I am not a shy person, I am well
practised to walk into a room and introduce myself to strangers. I have been attending business networking
meetings for work for years, and often have to meet suppliers and clients to
discuss their needs.
However, even like the most
self-confident among us I can get nervous.
Especially when you are shy or under pre-pared you can feel like you are
embarrassing yourself by fluffing your lines, experience dry mouth or come
across as non-engaging.
Here are five things you can do to
get you ready for that business seminar, or the next conference, networking meeting
or an event.
Power pose
Try striking a power pose in the
bathroom mirror before you head into your meeting. Even a forced smile can trigger the happy
hormones in your brain, and striking the pose before you face the room can
really make you feel more confident. It
will also make you appear more purposeful in your posture. Tell yourself you going to be fine, and you
will be!
Make some notes
Having a full script to recite could
make for a very dull meeting. People
will switch off and start to play with their phone or start reading any literature
in front of them. Get yourself organised
with a few bullet points, or practise your elevator pitch – a brief, persuasive
speech that you use to spark interest in what you and your organisation does. If you have this written down or nailed, you
will feel more confident in presenting and less likely to get lost and
flustered.
Have a drink ready
This does not mean shots at the bar! Have a bottle of water at the ready. A symptom of feeling nervous is a dry mouth,
which can make getting your words out more difficult. Pausing for a drink gives you time to compose
yourself and collect your thoughts if you start to feel out of your depth.
Show rather than tell
If you can think of nothing worse
than standing up in front of people, you could rely on a video
presentation. With some time and
practise this can even be made on your phone.
Meeting rooms will have a screen or projector you can hook your laptop into
or a USB portal. If you can pre-record
elements of your presentation can take some of the pressure off and less
talking on the day.
Go with back up
If you need some reassurance,
there is always time before the meeting to ring someone for a last minute pep
talk. Whether it is your mum, partner or
best friend, they can get you in the right frame of mind and improve your
confidence levels. Or, you could take
one of your colleagues who can be there for moral support.
Do not be hard on yourself
Remember, the majority of people
will go easy on you. Even if you are not
feeling like a super hero on the day, the others in the room will not have
noticed and your colleagues and clients will be forgiving if you get a bit
flustered. Tell yourself you can do it,
and have some faith in yourself. Even
the best in business suffer from pre-meeting nerves.
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