Increasing presentation efficiency

Increasing presentation efficiency by decreasing stress 

Katalin Kőpataki’s interview with János Serényi, consulting psychologist, executive coach and trainer for big corporations

It is an uplifting experience when we are able to bring into action the best of ourselves in the forest of workplace expectations. Our chances are the highest to maximise opportunities if we can stay conscious even in the most difficult situations. The path to being conscious leads through getting to know ourselves. It is worth examining – among others – our so called “blind spots” that are part of our self, and have an impact on our behaviour. At the same time, we do not have a direct view how blind spots operate. We are able to map most of our blind spots only with the help of others.

In case of any type of difficulties gets to our plate – being it a conflict full with anger, a challenging presentation, formulating constructive criticism to our colleague or giving an honest feedback to our boss – the first step should always be to understand why this situation is difficult for us: that is, we make our feelings, the potential consequences of our reactions, elements of the environment, and potential reactions of the other party real.

Once we became conscious about a given situation, about others or our emerging feelings, we will be able to see the situations from the “outside”.  Therefore, our attitude can change and we can gain stronger control over our negative feelings, so we will be less afraid, angry or anxious. We can decide freely (not influenced by our emotions only), we can retain creativity and become much more efficient. We mustn’t forget that we have a freedom in living our feelings, whilst the our behaviour options are narrowed by the conscious and very quick analysis of the possible consequences. Let us take an example from an area beheld as one of the scariest in business life, that is public speech or presentation.

An event can be joyful or straining as well for someone, depending how he/she lived it earlier, how it is labelled, what associations it calls forth, what kind of expectations should be met, and in in what health or emotional condition someone is. The sense of being stressed is often increased by our too high expectations from ourselves, so that they carry failure in themselves. (We would like to hold the first presentation at a university hall at such high level as the professor having been presenting there for many years instead of setting an ambition for ourselves of being authentic and be as connected as possible to the audience. Realistic and at the same time inspiring objectives are very stress relieving method.) Certain kind of paralysing can happen when holding a presentation, if the tension caused by stress is much higher than an individual can cope with. In addition, at these times our self-confidence is weakened and our vital force can significantly drop. It is worth step by step observing what message this tension sends to us. There can be special situations. If we do speak a foreign language very well, and we have to make a very important presentation in this language, we might suspect what the source of our tension is. At the same time, often several factors can cumulate: we do not speak a foreign language well, we might be afraid of the social or political power of the participants, we might have never presented in front of a bigger crowd, we might have never held an opening presentation, etc.

If we carefully examine these factors (and this is where being conscious comes into play) here the dominating fear factor is the lack of the good knowledge of the foreign language, and the rest of the fear factors rests on this. In this situation there can be adaptive solutions: we ask for an interpreter, we can pre-record our presentation and subtitle it, etc. Once we manage to identify the primary factor of our fear and work out solutions for it, then the paralysed state of mind automatically starts to dissolve in most of the cases.

The first Hungarian coaching model, called DIADAL (victory) means excellent support to structurally approach increasing presentation efficiency. DIADAL model means the following steps: 1. Diagnosis, 2.Direction 3. Alternatives  4. Decision 5. Application 6. Closing.

We can meet the real challenges of stepping out from our comfort zone (self-exceeding) in the so-called “Application” phase of the method. (The second “A” is for Application in DIADAL).

Application: In this phase, it is worth carefully paying attention how we proceed on the chosen path, how we obtain our purpose, and not to back off when facing the first obstacles. Here though we have to step out from our comfort zone, because it is a new situation in which we do not feel confident. Stepping over the comfort zone does not mean that we have to get rid of our earlier self, or change entirely. (“If you become like this and that, then you will be successful!”) Stepping over the comfort zone means that we become more successful and efficient if we more become ourselves knowing our weaknesses, building on our strengths, reaching out for our resources. As a matter of fact, it is worth renewing in relation to ourselves. One of the most important tasks of ours (here we can speak about making a presentation) is to fulfil our resources so that they support as much as possible the emergence of the company’s interests. And so – in harmony with ourselves, and consciously targeting our self-accomplishment – we live with those development possibilities, which the company offers to us.

Further information about developing presentation efficiency with the help of a coach, and coaching type leadership can be received from János Serényi via mail or in person with previous registration.