“That is the BEST storytelling with data we’ve ever heard.”
Judith wasn’t aware that she was telling a story, but she was thrilled they thought so.
This was the feedback Judith received from executives at the presentation she gave to them after Day 1 of the Mastering Virtual Presentations workshop last week.
Judith had never gotten feedback like this before and she was flying high.
But no, Judith wasn’t at all aware that she was “telling a story.” If you asked Judith what she was doing, what was different about this presentation, she would tell you, “For the first time, I was comfortable. It just flowed.”
Executives want you to be comfortable when you’re presenting to them. Yet, most of the people who come to me to polish their executive presentations are FAR from comfortable when they have a high level executive audience.
They’re anxious and agitated. Jittery. Jumpy. Easily spooked.
Most people think that comfortable is something that “happens” to them, that they don’t really have any control over it happening.
They say things like, “I don’t know them, so how could I be comfortable?”
Or “He makes me uncomfortable.”
Or, “I always get uncomfortable when I’m talking to senior executives.”
Or, “The stakes are really high, I HAVE to get this outcome, there’s no WAY I’m going to be comfortable.”
They’re looking for something to “happen” to “make” them comfortable.
They’re waiting for some kind of sign of success and THEN they’ll relax. Or perhaps when it’s over.
Comfortable is physical AND mental. It’s a being free of any anxiety or worry or strain. It’s feeling completely at ease. A feeling of “easy.”
This does not come “naturally” in the Corporate world. (Don’t get me started on why that is if you don’t want to read a book! 😊)
It’s a great skill to make yourself comfortable in a difficult situation.
It’s a powerful ability to make you yourself comfortable when time is short and the stakes are high and you only have one chance at it.
But know this: in those moments, if you tense up, your competence will drop.
Executives sit through thousands of presentations each year given by people who are not comfortable presenting to them. Executives don’t respond well to “uncomfortable.”
If you’re not comfortable presenting, I guarantee you, they won’t be comfortable listening to you.
Here’s how to look at it:
Comfortable is not something that comes from outside of you.
It’s something that is completely within your control. If you don’t control it, you’re going to have a miserable life.
There’s very little in the outside world dedicated to making us comfortable. The Corporate world is not a spa experience.
Comfort comes from within.
Even more, it’s a skill.
It’s a skill you master. It’s a skill you hone.
It sure feels good.
And the payoff is enormous.
You are in control.
When you’re comfortable, you can expect compliments like, “That is the best storytelling with data we’ve ever heard.”
But you can also expect a lot more…
One of my clients who felt no one respected her suddenly found that all changed when she lost her agitated way of communicating.
She wrote me, “It really makes you look like an expert when you’re comfortable.”
If you want to look like an expert, if you want to generate compliments like you’ve never heard before, if you want to create outcomes other people will consider “magical…”
Then teach yourself to face those tough situations. Teach yourself to be comfortable no matter what or who you’re facing. Teach yourself that supreme level of real control that comes with being comfortable. (Or get help from someone who can teach that to you.)
Without being comfortable, you will never have true connection, which is the real secret to using Causative Communication to completely change your world for the better.
Be the cause!