What wall climbing taught me about powerful presentations

What wall climbing taught me about powerful presentationsWhat wall climbing taught me about powerful presentationsOn belay Belay onIf youve ever taken rock or wall climbing lessons, you are familiar with this call and response. Belaying refers to a variety of techniques climbers use to communicate and keep each other safe during a climb. When the lower climber (the belayer) has secured the rope, she calls up, On belay. My translation Ive got your back. Youre good to go. The higher climber then responds, Belay on, before moving to the next hand or foothold.Tethered together and perched on the side of a mountain (even one made of concrete), its not hard to see why strong communication is essential for a team. Your life is literally in anothers hands. But the concept of being on belay applies to any activity requiring a high level of performance. Lets consider how this concept applies to giving presentations as a team or individually.Belaying is all about mindsetYes, I first learned ab out belaying when wall climbing with my son. But Ive since applied the concept to many aspects of my life because at the core, belaying is all about mindset. Its knowing that you arent going to fall. Its knowing that a small mistake doesnt spell failure or disaster. Whenever I prepare for a presentation, I come back to the idea of being on belay. I ask, what do I need to feel confident that Im good to go?The answer, of course, varies depending on the type of presentation, the anticipated audience, the venue and whether Ill be alone on stage or speaking as parte of a team. Let me explain further.How to be on belay as a teamIf youve ever been part of a group presentation, you know its very different from presenting by yourself. For one thing, theres a lot more to think about.For exampleContinuity of content.Presentation dynamics.Each team members specific role.The approach (or tone) of individual components.The logistics of the interactions between team members during the presentation .You want to make aya every member of your team understands each element to avoid any weak links in the chain. Additionally, maximizing the expertise of each speaker depends on ensuring everything runs like clockwork from start to finish. When its done right, the results speak for themselves. Whether youre presenting with a team of two, three or seven, its absolutely critical to be on belay for each other.Here are a few keys to a winning team presentation.Practice out loud both individually and as a teamRealize that a presentation thats well done on paper is only about 70% done in reality. Until youve rehearsed out loud, you cant truly tell what works and what doesnt, what wording trips you up, what concepts are too complicated for even the most attentive audience or what just doesnt sound like you.This is especially true if youre presenting as a team and several team members have contributed to the writing of the presentation. It is essential that each team member practices his par t and feels comfortable with the wording and ideas contained there.Rehearsing together as a whole team is also crucial to success. I once worked with a sales team who came to me after a pitch had fallen flat. The client feedback was that they didnt present themselves as a team. Yikes One of the first questions I asked was whether they had rehearsed ahead of time. Their answer, of course, was that they practiced on the drive in. Sorry. Thats no substitute for a complete team rehearsal. Put in the time and see the results for yourself.Rehearse handoffsBesides making each team member comfortable with his role, rehearsing also helps teams develop smooth transitions. Decide in advance who will open, who will close and - especially important - how youll transition from one speaker to the next. A strong open and close, as well as smooth transitions speak volumes and differentiate you from your competition. Figuring it out on the fly also says a lot - and not in a good way.The whole team is always onAnother element of a truly polished team presentation is remembering that the whole team is always on during the presentation. You want to look and act like a team throughout. Keep in mind that even when you dont have the mic in your hand, members of the audience can see you. If you look bored, grimace, or interrupt a teammate while shes presenting, it reflects poorly on the whole team.Team members should all look engaged, supportive, and affirming from beginning to end. Being on belay for your team means that you are all responsible for the success of the presentation. Dont single anyone out. Work together and youll have the audience eating out of the palm of your hand.How to be on belay as an individualWhile it may not be as obvious, you can also be on belay when giving a presentation individually. Again, go back to the belay mindset. What do you need to feel confident that you are good to go? This is what I call being on belay for yourself.Practice out loudJust as su ccessful teams practice and rehearse together, successful individual presenters always practice out loud. While you might think youre ready to go after reading through your presentation and practicing in your head, remember your reading speed likely varies from your speaking speed.Practice out loud to locate awkward phrasing and word choices that might trip you up. Consider gathering a group of trusted friends or colleagues for a practice session. That has the added bonus of giving you feedback from live audience members. Those listening dont need to know much or anything about the subject matter to give you meaningful feedback.Profile the vorstellung and logisticsEven experienced speakers can get tripped up by an uncommon venue or logistics that catch them off guard. Remember giving a presentation requires a high-level of focus. If youre not on belay for yourself, even small surprises can throw you off.For instance, if youre used to speaking with a lapel microphone, using a handhel d mic might feel awkward. Suppose you like to use hand gestures to emphasize points. Having to hold a mic in one hand can feel really constricting. It may also hard to know how close to your mouth you should hold the mic.Knowing ahead of time exactly what youre walking into helps you avoid these types of awkward moments that can erode confidence. So, if possible, visit the location where youll be giving the presentation ahead of time. At the least, talk with the event organizers and ask them about the logistics. While these may seem like small issues, Ive seen presenters stumble and lose their audiences for even less.Have a plan for any unpredictable issuesOne of the most important reasons to be on belay for yourself is so that you can handle any unpredictable issue during the presentation with poise. In a perfect world, audiences would judge our words and our words alone. In reality, your audiences perceptions are colored by all kinds of things from how you dress to how you deal wi th issues that are not your fault.What if your PowerPoint doesnt work? What if your clicker stops working? What if youre using a teleprompter and it stops scrolling in the middle of your speech?I recall one big government presentation I was giving regarding environmental regulations. With legal presentations, precise wording is critical. So, the speech was carefully scripted. I was also presenting with a partner, who spoke first. When my turn to speak came, I realized my partner had accidentally taken two of my pages.Fortunately, because we had practiced together, I had the presence of mind to walk over to him and calmly ask for pages 9 and 10. He quickly found them, gave them to me, and I continued with the presentation.Because I was on belay for myself in that moment, I stayed calm and handled the unpredictable issue almost without skipping a beat. Thats the power of having a plan and knowing you wont fail.Concluding thoughtsWhen youre on belay for your presentation team or for yo urself, you can maintain a controlled mindset. You are confident and have the presence of mind to stay focused even during unpredictable situations. This is one huge key to giving a powerful presentation. Are you on belay?Stephanie Scotti is a strategic communication advisor specializing in high-stakes presentations. She has 25-plus years experience of coaching experience and eight years teaching presentation skills for Duke University. She has provided presentation coaching to over 3,000 individuals in professional practices, Fortune 500 companies, high-level government officials and international geschftlicher umgang executives. Learn more at ProfessionallySpeaking.net and ProfessionallySpeakingBlog.com.This article first appeared on If you enjoyed this article, sign up for SmartBriefs free e-mail on leadership and communication, among SmartBriefs more than 200 industry-focused newsletters.