Eating and drinking before speaking?

A look at what works – and what to avoid, before and during your presentation

You need to eat

You may not feel like it if your stomach’s churning, but all that adrenaline needs feeding. If you don’t eat, you’ll feel like limp rag when it’s all over.

You probably won’t be able to face it, but the full English (a big greasy fried breakfast, if you’re not familiar with this classic) or a four course gala dinner won’t help. It’ll sit on your stomach like a lead weight.

Sweet pastries will give you an empty sugar high that won’t sustain you.

Go for slow release energy, instead – porridge, bananas, plenty of fruit, veg and good protein sources, and snack on dried fruit and nuts rather than sweets and biscuits, the usual conference fare.

No snacking while you speak, and get rid of the gum.

You need to drink

You’ll dehydrate quite quickly as nerves can make you feel hot and bothered, and sustained speaking is quite a physical activity.

Dry mouth feels and sounds nasty, so top up before you speak and make sure you have a drink to hand as you go on.

Beware …

Milky drinks like lattes and milkshakes can have a gunky mucus-forming effect.

Acidic fruit drinks such as citrus juices can affect your throat.

Fizzy sugary drinks can cause sugar highs and embarrassing burps.

Too much caffeinated tea and coffee can give you the shakes.

Alcohol affects your judgement, physical control and personal image [more about drinking before speaking here]

Ice cubes in any drink can give your throat a shock, jingle merrily and possibly bump you in the face if your hands are shaking.

So what’s left?

Plenty of still, room temperature water in a chunky glass or mug that you can’t knock over your notes, the keyboard, your clothes …

(PS Go to the loo just before, though – and do check everything’s done up).

Choosing to eat and drink smart will help you feel, look and sound better.

Philippa Hammond

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Personal impact – how do you look?

How makeup can help the public speaker build confidence

When you stand up to speak, your personal impact is first visual, then vocal and finally verbal.

You may not like the idea, but the way you look will affect their first impressions of you – and that will affect how they take your message.

And sometimes, hangups about appearance can really affect confidence.

You Tube offers a goldmine of information and advice on how to present yourself to your audience – and that often starts with makeup.

I’ve found some great make up tutorials from a variety of vloggers.

Get in shape

Identify your face shape – the first step:

Makeup for …

Heart shaped face:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp69cMPVIMI

Square shaped face:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Fuz7Z8OGpdU

Round shaped face:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jOU1AEFJ9z0

Oval shaped face:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CxeZJVdS6zE

Advice

How to make your eyes look huge:

How to disguise a double chin

Makeup routine for a mature face:

An acne sufferer shows how she gets control of her confidence with her makeup routine:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ex33wtqnNz8

A trick to conceal eye bags, and make yourself look fresh and healthy:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=or6OX2kGM98

For men …

Men can also benefit from subtle makeup, especially under stage lights and in front of a camera. It isn’t so easy to find a helpful makeup tutorial for men that won’t frighten you off – I’m looking out for one, so watch this space.

I’ll add more vlogs as I find them – I hope you’ll find them useful.

Philippa Hammond

Contact

Ten tips for dealing with public speaking nerves

‘How will I cope with nerves?’ is the number one public speaking worry. Practical tips to help you feel and speak better.

‘How will I cope with nerves?’ is the number one public speaking worry. Practical tips to help you feel and speak better.

1 Think positive.
It’s natural to be nervous. Always think positively – start thinking ‘I’m really excited ‘ instead of ‘I’m so nervous’, and remember you’ve been invited perhaps because you’ve done something extraordinary, you know something they need to know, you have something to give them because of your experience and achievement, and they’re there because they want to hear you.

2 Think inspirations.
You’re there to inspire them, so you need to inspire yourself first. Keep inspirational photos and quotations in your phone to look at when you’re feeling unsure.

3 Think preparation.
Do your homework, think about your audience and speak to their needs throughout. If you can answer their ‘what’s in it for me’ question, they’re interested. It’s really about them, not you.

4 Think rehearsal.
Rehearsing out loud, on your feet and with any visual aids you’ll be using helps you get familiar with it all. Hearing it in your own voice may then inspire you to improve the script – always go for clear, plain conversational English, and they’ll stay interested.

5 Think drink.
No alcohol! You may think you’ll speak better after a drink, but no – you won’t. Coffee and sugar can give you the shakes, and milky drinks can affect your voice. So keep it simple with plenty of water instead, plus a good night’s sleep and some breakfast for energy and calm.

6 Think checklists.
Have you got your glasses, memory stick, notes, brochures, business cards … ? Check and check again …and relax.

7 Think early.
Go in early and practice – do a tech rehearsal and get familiar with how to use a mic or PowerPoint, and generally get the feel and the sound of the room by trying out a bit of your speech. Familiarity builds confidence.

