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Finding your first job after college can be difficult. You’ve spent a great deal of time working towards your desired career, and you want to get it under way. The problem is that while you have the skills you need, you may not have the real world experience that employers are looking for. That’s why it’s important to weigh all of your options when you are searching for that first job. You may not have considered taking an entry level sales job before, but it is definitely worth investigating. Starting you career in sales can set you up for success in a number of different ways.
Communication
It’s hard to overstate just how important quality communication is. Virtually nothing can be accomplished in business or in life without clear, concise, and considerate communication. You may have the most brilliant idea in the world, one that will help your company out-pace the competition two-to-one. But if you can’t communicate it effectively, it won’t do anyone any good. Landing a first job in sales is an opportunity to hone those vital communication skills. In order to be successful in sales, you need to learn both how to listen to your potential customer and how to vocalize your point of view in a way that the customer can appreciate. Unless you know what the customer needs, and unless they are convinced that you have the solution to their problem, you aren’t going to close the sale.
Time Management
Most entry level sales jobs give you a great deal of flexibility as to how you make the most of your time. And as you get out into the field, it will become evident very quickly that time is a limited and valuable resource. This means that you alone are largely responsible for how you structure and manage your time to achieve maximum results. This is a skill that is critical for success in any professional field, and it will surely serve you well in the future.
Making Your Case
Your potential client isn’t going to seal the deal if they aren’t convinced that you have the right solution. You need to be able to summarize all of the important information and communicate how your service will solve the customer’s problem. You need to be flexible and adaptable in your approach. You need to be able to read your audience and be able to adjust as needed. These skills will come in handy later on, whether you’re selling your next big idea to the board or nailing that opening interview.
Networking
They say it’s not what you know, but rather who you know. The networking that is inherent in an entry level sales job is of great value. By learning how, when, and where to network, you’re both exercising vital business skills and creating the framework from which you’re future network will grow. You will be in contact with seasoned professionals that you may be able to enlist as mentors or supporters as you pursue your goals. You’ll connect with peers who will help to keep you informed about changes in the business. The networking that in inherent to the sales field will help you master the critical art of relationship building, which is foundational to almost any business transaction.
Negotiating
With a first job in sales, you will learn quickly that everything is a negotiation. In business and in life, moving forward often comes down to resolving the differences between conflicting parties and opinions, and that is the essence of negotiation. Since achieving success as a salesperson demands that you learn to become adept at negotiating, that skill will become an advantage you can use to get ahead in any number of future pursuits.
Goal Setting
Because your success with an entry level sales job is determined by how much effort you put in, goal setting and follow-through become vital. It puts you in a decision making position that requires your self-discipline and focus be consistently outstanding. With that skill set readily at your fingertips, you’ll be far ahead of your competition in any field. You will learn how to drive your own success and hold yourself accountable.
Grit
Setbacks and obstacles are unavoidable. Everyone encounters them from time to time. The important part is how you deal with the situation. It’s easy to get discouraged and get off track if you allow yourself to be overly affected. Salespeople know, however, how to get right back up and keep going. That doggedness and determination will be a valuable asset no matter where your career takes you. In situations where others may falter, you will thrive.
Leadership
If your first job is in sales, there is a very good chance that it will be the first opportunity you have to exercise your leadership skills in a professional setting. By taking the lead on a team or taskforce, you will have the opportunity to discover what your personal leadership style looks like. You will learn first-hand what motivates you and your team. You will understand how to empower your team to achieve their goals. Every profession needs leaders, and you’ll be ready to step up to the challenge.
Clearly, there are a number of benefits to working in sales, especially when you take an entry level sales job right out of school. When a potential employer sees that your first job was in sales, and that you excelled, they know exactly who they are hiring. There will be no doubt that you are a resilient, capable asset who will undoubtedly see any task through to completion.
Congratulations! Your college career is coming to a close and the future is exciting, but it can also be a little intimidating. Everyone’s either looking for a job or has one lined up, and the college-to-career transition might feel like a race. But the truth is, everyone’s path and pace are different, and finding success after college is about exploring opportunities and discovering where you’d like your journey to lead.
Nobody is ever fully prepared for life after college, but what it takes to succeed remains the same: focus, determination, and confidence. Below are Cydcor’s quintessential tips for success after college.
