Presence

It's time to put it all together.

We're going to focus on presence.

People will only hear about 20 percent of what you say, but they'll get the entire message by the way you show up and present it.

Take a look at a scene from Braveheart and tell us what you thought of William Wallace's presence as he delivered a real-life speech.

Okay so maybe you don't want to paint your face half blue before you walk out on stage.

That's okay.

Any color will do.

Kidding.

Did you notice how Braveheart OWNED IT when he rode out in front of his countrymen?

How are you planning to walk out in front of your peers and let them know at the start that you own the next few minutes?

If that question threw you, it was meant to.

You have your message, you've refined your message, you've timed your message.

Now it's time to present it so that everyone there remembers who you are and what you stand for. It's your story, so you can't go wrong.

Try this.

In the days leading up to your talk practice in front of your mirror, or, better still, in front of a teacher, mentor, etc.

Who will you choose and how many times are you going to run through your talk from now until the day of the big event?

Nail the start and you've nailed your speech. It will give you the confidence you need.

When you practice, keep the real event in mind.

It goes like this:
*Walk out as if you're on stage.
*Head up
*Shoulders back
*Pause to the count of 3 so people take notice that this is YOUR time
(That means to count 1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi, 3 Mississippi)
*Aim your eyes at the top of the heads of people in your audience so you won't have to see their faces
*Deep breath, exhale, state your name with emphasis
*You're off and running! Let the words from your speech flow out of you.

Imagine how your stage entrance should look.

In the space below, describe what you think you're doing well and what you think could use some work on.

Practice for real as soon as you have the opportunity to do so.

Whenever you're practicing in front of people, be sure to include any comments from those you practiced in front of as you repeat this navitent in the days ahead.

Now practice how you're going to present the body of the talk.

*Speak clearly.
*Keep your head up and shoulders back.
*Emphasize the parts of the story that have special meaning. Consider the Braveheart clip or the Churchill speech. Go back and watch them again if you need to.

Do you have an idea about the parts you'll emphasize?

*Don't be afraid to move around if you can take the mike with you.
*Walk to the right and pause as you're speaking
*Now left
*Now stop in the middle
*If you can't walk because the mike doesn't travel, then make sure you keep looking at the tops of the heads of your audience as if you're moving. Look toward the right, then slowly scan left and back to middle. Repeat naturally.

Practice now and let us know how it made you feel as you gave your speech.

Keep practicing if you said fairly bad to very bad.

If you said good or very good, then continue to the next step.

Don't be afraid to emote.

You know, emoji yourself!

When you're saying something meaningful to you, lean forward a bit with your head. Have an expression that matches the emotion of your words.

*If it's pain, then look pained.
*If it's proud, look proud.
*If it's disappointed or frustrated, then tell your face that's what it should be saying, too.

Mirror time. Or friend/mentor/teacher time.
Practice until you feel like your face and your words are saying the same thing. Remember that people are going to see your face and forget most of your words. But your face will tell them everything.

Emoji!!!!

How's it going so far? How much are you tracking?

When you're ready, put it all together.

Make sure to have someone time it. "Stopwatch" feature on your cell's "clock" is great for this.

*"Walk out" and own the stage
*Pause and count to 3 slowly.
*Deep Breath, Exhale
*Look at tops of heads
*Let your words spill out
*Move around the stage or use your eyes - right, left, center, repeat naturally
*Emphasize the parts of your talk that had the most impact on you
(that means slow it down and put an emphasis on it with your voice, rate of speed and expression)
*Emoji !!!

If you don't remember anything else that night, remember this:
It's your talk, tell them as if you were telling the story the first time to someone you really wanted to understand it at a deep level.

How confident are you at this point?

It's your story.

You seriously got this.

Knuckle Bump.