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Whenever you deliver a presentation, it’s essential that you are 100% focused on the people in front of you – without being distracted by preconceptions, worries or other thoughts.
Here is a series of questions to help you become aware of your own thoughts and expectations about each presentation and each audience you encounter, and replace any negative preconceptions with a more constructive mindset.
Run through these questions in your head well in advance of the presentation. You may be surprised and amused at some of the answers that pop into your head – and very glad that you became aware of these thoughts, and replaced them with a more useful set of assumptions.
Preparing to Face an Audience
Ask yourself each question in turn:
- What’s my goal for this presentation?
- Who will I blame if I fail?
- What’s my prejudice about this audience?
- What’s their prejudice about me?
- Who do they need to be for me?
- Who do I need to be for them?