Improve Your Communication Skills, 2nd Edition

114 Improve your Communication Skills
I think that one of the main causes of this anxiety is that you put 
yourself on the spot when you present. The audience will be 
judging, not just your ideas and your evidence, but you as well. 
People may not remember reports or spreadsheets easily, but a 
presentation can make a powerful impression that lasts. If the 
presenter seemed nervous, incompetent or ill-informed, that 
reputation will stick – at least until the next presentation. 
You, the presenter, are at the heart of it. An effective 
presenter puts themself centre-stage. An ineffective presenter 
tries to hide behind notes, a lectern, slides or computer-
generated graphics. To become more effective, you need to take 
control of the three core elements of the event: 
• the material; 
• the audience; 
• yourself. 
Whatever you are presenting, you will also need to use all the 
skills of persuasion that we explored in Chapter 5: 
• working out your big idea: your message; 
• validating your message using SPQR (situation–
problem–question–response, see Chapter 5); 
• arranging your ideas coherently; 
• expressing your ideas vividly; 
• remembering your ideas; 
• delivering well. 
• deep water; 
• sickness; 
• death; 
• flying; 
• loneliness; 
• dogs. 
(From 
The Book of Lists
, David Wallechinsky)
( c) 2011 Kogan Page L imited, All Rights Reserved.

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115 Making a Presentation
Putting yourself on show 
Think a bit more about this business of nerves. What’s going on 
in those minutes and hours before you stand up and make your 
presentation? What is your body saying? 
That nervous, jittery feeling is caused by adrenalin. This is a 
hormone secreted by your adrenal glands (near your kidneys). 
Adrenalin causes your arteries to constrict, which increases your 
blood pressure and stimulates the heart. Why stimulate the 
heart? To give you extra energy. When do you need extra energy? 
When you’re in danger. Adrenalin release is an evolved response 
to threat.
Adrenalin has two other effects. It increases your 
concentration – particularly useful when making a presentation. 
Less usefully, adrenalin also stimulates excretion of body waste. 
This decreases your body weight, giving you a slight advantage 
when it comes to running! That’s why you want to visit the toilet 
immediately before presenting. 
Your anxiety is probably more about your relationship with 
the audience than about what you have to say. In the moments 
before you present, you may find yourself suffering from one or 
more of the following conditions: