Presenting With Confidence When You Don’t Feel Your Best

It’s that time of year when colds and sore throats are starting to make the rounds. For any professional who relies on their voice, a sore throat can be a nightmare!?

So, what should you do if you wake up the day before or the morning of a speaking engagement with a sore throat, or a tired or nearly nonexistent voice? Give the pitch or the speech with confidence anyways! A sore throat can be scary or painful but is not always a reason to cancel. Read on for some strategies to help you present with confidence even when you don’t feel well.

Strategy #1: Care for Yourself Physically

If your problem is a sore throat or other physical illness (which does not require staying home per current health recommendations in this time we live in, of course) you need to care for yourself. The most important step to take is to rest your body and rest your voice by using it as little as possible. It’s also crucial to stay hydrated. Avoid coffee and alcohol (natural dehydrators). Try drinking hot tea with lemon, honey, or ginger instead to reduce inflammation. Breathing in steam from a humidifier or hot, steamy shower can also help soothe a sore throat!

*As a note: you should never force yourself to speak if it is excruciatingly painful or you can barely get a sound out. If you do that, you risk really damaging your vocal cords. Sometimes, we try everything we can to fix the problems, but our bodies still just need a rest, and we need to listen, even if it means canceling or rescheduling!

Strategy #2: Accommodate Yourself While Speaking

You are capable and confident, but you don’t need to strain or exhaust yourself while giving your pitch! Don’t hesitate to ask for aids to help you. If your problem is a sore throat, try using a microphone while you are presenting so you don’t have to project as much. You can also revise your pitch or presentation to make it more concise. This will protect your voice, conserve energy, and reduce the amount of time you have to maintain your game face. It can also be helpful to create or revise your visual aid to include more written information for your audience to read. (But don’t put so much on a visual aid that it looks overwhelming or clunky!)

Strategy #3: Have Confidence

Even if you feel sick or blah, your idea, insight, pitch, and content are just as impactful today as they were yesterday when you felt 100%. So go in with confidence like the bad bitch you are and know that you still deserve to be listened to. Wear an outfit that you feel confident in, put on your favorite lipstick or set of earrings, and stand tall as you speak. If you believe you can do it and that what you have to say is still worth hearing, your listeners will too.

Thank you so much for reading this article! Do you have feedback? Share below! Also, if you enjoyed this article, Share with your network! Have ideas for future articles on pitching (elevator, media, investor, sales, speaker, interview) or speaking topics, share with me below in the comments.

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