Use Running Tactics to Prepare for your Next Presentation

Whether you are preparing for a race or preparing for a presentation, the two activities are more related that you may think. For running a race and delivering a presentation, you need to prepare and formulate and execute a strategy. When I think back to my first presentation, I can remember that queasy feeling in my stomach and how my legs felt weak. As I waited outside the conference room a feeling a déjà vu overtook me. This feeling was reminiscent of my early days of racing and how I felt as I lined up for the sound of the starting pistol. I soon learned that there were a few tips that could help me overcome that feeling before a race and those same tips could help me in preparing for a presentation.

Input/Output – In preparing for a race, if you have known input (training) then you should yield a predictable output (race results). As I learned how my training connected to my race and how it was both physical preparation as well as mental preparation, my awareness of race strategy took root. I could react to the runners at the start and potentially go out too fast or I could ply my strategy and have control over how I want the race to start. As a result, I could stand up to the line with the confidence that I did the necessary prep work and that I had a viable strategy to achieve the desired output.

You will hear people say, “If you know your material then you have nothing to worry about.” Knowing the material doesn't happen through osmosis. It is the result of preparation, data gathering and understanding the points that you want to make. Preparation goes beyond the slides and embodies the story that you want to tell. Just as 400 meter repeats is practice for the 1600, talking through your presentation out loud or in front of a mirror is practice for the presentation itself. Just as you become comfortable with the pace in practice, you will become comfortable with the material and delivery cadence when you reach the stage.

Formulate and Execute a Strategy – When the gun sounds and the runners dash toward the inside lane, I know exactly what I want to do. In fact, the first three-quarters of my race is scripted and that script will be executed regardless of what the runners around me do. However, the last quarter of the race is left to the situation. Many variables will unfold up to that point, so I have to use my “runner’s instinct” to guide me through the situation and compensate for how the field has unfolded.

Audiences differ and so do the circumstances of the presentation. Whether it is the disposition of the audience or the level of expertise, there is a bit of unknown associated with the presentation. However, the known output is to connect with the audience in order to impart material on a particular subject. As with racing, three-quarters of my presentation is scripted and the last quarter I leave to the personality of the audience. My “runner’s instinct” has been replaced with professional judgment. Based on the audience, specific anecdotes can be used and for others a reference to data and past research will do. As the situation unfolds, I will adjust my delivery to the audience.

Once I was confident that I was sufficiently prepared and had a clear cut strategy when I toed up to the line, my butterflies were replaced with a desire to race. I couldn't wait to get started and execute the strategy. I wanted my hard work and strategy validated. In a way, my racing has been replaced by presentations. I enjoy the stage and I enjoy when an audience is drawn in. Drawn in to your material and drawn in to how you've presented the material. And at the end of the presentation, it feels like the end of a race in which you've hit your mark!