#1 Have a Focus
Landing your dream job takes time and dedication, but it helps to know where to focus your efforts. To land a job you'll love, research companies whose values align with yours, or where you can learn and grow into that position. When you know your career path, you can focus all your energy on impressing potential employers.
#2 Establish your Personal Brand
Your social media profiles say a lot to recruiters about who you are. Check them for anything you wouldn’t want to come up in an interview, and if you’re not on LinkedIn, make a profile and introduce yourself. LinkedIn allows anyone to self-publish, so seize the opportunity establish your expertise with an informative blog post. Join relevant discussion groups, and instead of asking people where they work, expand the conversation and ask how they got there. You might learn a different approach to landing your dream job and gain a reference who will put in a good word for you when you apply.
#3 Build a Winning Resume
A great resume can be a make-it-or-break-it tool for landing a great post-graduate job. When writing your resume, get plenty of feedback from friends, family, and another professionals in the field, and use language similar to what’s in the job description. Most companies use online resume checkers to filter out job applications based on certain keywords and phrases.
#4 Start Somewhere
When you find a job that interests you and has upward mobility, apply. It might not be your dream job, but landing a job is the first and most important step to getting there. You’ll gain real-world experience and chip away at student debt, but not at the expense of your dreams. It’s also easier to get a job when you have a job.
#5 Keep Learning
Yes, you just spent the last two decades learning and a lot of it wasn’t interesting. But, you also learned how to learn. Take advantage of your student mentality and learn more about what interests you and how to improve your skills. Read blogs about industries that fascinate you and seek out a professional mentor through your alumni network. Did you really enjoy an elective class that was totally outside your major? Look online or at a community college for more specialized classes, sharpen your skills, and turn it into a career. Life after college is all about applying what we know.
The reality is the world probably changed a lot while you were in college: new jobs that you haven’t dreamed of emerged, workplace culture norms evolved, and a job market with different expectations emerged. But don’t let that stop you from diving in. There’s no telling what twists and turns your career might take, but what’s important is to keep growing, keep going, and embrace the journey. Congratulations, and welcome to post-college life! Things may be different now, but if you’re open to them, exciting opportunities are around every corner.
There are only so many hours in a day, and you only have so many resources at your command. Luckily, there are a number of productivity tips you can embrace in order to get more done. Learn how to save time, increase productivity, and take control of your day. Incorporating these five productivity hacks into your routine can make all the difference in achieving your goals.
It’s fairly common knowledge that it is vital to create long term goals for yourself, to give yourself something to strive for. What you may not have considered is that giving yourself a deadline to work against can actually improve productivity! If there is an end date you need to have a project completed by, it’s much harder for you to procrastinate.
To get an early jump on your day, start planning for it the evening before. You should examine your schedule for the upcoming day to start planning out how you are going to organize work hours. Do all of your appointments make sense as they are scheduled? Do you have any materials you need to review ahead of time?
Set aside blocks of time to make phone calls or to complete tasks between meetings. Once you have the general shape of your day mapped out, write out your to-do list for the day. Capture all the important tasks that you want to complete the next day and rank them by level of priority. Choose your outfit and set it aside. You may even want to take 15 minutes and make your lunch ahead of time. That way you can get up and go immediately without any lost time.
It’s easy to get caught up in the mentality of working wherever and whenever you can manage to. Time management and being productive when you're working from home is just as important as workplace productivity. While a stop at the coffee shop to knock out a few items on the to-do list may be helpful, it’s important for you to make your home workspace your own.
Start by decluttering your space. A space free of clutter sets the appropriate mental tone to maintain your focus. This should also help to minimize distractions that may take you off task. Consider using a program to block social media and other websites where you like to spend personal time. It can be really easy to get lost in your friends’ vacation pictures when you should be taking care of business.
The first thing many of us do when we wake up is check our email. Don’t! Break yourself of this time draining habit. Stay on top of your correspondence, yes, but don’t let it dictate your schedule. Part of learning how to increase productivity is to taking control of your time. Set aside a predetermined amount of time early in the day to address emails. Start with the most critical ones, and work downwards by level of importance. If you don’t get to a lower priority email during your allotted time, it can wait until later in the day after you have completed your most crucial tasks.
