Why my mind goes blank when presenting

Why does my mind "Go Blank" when presenting?

If you’re reading this right now that means that you are facing one of the most common challenges that people go through. Which is our mind going blank when we give a presentation. To understand how to overcome this challenge we need to identify what is main cause.

After working with many clients such as Entrepreneurs, CEO’s, Business Leaders, Influencers, Beauty Pageants, and many more I realize that there are several factors that makes our mind go blank when presenting.

1. Speaking too fast

Sometimes we tend to speak faster than what our brain is able to compute. We then fumble over our words, get nervous, and ultimately leading to our minds going blank.

2. Seeing the audiences reaction

Let’s be honest. How the audience reacts to our presentation can affect us severely. Imagine doing a stand up comedy, and yet no one laughs at any of your jokes. Wouldn’t that make us feel nervous, and just an emotional wreck? This affects our psyche, and results in our mind going blank.

3. The lack of preparation or familiarity

The lack of rehearsals for our presentation, or not visiting the venue in advance to know our speaking area to familiarize ourselves will cause us to go blank. So the question to ask yourself is… Do you rehearse enough? and did you try to familiarize yourself with the place?

Can you resonate with some of the main causes stated above? Fret not, because there’s always a solution to a problem. Let me introduce two methods to overcoming this challenge.

1. Internal Reflection

Let’s face it the feeling of nervousness is one of the biggest causes of our mind going blank. We need to address and reflect upon our internal state of being to fully understand why we feel that nervousness in the first place.

Ask yourself the following questions:

What am I truly afraid of?
What is the worse that could happen?
Is what you said for question 2, true?
What evidence do you have to support question 3?
If I am the audience, what do I want for the speaker?
Knowing this, what can I do to overcome this feeling of nervousness?

2. Familiarization

One of the biggest fears that people have is the unknown. Hence, getting familiar with something definitely helps us be more at ease. The question now is what do we get ourselves familiar with?

1. Presentation
This means you go through your presentation again and again until you are comfortable with the information that you are going to present. This doesn’t mean knowing your presentation word for word, rather how much you have internalized this presentation. Even if things go wrong you’d know how to continue on.

2. Place
Visit the venue of your presentation early. What I normally do is either visit it 1 day prior or even 1 hour prior to my speaking segment. This helps me to understand where is my speaking area, how comfortable I am with it, and if there are the necessary tools available for me to use. Meaning, is there a whiteboard, projector, clicker, etc. Get to know the place early!

3. People
Now it’s probably close to your presentation time so what you’d want to do is to meet and greet the people who are going to be your audience (if possible). A short introduction about yourself like “Hi, my name is bob, and I’ll be the next speaker. Nice to meet you, what’s your name?” Doing this helps you bridge the gap between speaker and audience. Now they see you as someone they have familiarized with, and so would you.

1. Internal Reflection

Ask yourself the following questions:

What am I truly afraid of?
What is the worse that could happen?
Is what you said for question 2, true?
What evidence do you have to support question 3?
If I am the audience, what do I want for the speaker?
Knowing this, what can I do to overcome this feeling of nervousness?

2. Familiarization

One of the biggest fears that people have is the unknown. Hence, getting familiar with something definitely helps us be more at ease. The question now is what do we get ourselves familiar with?

I know it’s a scary process to overcome the fear and nervousness when presenting, but remember that your audience doesn’t want to see you fail. More often than you know, they want you to succeed. So before giving your next presentation commit to having an Internal Reflection and remember to Familiarize yourself. All the best, I know you’d do superbly well!

If you’re looking to discover how to take your confidence, and presentation skills to the next level then click on the button below to claim your free speaking assessment with us!

Coach Mahatir

Author, & Co-Founder of MicFront

December 15, 2022February 22, 2024

5 Tips for Improving Your Public Speaking Skills

5 Tips to Improve Your Public Speaking

Cockroaches? Scary.. but manageable..
Snakes? Manageable too..
but Public Speaking? Frightening!

