By Virgil R. Carter
Being a
senior staff executive or chief staff officer in a non-profit organization
often means dealing with pressure-packed situations, right? Sometimes the situations can be
anticipated. Sometimes not! For example, you are 20 minutes into your
on-stage presentation and it’s going great.
Without warning the computer crashes, the screen goes black and you want
to fall apart!
What to
do? In an article, in Owner’s Manual
published in Inc., author Jeff Haden writes, “Some people do seem naturally
confident and poised under pressure. But poise isn't natural. Poise is a skill
that some people develop… And that's why the key to maintaining your poise
during even the most stressful situations is to gain experience. Not just any
experience, though; the right kind of experience, the kind that builds
confidence.”
Haden
offers these tips for staying cool—no matter what happens:
Practice
the basics: Run through
your demo a number of times. Smooth out the kinks. Make sure you know it
cold. Then think about the most likely
questions or interruptions. Make sure you're ready to present the demo as a
conversation rather than a presentation.
Then rework the basics: All your initial
practice will result in a set of logical steps: 1, 2, 3... To really know your
stuff, change it up. Start with step 5. Rehearsing a different order helps
reinforce your knowledge of your material and also prepares you for those inevitable
moments when the client says, "but what I really want to know is this."
Practice
the "What if?": Once
your presentation is in good shape it's time to prepare for things that could
cause you to freeze. What if your software locks up? Figure out what you'll do.
What if your client is delayed and you only get 10 minutes instead of 30?
Decide how to shorten your presentation so you still hit key points. What if
you get questions you aren't able to answer? Go crazy. Think of some outlandish
scenarios and decide how you'll handle them. It's actually kind of fun.
Rinse
and repeat everywhere: You can
apply this approach to almost any situation, whether business or personal:
Giving feedback, pitching investors, disciplining employees, dealing with
confrontation, playing a sport, starting and building relationships... it
doesn't matter. You don't need to be
brave. Just take a systematic approach to developing skills and gaining
confidence. Do the work and bravery,
composure, and coolness under fire are unnecessary. They're automatic.
For the
full article, go to http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/how-to-be-graceful-under-pressure.html?nav=next
No comments:
Post a Comment