Thread by @siddharthm83

I had a panic attack during my first ever presentation due to stage fright.

It crushed my self-confidence.

Today, I can deliver a great presentation even at 2 a.m.

Here are 7 steps that I took (and you can too!) to present with confidence 🧵...

1/ Find intrinsic motivation

The panic attack incident created a chip on my shoulder.

I thought - if another person can do it, why couldn't I?

I now had something to prove ... to myself. This was a strong motivator.

2/ Learn Storytelling

I didn't want to improve by 10%, I was shooting for 10,000x

This meant going back to the basics - storytelling.

Learnt from several resources. Two best:
• Resonate by @nancyduarte
• Pixar's storytelling workshop (will Tweet link to material soon)

3/ Adopt an "audience is the hero" mindset

When you are presenting, it's so easy to make it about you.

Always remember - You are not the HERO.

Who is?

The Audience!

How to act like Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid guiding the audience? This was/is always on my mind.

4/ Create a Swipe file of the pitches you want to emulate

I re-watched them multiple times.

I copied the parts that resonated.

My top keynote:

Steve Jobs' 2007 iPhone launch. Audience reaction for the "These are not 3 separate devices. This is 1 device" part is 🔥 .👇

5/ Find a friendly audience to practice

I started with my mirror.

I then used family.

Finally, I joined @Toastmasters and practiced with a friendly audience.

This part is key. The more I pitched, the better it got.

6/ Create a pre-presentation routine

If it's an important presentation, I do a routine.

I watch the Steve Jobs' iPhone launch keynote before to psych myself to do as great a job that he did.

I enter the stage at the peak of my confidence.

7/ When things go wrong

Even with the best prep, things won't go as planned.

I've forgotten entire sections of my speech.

If you forget something, just remember - The Audience doesn't have your script.

So don't get flustered. Just continue. They won't even know it!

8/ tl;dr

1. Find your inner motivation
2. Learn storytelling
3. Tune your presentation to the Audience (not to you)
4. Create a Swipe file and copy what you can
5. Practice with a friendly audience
6. Create a pre-presentation routine.
7. If things go wrong, don't panic.

If you liked this thread, follow me @siddharthm83 for more.

The Pixar's story telling workshop - 172 slides of pure gold 🧠. RT & hit like the thread below or reply and I'll send it your way via DM 👇

https://twitter.com/siddharthm83/status/1452308524575375372

Hi everyone! Taking care of my 3 yo, if you want the Pixar Storytelling workshop slides, pls DM me so I don't forget 🙏