As presentation day approaches it is common to feel a rise in your nervous energy. Rather than passively letting this feeling grow and affect you negatively, you can proactively use such tension to help energize some last minute preparation that will ensure presentation success.
Visualize failure
It may sound strange, but by visualizing failure before you attempt any difficult task, you can positively increase your confidence and be better prepared if things go wrong on the day. This technique is often used by NASA astronauts to prepare before working in conditions of extreme stress and uncertainty.
For presentations, try to imagine what things might go wrong and think of precautions for them. Have a plan B, and even a plan C.
In practical terms this can include finding answers to questions such as: what if there’s heavy traffic on the day? (leave earlier for the venue) and what if my laptop freezes? (take your slide deck on a separate USB flash drive which you could use on another computer) or even what if there’s not another available computer? (have a version of your presentation that you can deliver without slides).
