'I walked all the way to the front of the stage as if I were looking for someone,' he says. Aguilera imagines that he is going to stand up and give a presentation when he's at restaurants, in meetings, or, one time, even at an outdoor amphitheater. Feel better yet? If not, you can also quell panic by conditioning yourself to be in presentation-mode.

Calm your nerves - Aguilera suggests changing the word 'presentation' to 'conversation' when thinking about your big day.

Recording yourself is the best way to target the areas where you can improve.

Videotape yourself - You can't know how you come off to people until you see it.

It really retards the rapport building process.' 'The audience is human at the end of the day, and this person doesn't seem to be like them. 'When an individual is too polished, it makes them relatively inaccessible in the mind of the audience,' he says. 'if you're going to do it well, you actually have to act it out and play a character, and most speakers aren't very good at that.' Even if you are good at acting, Parnell suggests that you don't memorize your speech to perfection. 'Really the only people who are good at memorizing things are actors,' Braithwaite says.

Rehearsing does not mean memorization - Memorizing your speech can make you sound mechanical and over-rehearsed.

Do whatever works for you, but make sure it includes practicing out loud so that you can get a sense of timing. Some people volunteer to speak at church or join their local toastmaster club for practice speaking in public. You can talk into a mirror, talk to a wall, or ask a family member to listen. She recommends starting to rehearse your presentation about a month in advance. 'It's different for everybody, but I will say one thing: If you practice your speech only once, you're going to stink,' Braithwaite says. 'Your forecast will provide fodder that can serve to validate any subconsciously generated optimism,' he says.ДЈ) P ractice, practice, practice.but don't memorize.

Parnell suggests that when making a business proposal, you end on a positive forecast. You can go back to your opening or end on a clever slogan or a call to action.

Closing - The closing of your presentation is the last opportunity you have to give your audience something that will stick in their minds.

After you've explained the other side, you can spell out exactly why your company is better or your argument is stronger. You'll appear more credible if you acknowledge your competitors or any opposing arguments. Be prepared to present both sides of an issue. You don't have to write out your presentation word for word (or worse, memorize it) if you just remember to keep going back to your main points and working toward your desired outcome. You will need to leave some information out, but it is likely that what you don't cover in the presentation will come up when you take questions. It's more important to engage the audience than to tell them everything you know. Body - Try to stick to your three most important points.David Parnell, the founder of an attorney placement firm who recently finished an 850-page book on the psychology of effective communication, suggests that any stories you use should represent your audience's position in life and should use characters that are analogous to your audience. It should not be an introduction of yourself or five minutes of thank-yous. It can be a story, a question, or a shocking static. Opening - Your opening should be something that makes an emotional connection with the audience.'What I advise is to start off with the benefits of what you're going to say, the benefits to the audience, and then present and review.' Braithwaite says that most presentations can benefit from using this simple structure: 'The classic format is to tell them what you're going to say, present, and then tell them what you told them,' says Aguilera.

Presentation expert at target