recovery
In the immediate aftermath of a presentation mishap, people find it very difficult to get ‘back on stage’ again. Everyone has their off-days, so do not beat yourself up over the setback. Remember that one bad presentation does not make anyone useless forever; the experience is in fact good for your self-esteem. Try to take the lack of perfection in your stride by treating it as an opportunity for learning and growth that will make you better at presenting.
While mistakes happen and you have to pick yourself up with quick thinking, do not resort to tagging the blame elsewhere. For instance, you cannot point the finger that the ‘audience was unresponsive’. It’s up to you to draw them out by interacting on a relative plane. Solicit feedback on the good aspects of your performance as well as what went wrong from your team mates or through formal debriefing sessions. Carefully absorb the pointers and criticism and develop a specific plan to correct your mistakes.
Generally, the botching up may be due to egregious preparation, erroneous information, poor organisation or plain nervousness. The onus is on you to do your homework and prime a polished and professional presentation where you are even prepared to field impromptu questions with panache. Try to improve your public-speaking skills by taking classes or practising in low-stakes opportunities.Having a clear purpose, knowing your audience, communicating engagingly, articulating well and being poised under fire will help you leave an outstanding impact.
So, conquer your fears, rebuild your confidence and get back into the presentation saddle by preparing for the next presentation with enthusiasm and energy. As a professional development trainer puts it, ‘Take the difficulty and transform it into an opportunity to show your courage!’
PAYAL CHANANIA

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