THE DETOUR METHOD: HOW TO GET 'GAME-READY' AHEAD OF A CONFERENCE TALK

As a lot of people are presenting at CyberCon this week, I wanted to share a great way you can get in the right mindset.???

It's one of the things I get my clients to do, so they're 'game-ready'.?

Heads up, I'm giving away a handy Thought Redirection Guide you can download and keep, which steps you through the technique I share in this Newsletter. If you'd like a copy to reference in the future, scroll to the bottom for the link!

This is also something I had to lean on heavily when I spoke at the SANS Awareness Summit a few years ago.?

I was all ready with my presentation, but my mind started to worry about 'what could go wrong'.?

This was what my inner dialogue was like, unchecked:

"You're presenting on The Art of Storytelling, as a Public Speaking Coach.? Sooooo......you better not stuff this up!!!? People will be expecting it to be amazing. You really have to deliver here. There's NO room to be anything other than - on-point! Ok! The pressure is onnnnnnnnnnnn"?

Farkkkkk!!???????

Not the kind of pep talk that helps calm nerves and sets you up for success.?

So, I had to do something to redirect my thoughts.?

I had been learning about manifestation, so I decided to put it into practise.?

I knew I had to write out how I wanted the talk to go.

This is a photo of exactly what I wrote out a few days before my talk???

You know what?

It was the BEST thing I have ever done in terms of getting in the right head-space!

Everytime a negative thought crept in (i.e. I was focussing on what I didn't want to happen), I would look at this and keep focussing on what i'd written down. i.e. What I wanted to happen.?

The cool thing is, everything I wrote down came to life!!!!?????????♂?

I've since labelled this the Detour Technique.?

The reason being, is that I feel like our thoughts are like cars on a road.

With cars on a road, if there’s some sort of road-works happening, work-men / work-women will set-up road-blocks and detours ahead of time.

This re-routes traffic, but ensures no-one crashes into a ditch.

However, the Detour Technique is a proactive step you can take to create a detour for your mind (not cars).?

So, in the moment when you’re presenting, there is a way to easily re-route your thoughts, so they don’t fall into the ditch.???

THE DETOUR TECHNIQUE

This technique has 3 steps:

STEP 1. Map the detour (before-hand)

STEP 2. Pick your signage (before-hand)?

STEP 3. Re-route your thoughts (in the moment)

?? STEP 1 | MAP THE DETOUR????

The first thing workmen / workwomen would do is to figure out where they will send cars instead. i.e. To map the detour path.??

For this part of the Step, you want to write down what you want to happen.

I previously used to just write anything that came to mind.

However, now I generally get my clients to list 3 things down:

A. How do you want to feel?

Write out how you want to feel when you’re presenting / how you want it to go.?

Ideally you want to write this:

• In positive language. i.e. Avoid writing something like “I don’t want to go red.” Instead write what you do want, which might “I will be clear faced”
• As if it’s already happened.?i.e. Instead of saying “I want to feel confident”, write down “I will feel confident”

E.g. I will feel confident and calm. I will be in control and articulate.

B. What feedback would you love to get?

Write out what feedback you’d love to get from people in the audience.

It’s best if this is super specific.

Instead of writing something high level like “I want to get great feedback”, write out the exact words you’d love to hear from someone’s mouth.

E.g. “I have never thought about it like that” OR “That was so inspiring” OR “I loved your story, thanks for sharing” OR “I will definitely do that moving forward” OR “You made that talk SO interesting – phenomenal job!”

C. How will you celebrate?

Write out how you will celebrate later. This should include what text you will send afterwards and how you will celebrate once it’s gone really well.

E.g. “It went SO well!! Better than I had expected. I got such amazing feedback. It was definitely my best talk ever!! Yay! I’m really happy!!”

?? STEP 2 | PICK YOUR SIGNAGE???

Just like on the road, once they’ve figured out where they will send cars, the next step is to figure out how to make this detour visible to the vehicles driving on the road.

?

For you, this means in the lead up to your presentation, make sure you have this detour handy (for your thoughts).

Most people are highly visual, so I’d say if that’s you, go with something highly visible.??

E.g. If you're more visual | Write it on a post-it-note, Write it out on a note-pad, Add it to the notes in your phone. OR If you're more verbal | Say it as an affirmation or mantra, on repeat.?

If you're more verbal | Say it as an affirmation or mantra, on repeat.?

?

?? STEP 3 | RE-ROUTE YOUR THOUGHTS???

As per the car analogy, when the cars come, they simply follow the signs, and detour as planned. Sometimes there's even people showing the cars where to go.??

Similarly, if you notice your mind wandering off course (e.g. getting negative), re-route it by coming back to your detour.

This will re-focus your mind back to what you want to happen. ??

IN SUMMARY

If you have an important presentation coming up, don't let your mind go off into a ditch (worrying about what 'could' happen).?

Remember the Detour Technique.??

This will re-focus your mind back to where you want it to go.?

Note: If you'd like your own downloadable, fillable PDF Workbook for this Detour Method, you can grab that here.?

ACCESS PDF WORKBOOK

If you try it out, let me know how it goes.???

Emily

Hey, I'm Emily Edgeley, a Public Speaking Coach for the Tech industry. Since 2017 I've transformed the lives of thousands, by helping them to communicate with more power. I've run 300+ group coaching sessions, coached more than 250 people privately, and helped more than 100+ others give their first ever Conf talk.?

I'm on a mission to help people in Tech communicate with clarity, impact, and confidence. To boost your brand, career and industry influence.?

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