Based on research done globally an estimate of 75% of the world’s population fears public speaking that means for every 4 people you know, 3 of them have that fear.

If you’re one of them, read on.

There are many ways to tackle on this anxiety and to help propel you to become better in public speaking. In this Public Speaking series let me share with you how to utilize these 5 tips to boost your Public Speaking skills!

Here are my Top 5 Tips to Improve Your Public Speaking:

Tip #1: Competence Comes before Confidence

Most of the time when we are nervous it is due to the lack of familiarity with three things. The People, Place and/or Presentation. Building our competencies in these 3 areas will help you overcome that stage anxiety.

In order to build familiarity with people you have to meet up with your audience and introduce yourself to them. That way you know them, they know you and you won’t feel like you’re speaking to strangers when you’re on stage.

For the place, can you visit the venue early so that you know how the layout is like? Can you rehearse on your stage or platform so you won’t feel like you’re standing on a foreign place?

For presentation, it is a question of how much time did you spend rehearsing and practising your content. The more the better!

Tip #2: Change Your Focus from "Me" to "Them"

Let’s face it when we are nervous on stage our main focus will be things like “What if I mess up?”, “What if I look dumb in front of these people?”, “What was the next point again?”, or even “How can I end this quickly!”

These words that you’re telling yourself shifts your focus away from being in the moment. The best presenters in the world are always in the present when they give their presentation because they want to be with their audience. They want to give the best value that they can to their listeners.

Instead of thinking “How will I look in front of the audience?”, change that to “How can I give the best value to my audience?”

Tip #3: Speak How You Feel

Most of the time when presenters relay information they do it in a readers voice. Flat tone and downright boring. The best kinds of presenters are able to take the most boring information and speak in a way that excites people. Why? That’s because they speak with passion.

Hence in your next presentation instead of using your readers voice, speak how you feel. Every line and point in your speech is conveying an emotion. Speak with that emotion and you will see a drastic change in your presentation.

Tip #4: Practice Communicating with Gestures

Presenters who use more gestures appear more confident, enthusiastic, and energetic. Sometimes it is difficult to know what kind of gestures to use when you present and that’s understandable. Start small, perhaps during a simple conversation with other people use your gestures more often and notice how you’re using them!

Tip #5: Tell Stories

As the saying goes “Facts tell, stories sell!” Stories have the power to connect with people’s emotion and it is one of the most effective presentation hooks ever! Sometimes in your presentation instead of just telling us the numbers, facts and data perhaps you could add a story representing those information. Paint us the picture through stories!

Keep practicing, keep refining and keep improving at least 1% a day!

Remember that no one in the audience wishes you to fail, so do your best with the right mindset, keep practicing, refining and improving!

October 17, 2021October 20, 2021

5 ways you can improve your online public speaking performance

HOW TO IMRPOVE YOUR ONLINE PUBLIC SPEAKING SKILLS

Some of you may be perfectly comfortable giving your public speaking speech in front of a crowd. Online, however? You might find that your usual tricks do not work quite as well.

Speaking and presenting online is unlike being on stage, you are suddenly met with new challenges and restrictions you would never face otherwise. With this new digital age we have found ourselves thrust into, online presenting has become an important skill we need to master.

Can your audience see you? Are they enjoying your presentation? Are you engaging with them enough? Are your hand gestures or body language not getting across as well as you would like? Do you find the framing of a webcam too restrictive?

These are all questions I’m sure at least some of you have asked when giving a presentation or a speech.

Whether you are new to public speaking, or you are just trying to make the most out of this new medium, I would like to share…

5 TIPS THAT WILL BENEFIT YOUR ONLINE PUBLIC SPEAKING SKILLS

TIP NUMBER 1: STAND UP!

When we use our computers, we naturally sit down. It is not too confusing then, that most people tend to give their online speeches sitting down as well.

However, when you are giving a speech in-person, you stand up. Have you ever wondered why?

It is not just for being polite, but when you stand you have a lot more room to work with. You can stretch your hands, you can use your feet. In short, you can be far more expressive when you give a speech on your feet, and this applies for online public speaking as well. Standing gives you more freedom with your body, and this will greatly benefit your speech.