8 Think breathing.
Controlling your breathing will help you feel calm, slow you down if you tend to gabble, and give you the energy you need to speak. Relax your shoulders, stand up comfortably straight and breathe slowly and deeply from your diaphragm, at the base of your ribcage.

9 Think eye contact.
Make eye contact with them – speaking’s a social interaction, and helps us like each other.

10 Think body language.
Natural unforced smiles and poised, relaxed posture look and feel good, and help them warm to you.

Yes, you’ll feel nervous while you’re waiting and as you start, but it will get better once you get going. All this preparation will help you feel more confident and improve your personal impact as you stand up to speak.

Enjoy Speaking Well In Public!

Philippa Hammond

Marketing the brand ‘new you’

Attention + Interest + Desire + Action – how to capture and keep their attention

In the sales world, AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. The advertiser needs to grab the customer’s attention, hold interest, spark desire and spur action, in order to secure a sale [it’s not so different from dating…].

And you should do the same when packaging and marketing your product – you – to the world.

Your elevator pitch, website, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook updates, business card, CV, application, cover letter, speech, interview performance… they can all benefit from the AIDA approach.

Grab their Attention first off, with a positive, striking hit of instant memorability, for all the right reasons. You want their eye to stop with you. Your CV – well-designed and laid out. Your personal impact at interview – smart, well groomed and articulate. Your first impressions when making a speech – relaxed, poised and prepared. Those first impressions do last, and they tend to be visual.

Then you want to keep their Interest sustained once you’ve attracted it. Identify what’s unique and special about you, your unique selling point [USP], keeping it relevant and focussed, and practice talking knowledgeably and confidently about what you have to offer them.

They’ll be thinking “what’s in it for me? How can you make me money, save me money, make me look good?” All being well, you have something they need. What you have to offer should now be sparking their Desire!

And finally – Action. All this should lead to spurring them into making the move – phoning, emailing, interviewing and hiring you. PH

Ten ways trainers and speakers go wrong …

What not to do

  1. Starting by apologising and highlighting their own faults
  2. Fixating on tiny fluffs, while ignoring or denying they do things they could improve on
  3. Not making eye contact with the audience; looking at the floor, over their heads, talking to the flipchart, the powerpoint, their notes…
  4. Talking too fast without pauses
  5. Talking in a monotone
  6. Panic breathing from the chest, producing a squeaky little voice
  7. Twisting hands, hiding hands, flapping hands about
  8. Pacing about or always speaking sitting down
  9. Not listening to questions
  10. Going on too long

Ten minute masterclass

Public speaking? Presentation? Nerves? Master class coming up!

My advice for dealing with most common worries and fears, and building your confidence.

Public speaking? Presentation? Nerves? Master class coming up!

My advice for dealing with most common worries and fears, and building your confidence:

  1. Thinking negative thoughts? Think positive instead – it’ll be great! You’ve prepared and they’ll like it.
  2. Worried you’ll fail? Research your audience, then plan, prepare and rehearse.
  3. Worried they just won’t like you? Remember most people are nice, & they’re here because they’re interested in what you have to say.
  4. Thinking of drinking? Still water only. Alcohol is not your friend.
  5. Churning stomach? Eat a light meal for energy, avoiding fryups, sugar and stodge.
  6. Racing heart? Relax shoulders, breathe from diaphragm – and start. You’ll feel better as you get into your presentation.
  7. Tend to look scared? Make eye contact with friendly faces, and smile. You’ll find they smile back.
  8. Can’t catch your breath? Breathe deeply and calmly from your diaphragm, not fast and shallow from your chest.
  9. Stutter, stumble and fall over your words?  Warm up with tongue twisters for articulacy
  10. Get flustered and panicky? Stop, sip water, breathe and look at your next speaking note, then speak when you’re calm
  11. Tend to drop things? Only have what you really need to use, and practice for dexterity.
  12. Lots of ums and errs? A quiet moment is fine – allow the pause instead; it lets both you and them catch up and think.

Ten tips for effective communications

How to make your corporate communications more effective.

‘Communications’ are among the top employability skills.

Ten tips for effective communications coming up:

  1. Tone of voice = the personality of the organisation or writer should come through
  2. House style = the organisation’s dress code
  3. Grammar = final touches, grooming and social skills
  4. Use active language – ‘fill in the form’, not ‘the form should be filled in’
  5. Focus on the outcome, talk about the future and say it with confidence.
  6. Get to the point first then back it up with the facts, figures and stats
  7. Use more verbs – ‘we’ll discuss it’, not ‘we’ll have a discussion’
  8. Use plain English – ‘buy a house’, not ‘purchase a property’
  9. Does the way you write and speak reflect your personal and company Values?
  10. Say ‘you’ and ‘we’ to engage interest.
    and as it’s just us, here’s one more:
  11. It’s fine to use conversational contractions – it’s how we speak.