I often am asked the question. Why do you like presenting, doesn’t it make you nervous? The short answer is I find presenting really fun and yes it does still make me nervous, but the short answer does not really answer the question at all.
You see I have spent the last 5 years speaking almost weekly in front of audiences of all shapes and sizes. I have dealt with everything from crying babies, to angry adults, and squirrely middle school students. Sometimes I step down from in front of an audience and cannot wait to do it again, other times I’m ready to run and hide avoiding feedback at all cost. None the less I continue to present week in and week out because I love it, and I have seen the power of a great presentation.
The reality is we live in a presentation culture, whether you are interviewing for a job or delivering your new sales pitch you are always presenting something. In fact, with the rise in social media and digital access our lives are in many ways one giant presentation. Now for some of you that statement makes your stomach drop but what if instead of letting that thought overwhelm us, we shifted our mindset just a bit and looked at the power of presentations not just for information but for inspiration.
Presentations have the power to move people.
Great presentations have the ability to elicit an emotional reaction that leads a person to action. These types of presentations are vital in every facet of industry. Whether a presenter is trying to close a sale or raise money for a cause there is something special that happens when people are invited to action.
Presentations have the power to unite people.
Let’s face it, we live in a fractured culture. No matter what you feel about social issues, or how you voted, one thing we can all agree on is that we disagree on a lot. However, it is astounding what takes place when a speaker takes the stage and delivers a unifying message. Suddenly all of the differences fade into the background and we become united under the banner of humanity.
Presentations have the power to engage people.
A symptom of our social media culture is a lack of genuine human connection. We have grown so accustomed to digital communication that it is becoming more and more difficult for people to connect in person. But a great presentation has the ability to foster and create exactly that, a human connection. When people gather to hear a presenter, they are forced to rub shoulders with other people and then to engage in conversations and connections. It is those moments that can spark community and relationship that may not have existed before.
Last night I sat in a room with 20 other people from completely different backgrounds and walks of life. I took 20 minutes to present some exciting information about an upcoming project and I watched firsthand how each one of these results of a presentation played out. By the end of the night there were 20 people ready to join a team that would make a difference in the world. There were 20 people who came from different religions, political stances, and generations that were united under one common goal. And there were 20 people that sat around a living room for an hour and half after the presentation was done to talk about life, family, industry, and everything in between.
So the answer to “why do I like presenting?” is that I don’t, because I don’t just like to present, I love to present and so should you, because presentations matter.
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