So in your next presentation, try standing, you will will have far more energy and enthusiasm than you had sitting down.

TIP NUMBER 2: FRAME YOURSELF

So now you are on your feet, but where is your camera? Can the audience still see you? How much of your body is visible, and how far are you tilting your head to look at the camera?

Moving your camera and framing yourself is more than just making sure you do not give yourself neck pains. It is also to make sure that your amazing hand gestures and body movements never wander off frame and to ensure you are the focus of the audiences’ screen at all times.

There are 2 things you need to take into consideration when framing yourself for an online presentation:

1) Raise your camera.

Now that you are standing, if your webcam is still on your desk, then you are most likely craning your neck down to look at it. You do not want this.

Looking down will not only hurt your neck after a long speech, but the angle will look weird for your audience. With the camera pointing up, it looks like you are looking down on your audience. It gives your speech an oppressive feel to it.

Raise your camera, if you are on a laptop or tablet, raise your device by placing it on boxes and books. Keep your camera level with your eye level, so that you are looking straight at them.

2) Center yourself, and keep your head and arms in frame.

To ensure that you are at the focus to your audience’s screens, you have to frame yourself properly.

Firstly, keep yourself centered. A good trick is to use the rule of 3s, splitting your camera’s image into a 3 by 3 grid, so that you know if you are leaning to close one side or not.

Secondly, ensure that there is a good distance between the top of your head, and the top of your camera’s frame, as well as lift your arms up, give them a little wave to make sure that your hand gestures will not be lost while you deliver your speech.

Your arms are not visible enough? Move back and give yourself more space. Are you too small that your head barely reaches the top 3rd of your screen? Move forward.

With these steps, you will frame yourself nicely, and you will not have to fear your audience missing out on your facial expressions, hand gestures or body language during your speech.

TIP NUMBER 3: CLEAR YOUR BACKGROUND

This tip is very simple, but equally important, and that is to ensure that your background remains clean, and clear of any obstructions or distractions.

Delivering in your speech in a crowded room is greatly discouraged. Not only can the obstructions be dangerous, accidentally hitting an arm against a shelf while doing your gestures for example. But it can also be very distracting. If your background is your office, and you have an impressive bookshelf behind you, audiences might get distracted, looking at the books behind you and examining what kind of reader you are instead of listening to your speech.

If you are presenting in a crowded room in your house, a family member might accidentally wander into frame in the background distracting not just the audience, but potentially yourself.

Ideally, the best place to present is somewhere empty and wide enough for your to stand and walk around for a bit. Keep the wall behind you bare, to reduce any distractions.

Of course, you can tweak this rule if it suits your presentation. Maybe you are speaking about a library, or you are speaking as an expert, then you can use your background itself as a prop, and that bookshelf will have a place behind you as you give your talk.

But use this smartly. In most cases, an empty background would be the best for your speech.

TIP NUMBER 4: LOOK AT THE CAMERA

Instintually, when we give a speech, we look at the audience. Whenever anyone teaches you how to do public speaking, looking at your audience is always drilled into us as being something we have to do. Look at them, and maintain eye contact.

But when you are online, looking at your audience is not the same as giving eye contact.

In an online setting, looking at your audience is actually just you looking at your screen. If you want to give your audience that eye contact, you have to look straight at the camera.

Of course, you should not be staring straight at the camera throughout your speech. You need to look at the audience too, to see their reactions, if any are raising their hands to ask a question. 80% of your speech should be spent looking at your camera, to give your audience that ever important eye contact.

TIP NUMBER 5: USE YOUR 3-D SPACE

Our final tip is using your 3-D space around you. When you give your speech, you might find that the space you are given is far more limited than if you were on a stage. Especially in terms of moving left or right. But there is one level of space you can use, one that was briefly mentioned earlier in this blog:

Forwards and backwards.

