DO YOU consider yourself well equipped in presentation skills? Or does the very thought of a presentation set the alarm bells ringing in your mind?

If yes, don't worry. You are not alone and there are many others who feel the same way as you do.

Sunita experiences a dry mouth, sweaty palms and feels terribly sick before client presentations. Once, Guarav's mind went blank as he rose to speak. Now he shudders at the thought of public speaking, lest he forgets what to say and makes a fool of himself.

There are scores of others who are nervous speakers and struggle for the right words to express themselves.

If you are a nervous speaker too, the piece of good news is that nerves are common to everybody and can be put under manageable limits through change of your perception. Prof John Adair in his book Effective Communication says, "Some degree of nervous tension is a good thing. It gets the adrenalin flowing and prepares your mind and body for a superlative performance."

Presentations or addresses to an audience using audio-visual aids are here to stay. They have become an indispensable medium to communicate our thoughts, ideas, proposals, and achievements. Business presentations are no doubt a part of the job for marketing and sales persons. However in today's computerised, result oriented work environment, professionals from all walks of life are required to give presentations at some point or the other in their careers.

So brace yourself to fight rather than flee when a fight or flight situation arises. Like any other performance, a presentation needs effort and hard work to reap success. Here the effort can be characterised into

Designing the content

Delivering it with aplomb before the audience.

While designing the content remember the A, B, C of a good draft.

Articulate: A brief introduction of yourself and an overview of the topic of the presentation would be the best way to begin. Next, the subject matter should be explained in a focused manner well supported by slides. Make sure that the slides are not overcrowded with information.

Brief: Make the presentation simple, short and easy to understand as far as possible.

Clear: Be very clear about the purpose, the objective of the presentation and what you intend to convey or achieve through it.

Show the draft to your seniors, get their nod and incorporate any changes suggested by them. Complement yourself for completing the first part of the ordeal successfully.

Now it is time to rehearse as many times as you can before the D-day. Nothing can replace practice in attaining perfection. While feeding the draft to your memory, realise that your memory is much more capable and reliable than what you perceive it to be. Leave behind all your apprehensions about the brain going blank at the nick of the moment. Try to remember some of the oldest events, incidents, dates, names of acquaintances and places you have visited or birthdays of your cousins. Pat yourself for having the best memory and take on the world with rejuvenated confidence.

Reassure your mind

Unpleasant symptoms show up in the body when our brain perceives some danger. So it is pertinent to tell the brain that the audiences are not hostile. Reassure your mind that the audiences are very friendly, that they are there to listen and encourage you and definitely not to criticise you.

A few mantras

Remember, nerves are normal and even the best of speakers are nervous before their speeches. Their greatness lies in training their brain not to succumb to nerves but to overcome them!

Simple deep breathing exercises can go a long way in easing the tension.

Talk slowly in order to synchronize your thoughts and utterances. This way you can avoid stumbling over your words.

Look at the audience more frequently. Even if you are reading from a script make it sound more natural by not losing the eye contact with the audience.

It is always good to summarise the points in a nutshell while you conclude; it refreshes the memory of the audience and imprints the crux of the matter on their minds.

End the presentation on a positive note and do not forget to thank the audience for listening to you.

So, next time you are asked to give a presentation, replace nerves with a dash of verve and conquer the world with confidence.