presentation tips for
introverts
if you’re reading this, there’s a
pretty good chance that you
consider yourself to be an introvert
(not that you'd go shouting
about it)
this is
susan cain
she’s an
introvert too
she’s written a book
called quiet
introversion isn’t, contrary to
popular belief, all about being
shy and hermit-like
but the main difference between extroverts and introverts is all about stimulation...
(not that kind of stimulation)
but the main difference between extroverts and introverts is all about stimulation...
it’s all about the level of outside stimulation needed to function and recharge
time after
100
50
outside
stimulation
100
50
outside
stimulation
introverts need less stimulation and
tend to want to withdraw to recharge
the old batteries
100
50
outside
stimulation
extroverts are the opposite they need
more stimulation and get energy from
being round other people
100
50
outside
stimulation
let’s get science-y
here are some babies
if you expose them to a new
experience
some of them will get really excited and
they’ll pump their arms, or wriggle about,
or shriek
these babies are
‘high reactive’
the babies who don’t seem to be
bothered are ‘low reactive’
so high reactive = extroverts and low reactive =
introverts, right?
wrong!
so high reactive = extroverts and low reactive =
introverts, right?
the high reactive babies are more sensitive to
stimulation
= more sensitive
which makes their heart
beat faster, their pupils
dilate
when they see something new or surprising, their nervous
system kicks in –
and they even
experience higher levels
of cortisol – which is
the stress hormone
the high reactive babies are more sensitive to
stimulation
because of all the effort at paying attention and noticing
things, high reactive people like to withdraw to recharge their
batteries, sound familiar?
=
the bottom line is that
presenting is most likely to
be a lot more stressful for
introverts
the shame of it is that there’s no
correlation between being good at
presenting and having great ideas
good at presenting
having great ideas
susan cain thinks these
guys were probably
introverts
they were the definition of ideas-
men and they worked jolly hard
on the ideas that they had
so, first tactic you could
try, is think about what
you could do instead of
having to present
discussion
paper present
for me?
present with
me?
but you can’t avoid the
presentation beast forever
we think there are probably five things to think about
Content how you prepare
Actually delivering
the thing
following up later
what springs
to mind?
yeah, this works, but
it’s not the only way
All you need to do is have something to
say that the audience feel they benefit
from hearing
psst… it’s not about the speaker, it’s
about the content
introverts find it easier to present when
they’re presenting about a subject they
actually care about
so, first of all, try to present on topics
that really interest you
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statistics
Series 1 Series 2
so practice – the more you practice the
easier it is to find something that you can
relate to and bring to life
introverts often make very good
presenters because they’re more likely
to do a lot of preparation
A lot of people seriously underestimate
how much time you really need to prepare
for even a short presentation
content
in a lot of companies, presentations end up being put
together by a committee
there’s this ideology nowadays that collaboration and team-work is
always going to lead to a better outcome
yeah…
so, as an introvert, why don’t
you suggest coming up with a
first draft on your own
here is a
first draft
now the slides
if your content is all on your
slides then your audience are going
to read them
ignore you
and snapchat their friends
Avoid this by making
visual slides
interesting
information
if you’re not comfortable doing this
yourself, ahem, can i recommend a great
presentation agency called …
but your slides don’t need to be amazing,
they just need to stop doing harm
Interesting
Information
more visuals, more graphs, more diagrams,
and less text
Cool
Stuff
ni ce visual
the speaker only tells
half the story
let’s recap: what makes introverts the way they are is the
difference in sensitivity to sensory arousal
introverts can notice more, but this can lead to overload. so how can this insight
help us prepare for presentations?
first, we need to try to
desensitize the experience of
delivering a presentation.
And we do this with a lot of
practice and a lot of
preparation
prepare extensive speaker notes, but not a script
practice, yes out loud,
yes in front of a camera
not a mirror, yes lots!
next, try to visit the venue
before-hand
familiarise yourself with the room, and
ideally the stage
once you are closer to the time
of your talk, try to spend some
time with people who will be in
the audience
introverts often dislike huge
crowds, but are comfortable
talking to one or two people on
the margins of a big group
by investing time in getting to know a few people, you
can help to ensure that there are some friendly faces in
the crowd when you come to present
we at rarely focus on
soft skills, but for introverts they’re really useful
to help you relax
start by calming your body. before you go on stage or into the
meeting room, shake your arms and legs to relax your muscles
and get the blood flowing
stand up straight. yawn, to further relax. and breathe
consciously, deliberately
All of this helps to stop stress, combat the adrenaline
surge, calm you down
once you get up to present, smile at some friendly faces in
the audience if you can
when you’re actually presenting, try to put a bit
of music in your voice, interact with your slides,
and don’t be afraid to be yourself
you’ve done most of the hard work
well before this point anyway
follow-up
when it comes to follow up,
some introverts find presenting
absolutely exhausting. so think
carefully about that when you
schedule things
if you’re going to need to
recharge your batteries - alone,
or with a close friend - then
plan for it in advance
make mine the
cabernet sauvignon
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Presentation Tips for Introverts