Sarah Bladon has agreed to allow me to publish her story about overcoming her presentation nerves, for which I am very grateful. Here is her story in her words.
“I started my own business (exec:secs) nearly 5 years ago and in order to generate work I decided that networking would be the best option for me. I joined a couple of networking groups, however they all involved standing up and presenting for either 60 seconds or sometimes a 10 minute presentation about my business. The first time I did either of these I was extremely nervous and had to write everything out on a piece of paper, word for word. Unfortunately, if I stumbled over my lines it threw me completely and I’d end up becoming even more nervous as a result!
I met Rosie through one of these networking groups and decided to do some coaching with her. The main problems I had were a) feeling that I had to write my presentations out word for word and b) runnning out of breathe because I was so nervous I was forgetting to breathe!
After the coaching, I was able to progress from writing things out word for word to just writing a few bullet points as memory joggers and then talking around them. That meant I was less nervous, because I wasn’t trying to read something verbatim, and I came across more naturally rather than staring down at a piece of paper. Nowadays, thanks to Rosie, I feel perfectly confident standing up in front of people. Obviously I still get a little bit nervous beforehand, but that’s just normal! And I now remember to breathe.”
Sarah’s confidence and competence has continued to grow. She is now a very natural and beautiful communicator, and has added computer software skills training to her services. Reviewing the fear and facing it, plus the use of a confidence circle, breathing and presentation skills tips, and practicing in a safe environment were used to help Sarah, but it was her courage and determination that made it happen.
For details of the services she provides as a Virtual PA, please visit www.execsecs.com . If you would like to improve your presentation skills, please contact Rosie on 01305 262540 or rosie@training-for-results.co.uk
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