Learn to centre yourself for the perfect presentation
People are always asking me how I manage my nerves and come across as confident and fluent under almost any situation. Well I am not entirely sure but I believe that part of the answer lies in being able to quickly access a resourceful internal state. By state I mean the neurophysiological gestalt or felt sense of how I am feeling and thinking whilst presenting.
Now that’s a bit of a mouthful so to get it it may be easier to take a moment to ask yourself this question. “How would I need to be, in the moment, to allow me to express myself naturally and authentically to an audience? – How would I be feeling and what would I be thinking simultaneously that would open up my capacity to be authentic? Stop reading and imagine what that state could be for you now.
One powerful way that I use to access this state comes from the Eastern martial arts tradition and is called centering. This process creates a state of preparedness which is akin to that needed to be an authentic communicator.
There are two components to centering:
- Dropping down into centre
- Opening out and connecting with the outside world
The first, involves us taking a couple of deep breaths and deliberately shifting our conscious attention from our intellectual mind (head) down and into to our physical centre of gravity somewhere around our belly.
So far so good but If we just stayed in this place we might feel really relaxed but it would be difficult to communicate and influence with others. So we need to add in the second part of the process.
Once we are in our centre we can now imagine, opening up our consciousness outwards from our belly so that we energetically connect this sense of centeredness with the wider world outside. In a presentation sense, this means connecting wordlessly with our audience. Connecting from this more grounded place is quite different from connecting purely on an intellectual mind level.
When you do this it has profound beneficial effects not only on how you feel yourself, but also on the quality of connection you make with those around you. Physically things change too; typically;
- Your delivery slows down
- You are able to speak from the heart without fear of what others may think
- Your voice tone drops, becomes more resonant, and takes on a much more genuine and compelling quality
- You become more comfortable with pauses and silences
You could say that centering is the “master skill” and like any skill it takes work and practice to develop.
The reason most people don’t get it is because at first it feels completely different from the normal, head centered style of communication most business communicators are used to.
This feeling of unfamiliarity is often labelled as discomfort and so they go back to their old habits. If you stick with it and practice it, it will become the norm and your ability to conect and influence will improve quickly ans easily.
