"There's no way you'll get me to stand up to make a Presentation!"

How often have I heard that phrase 'There's absolutely no way you'll get me to stand up in front of a group of people and make a presentation or sell an idea for my course."

How many of us have sat back and compared ourselves to other people who we thought were so entertaining, calm, smart, witty and so on, thereby convincing ourselves that it would be impossible for an average person like ourselves to carry off a convincing performance and make a presentation. We all have. Believe me, your audience does not expect perfection. As your Trainer, I'm not looking for perfection. So why do we put so much pressure on ourselves?

I am stunned at the variety of performances I have witnessed while running Train the Trainer (FETAC) Level 6 courses. I have seen grown people, very confident people, work themselves into a complete frenzy just before the actual skills presentation and voila, what happens, a perfectly good presentation and some are excellent. Even if you feel you are about to pass out peacefully, get tongue-tied or say something you'd rather not have said during your presentation, your audience doesn't mind as long as the message is received and your audience walks away with something of value. Then you've done a great job.

As a trainer of some years now (painful as it is to think of the number of years) I still return to the office (or home) and feel so proud of the individual achievements of the Learners who complete their Skills Demonstrations. No matter how I try to get individuals to calm down, to think of the Presentation as being just another class activity - "remember, it's only a skills demonstration" I often remind them, stories filter through during the day of individuals still going to bed late the night before - only getting three hours sleep with the help of partners, sons, daughters and friends being secunded into (sometimes reluctant) mock audiences to help out the day before, potions and so on being discussed as an alternative way to calm themselves down just before their alloted time slot. Then like a bright star, they shine and I know only too well the wonderful feeling of having it all over - the audience genuinely smiled, they participated, they asked questions, they were genuinely interested and the feeling of elation for a brief time until you get home and are asked "well, how did it go?" and you answer "I never thought for one moment that I would get up in front of a group of people and make a presentation or sell my course, but I did."

Yes, you did, and you should be very proud of what you accomplished because it took guts, it took preparation, it took you taking a long hard look at yourself, pushing that boundary just a little bit further, and you know what, you succeeded. I'm so glad I got the chance to witness it.