At Tip Number 2, about framing yourself nicely, I mentioned moving back and forth to find the best position. This can be your starting position, where you will stand for most of your speech. But you can still move around, and you can use this to great effect!

Need to say something loud, or use hand wide sweeping hand gestures that may go out of frame? Step back and make yourself smaller to give yourself more space. Want to emphasise something, or whisper a “secret” to your audience, you can lean closer to the camera to be more intimate or personal with your audience.

Using this 3-D space is great in really making your speeches stand out, as well as being more engaging to your audience. It can be used to such great effect and will greatly bring out more energy out of your speech.

Those were 6 tips to improve your online public speaking Skills! Try these tips next time, whether it be a Toastmasters speech, or an office presentation. You will notice a difference in not just your audience’s engagement, but also how much easier it will be to present online!

Written by Aris Riza bin Noor Baharin

Operations Ninja at Mahathir Academy of Public Speaking

October 6, 2018October 7, 2018

Instantly Build Confidence To Present To THOUSANDS!

Instantly build confidence to present to thousands

Presentation can be nerve wrecking!

Presentations are nerve wrecking moments aren’t they? And sometimes people around us would just come up to us and say..

“Hey! It’s alright, just BE CONFIDENT and you’ll do fine!”

How many of you have gotten comments like this? And how many of you found this helpful?
Come on.. be honest. Telling someone to BE CONFIDENT is just a nicer way of telling them to suck it up.

But what if you knew HOW to instantly build your confidence? How would that improve your next performance on stage?
Before we dive into the techniques, I want you to understand that confidence according to oxford dictionary is “The feeling or belief that one can have faith in or rely on something or someone.”

So the question here is is confidence hard to develop? Is it an in born talent? Answer is NO. Confidence can be built and developed, and it’s not as hard as you think it is. It is even as easy as the things you say, and do!

SO HOW CAN WE INSTANTLY BUILD CONFIDENCE?

TIP #1 "PSYCHOLOGY"

TESTING

TIP #2 "PHYSIOLOGY"

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TIP #3 "LANGUAGE"

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TIP #4 "ANCHORING"

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Our Sweets Collection

The best way to experience our wide collection of sweets is to visit the store. Follow the aromas and choose the most enticing sweets to satisfy your palate.

September 17, 2018February 22, 2024

6 Secret Introductions That Demands Your Audience Attention!

6 SECRETS THAT HOOKS AUDIENCE ATTENTION

6 SECRET THAT HOOKS DEMANDS AUDIENCE ATTENTION

Have you been into a presentation and watch a speaker spoke only to find yourself falling asleep within the first few minutes? How about great gurus who has great things to share, but they couldn’t get us to listen? Well we’ve been there before..

The problem is not because they’re not enthusiastic enough, or energetic enough, it all lies in the way they present their introduction. It is said that the first 45 seconds of your presentation will determine whether the audience would want to CONTINUE listening to you or not! So the question here is… How can we make that 45 seconds count and DEMAND the audience attention that we deserve?

Think about a time when you stepped into a boring presentation. What would their introduction sound like?
Chances are, it’s something like this..

“Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, my name is Mahathir, the founder of ABC company, a specialist in Public Speaking, and today let me share with you about why public speaking is important.”

There’s nothing wrong with an opening like that, but these days, that introduction style is stronger than any sleeping pill isn’t it. It’s overly used, it’s boring and it’s not something I’d want to continue listening to! So what are some ways we can make our introduction more impactful and have you saying………

HERE ARE 6 SECRETS THAT HOOKS AUDIENCE ATTENTION

Let’s get rid of the typical “Good afternoon, my name is, what I do is, and what I’m gonna share with you is..” style. Start your introduction with a question that intrigues the audience. The question you are crafting should be 100% relatable to your presentation. So how do you use it?

Let me give you an example..
“Ladies and gentlemen, raise your hands if you hate public speaking!” – Engagement

“Isn’t it useful to be able to speak confidently on stage?” – Rhetorical

As shown above, there are two kinds of questions using this technique, Rhetorical Questions (A question that doesn’t require an answer) or Engagement Questions (A Question that gets the audience engaged, and probes an answer.

