Let’s talk habits - The Top-5 healthy habits you need to improve your presentation & public speaking skills

Hi from Cécile,

They say you need 21 days of consecutive execution of a specific thing to make it a habit.

One thing is certain though: if your presentation and public speaking skills need a boost, building new healthy habits is the way forward.

You see, consistency is often underrated. Although everyone speaks about how important it is to be consistent with the things you do if you want to nail them, I still believe no one stresses that enough.

Here’s an example to make it clearer.

Science says that breakfast is important for the human body, metabolism, and health, but you also want to practice intermittent fasting.

How can you do that & be consistent with it?

By having breakfast 30 minutes later starting tomorrow. And the day after another 30 minutes. And again the day after…

No matter the circumstances, the small wins (Yes, it’s been a week of eating breakfast later every morning!) or failures (Pfff, could not resist that warm cinnamon porridge yesterday before my day-long meeting), you need to carry on.

Small improvements on a daily basis bring enormous progress over time.

This is where most people struggle. It’s the same with presentation and public speaking skills (or any other skill set whatsoever).

Most professionals may struggle but stop “fighting” after a while. It’s like a long-distance run where only some reach the finish line.?

The rest quit, don’t make it, find it too hard to complete, get injured, etc.

“Easier said than done, Cecile!”?

I know, we’ve all been there. Read on to discover more!

5 new healthy habits to build

If presentations and public speaking are an essential part of your life or work, or if you are genuinely interested in becoming a great presenter and communicator, the following 5 healthy habits are for you.

• 1. Speak often. Ideally once a week. It doesn’t matter if it’s a big presentation, leading a small meeting at work, or standing up to coordinate a parents' meeting at school. No matter big or small, crucial or trivial, any public speaking occasion is a chance for you to be there in the spotlight, practice your communication style, and familiarize yourself with the feeling and setting.
• 2. Ask for feedback. Choose people you may trust more than others, and ask for their feedback when your speaking session ends. They can identify areas you might need to improve. They can also spot the strong points that you need to reinforce. Just be careful not to mistake judgment for feedback (it happens very often, so take everything with a grain of salt).
• 3. Learn from others. They say that learning from the best is a surefire way to improve. That’s true. Attend or watch as many presentations as you can. While you watch, try to identify areas that the speaker needs to improve. Note what they do well and you would like to adopt. For example, how they speak, move, show emotion, etc. However, keep in mind never to copy-paste anything. You need to be authentic, so refine and adapt anything you like into your own unique communication style.
• 4. Say yes to stretch assignments. When a presentation occasion comes up at work, volunteer to be the presenter. Don’t be afraid of circumstances you’ve never experienced before. That’s where learning and growth happen. Become curious and approach any new challenge as a way to expand your skills. In the end, it’s not going to kill you.
• 5. Rehearse & practice. In Denmark, they say “Practice makes a champion”. True. Go for that. Whenever you have a speaking event ahead, plan for it, and schedule regular rehearsals, each time focusing on a different aspect (e.g. tone of voice, flow, body language, etc.). It’s not about perfection but about preparation. Make it a habit.

A few more useful tips

So, now you know what you need to do. The question is HOW.

Building new healthy habits takes time and effort. However, there are some popular tips and best practices that you may find useful in your quest.

Here are the fundamental concepts of habit building:

• - Make it a priority and schedule it. Don’t leave it to pure luck or circumstances.
• - Make it easy. Don’t raise the bar too high. Go low and be consistent.
• - Make it fun & rewarding. We, humans, love to get rewarded, so tie your new habit to something that you enjoy (before and after the task).

For more on habits, you may refer to James Clear’s insightful book “Atomic Habits”. It’s a good read.

Speaking of habits…

We talked about new, healthy habits so far.

What about bad habits? We all have some that we try to abolish.

And there are certainly a few ones regarding public speaking, i.e. things professionals (consciously or unconsciously) do that keep them from reaching a breakthrough.

I wrote about the Top-3 of them the other day. In case you’ve missed the post, check it out below.

The second one in the list is mostly neglected, but it can indeed make a difference if you manage to limit it.

The post also has a short PDF guide; you can save it on your mobile phone for future use, reference, or simply a healthy reminder. Just saying…

If you want to join ?????????????????? ???????????????????????? ??????????????

?? Check the details of the Academy here ?? https://lnkd.in/gyuHahHp

?? DM me with your questions about how to join

In just over a month, you can let go of the frustration over your slow or no progress with presentations, & learn how to

?? Evoke a reaction in your audience

?? Make your message memorable

?? Trigger the right action

Today’s keywords (Keep them in mind, process & work on them)

Healthy habits, consistency, small wins

That’s all from Cécile this week! See you soon!

In the meantime, remember that confidence is saying to yourself “I got my own back”!