Skills and Confidence

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Presentation Skills and Confidence
Adam Sandelson
LSE Student Counselling Service

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Aims
 Look at confidence building measures to
giving good presentations
 Develop positive self talk
 Overcome physical anxiety
 Manage underlying feelings

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CIRCLE OF CONFIDENCE
situation thoughts feelings behaviour
(self-talk) sensations
Negative Circle

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CIRCLE OF CONFIDENCE
situation thoughts feelings behaviour
(self-talk) sensations
Positive Circle

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Confidence for Presentations
Key Principles:
 Sensible planning
 Positive Self talk
 Role Rehearsal
 Relaxation/ Stress Management

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Presentation Planning
 Clear simple structure
 Summarise:
 what you’re going to say
 say it
 Tell them what you’ve said
 Rehearse it out loud
 First two minutes – repeat practice

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Developing Positive Self-Talk:
 Where/when am I already confident?
 What does that confidence feel like?
 How is it different from feeling low?
 How did I build that confidence?

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Role Rehearsal
 What happens when I think about
giving a presentation
 3 desired ‘goals’
 Work out matching behaviours
 Practice (in front of mirror)
 Fake it till you make it

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How is our message received?
Tone &
Inflection
38%
Words
7%
Body
Language
55%

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Good practice tips
 Positive self talk e.g. ‘good enough’
 Vary vocal style – 3 P’s
 Pace
 Power
 Pause
 Pitch
 Less is More
 Focus on positive listeners

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Anxiety Management
Anxiety = high level of bodily arousal
+
negative self-defeating thoughts
Instead, learn:
1. Physical relaxation
2. Breathing
3. Mini-pause

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Presentation Dynamics
Past
relationships
Relationship
with the
Presentation
or talk…
Current
relationships

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Underlying dynamics
 Trying to please others
 Wanting to be the best
 Being a perfectionist
 Family /historic context for being
successful
 Setting yourself impossible targets

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Keeping perfectionism in check
 Set realistic and achievable goals
 Recognise your achievements
 Perfectionism is undesirable
 Experiment with standards for success
 Focus on the process not just the end result.
 Evaluate success –
 What did you accomplish?
 Could you enjoy the task?
 Imagine looking back – 2 hours/ 2 weeks later

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Challenging negative thoughts
 Imagine them being tested in Court
 Identify the negative thought
 Eg, My presentation will be terrible
 Ascertain the evidence For and Against
 Ask if you are making a ‘thinking error’
 Propose a more reasonable alternative thought

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Thinking errors
 All or nothing thinking
 Discounting the positive/ tunnel
vision
 only seeing the negative side of things
 Overgeneralizing
 because it happened in the past it will
happen again in the future
 Believing a catastrophe will happen

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LSE Student Counselling
Service – G507
 Free and confidential
 Mainly short term counselling
 Book appointments in advance
 Urgent appointments (phone early in the day)
 See Website for
 Stress management handouts
 Self help resources on a wide range of student
issues (study – related and personal difficulties)
 Relaxation MP3’s

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Final Thoughts
 Any questions
 1 or 2 things from today
 What else