These are just some examples that you can use in your presentations. You can search up more information on what kind of question is suited best for your presentation, or even get feedback from your peers and see what works for you!

SECRET NUMBER 1: QUESTION

Let me give you an example..
“Ladies and gentlemen, raise your hands if you hate public speaking!” – Engagement

“Isn’t it useful to be able to speak confidently on stage?” – Rhetorical

SECRET NUMBER 2: QUOTE

Starting your introduction with a quote can also be an intriguing one. It evokes emotion and projects credibility. Choose a quote that is best suited for your presentation. So if you’re talking about Public Speaking or Presentation, you can start your speech with a quote like this.

“All great speakers were once bad speakers, a quote by Ralph Watson Emerson. In public speaking it is not about how fast you get there, but the journey you take to learn… bla bla bla..”

You get the idea. Again, if quotes doesn’t resonate with you or your presentation, you can opt for the other 5 techniques, see what works for you!

Statements are words. Something that you say or write in a formal or official way : something that is stated. : an opinion, attitude, etc., that you express through the things you do, the way you dress, etc.

An example of a statement for a presentation is..
“Speaking is hard, and I believe most of us find it harder to speak on stage.”

A general statement or an opinion counts. Generally there are statements in every part of your speech, just find a way to make your statement intriguing, exciting and fresh!

SECRET NUMBER 3: STATEMENT

An example of a statement for a presentation is..
“Speaking is hard, and I believe most of us find it harder to speak on stage.”

A general statement or an opinion counts. Generally there are statements in every part of your speech, just find a way to make your statement intriguing, exciting and fresh!

SECRET NUMBER 4: STORY

Have you ever heard a presentation so compelling, emotional, touching, exciting, and almost all kinds of feelings could be evoked? That’s probably because they used the elements of STORY in their speeches!

Whether it is an informational, Demonstrative, Persuasive, or Inspirational Speech, a story fits in nicely anywhere! So what’s a story? A story is utilizing someone else’s experience, or your own personal experience and sharing it in a speech. Let me give you an example of a story

“I remember when I was a young boy. Speaking on stage, was the last thing on my mind.. But one day, something happened, and it changed me forever..”

A story grabs audience’s attention, because human brains love the feeling and connection we get from stories rather than pure facts and numbers.

Facts are great, they give the audience a picture of what the numbers and information mean. Facts when presented in a certain way can improve credibility and make your presentation more appealing.

An example of facts in your introduction could be..

“According to Mahathir, it was found that 75% of the world is afraid of public speaking! The question is, are you going to stay in the 75% or be the top 25%?”

That is an example of utilizing facts and questions in your opening. Think about ways you can make your fact sound interesting, and intriguing!

SECRET NUMBER 5: FACTS

Facts are great, they give the audience a picture of what the numbers and information mean. Facts when presented in a certain way can improve credibility and make your presentation more appealing.

An example of facts in your introduction could be..

“According to Mahathir, it was found that 75% of the world is afraid of public speaking! The question is, are you going to stay in the 75% or be the top 25%?”

That is an example of utilizing facts and questions in your opening. Think about ways you can make your fact sound interesting, and intriguing!

SECRET NUMBER 6: IMAGINE

One of my favourite introduction technique that I personally use in most of my presentations. Imagine evokes imagination which can be linked to our human senses. Since humans are beings that love imagining, this technique has been proven to be one of the most powerful ways to demand audience attention.

Let me give you an example of this technique..

“Imagine the time when you were speaking on stage, the sound you heard, the things you see, and the things you feel. Were you nervous or confident?”

This technique is truly a powerful one as it embodies a bit of NLP techniques and Vivid Descriptions.

And there you have it! 6 secret introductions that demand audience attention! The best way to make an interesting opening speech is to have a combination of the 6 techniques. So find a few that resonates with you and see how you can make your next presentation a powerful, and impactful one that will demand the attention from your audience!

Why does my mind "Go Blank" when presenting?