You may be tempted to go full force without stopping to achieve your daily goals. However, in order to be more productive overall, MIT Senior Lecturer Bob Pozen suggests that a bit of a break allows your brain the opportunity to take advantage of one of our body’s built-in productivity hacks. That time lets your brain switch modes so it can actually process and organize all the information that has been flowing through it.
Try setting aside a period of time once a week for to conduct a review of all of your activity from the previous week. This can give you the opportunity to clean up any lingering action items, get up to date on your progress towards your goals, and gives you some time to think creatively about how you want to invest your energy going forward. Giving yourself space to breathe and collect yourself is an important step in learning how to increase productivity in a sustainable manner.
In order to truly master your life and your time, it’s important to stay focused on what you need to do and how you need to do it. These productivity hacks will help you master your own potential and stay in the present moment. Practice them every day, and soon you will be unstoppable!
Everyone knows that “Coffee’s for closers,” but sales and marketing professionals take extra special pride in knowing all the best movie and TV sales quotes inside and out. Test your quote IQ with this quiz, featuring quotes from all your favorite movies and TV shows about business, sales, and marketing, and find out how you rate against the competition.
What do you call an accomplishment that isn’t preceded by a set of goals?
A lucky break!
Setting goals is an essential stepping stone leading to any achievement. Goals set direction, allow you to maintain focus, and reflect a reachable destination. But be careful: If you make those stepping stones too slippery with misdirected purpose or too far apart with unrealistic expectations, you won’t get any closer to your dream. In fact, you may fall off the path completely. Here’s a list of common goal setting mistakes—and how to avoid them.
Don't be Unrealistic
While goals should certainly be challenging and effortful to achieve, they should not be completely out of the realm of possibility. For instance, you might set the goal to complete a marathon. On the way to pursuing that goal, however, you need to ramp up your endurance in increments. Attempting to run 26.2 miles without properly training is just setting yourself up for failure. Rather, plan a training schedule that will get you in optimum shape for the race. As motivational speaker Zig Ziglar said, “A goal properly set is halfway reached.”
Don't Overlook the Details
Have a bigger plan. If you’re setting goals to get promoted to manager by next year, there are probably many things you need to accomplish to make that happen, not just one. Think of your goals as part of a larger plan, not just arbitrary numbers. Seeking to become an author? Start by writing shorter pieces, investigating the publishing process, joining a writer’s group, and taking the steps for bigger success.
Don't Give Up After a Few Setbacks
Remember that failures are essential to growth and success. Anything worth accomplishing will probably come with its fair share of hurdles. The key to avoiding this goal setting mistake is how you handle those setbacks and the lessons you take from them.
Don't Stifle Your Passion
Set goals that you truly care to reach. Setting goals is personal, and you shouldn’t set goals solely based on what other people want or expect of you. Accept advice from well-meaning people, but avoid adopting their views as your own without doing some real soul searching. To achieve a significant goal, you’ll need ample passion and commitment, and that comes from setting goals you care about.
Don't Ignore the Journey While Focusing on the End Result
Remember that goals aren’t just about where you end up—they are also about the growth you experience along the way. If you are not paying attention to the progress you’re making against your goal, you could be left scrambling at the last minute—another recipe for failure.
Don't Overfill Your Plate
Setting an abundance of goals can sap your energy. While you want to make sure you’re focusing on all the right things, trying to achieve too many different things within the same period of time can feel scattershot and unfocused. Instead of making this goal setting mistake, and taking on seven or eight goals and then struggling to juggle them, hone in on three or four big goals and crush them.
As best-selling author Seth Godin says, “Everybody has their own Mount Everest they were put on this earth to climb.” So while you aim high, keep this list of DON’Ts close to keep you grounded. Soon, you will find yourself reaching new heights. If you set challenging goals that are right-sized, you will be well on your way to achieving your dreams.
Helping employees perform at their best is exciting, but it isn’t always easy. Well-meaning mangers can sometimes counteract their own efforts by approaching employee coaching the wrong way. Giving feedback constructively can be invaluable to employees' career growth and can help them develop critical skills they will carry with them as they ascend toward roles of greater responsibility. Through thoughtful coaching—and by avoiding the leadership pitfalls below—you can help set up your employees for long-term success.
Mistake #1: Not Giving Feedback at All
It’s human nature to want to be nice and avoid rocking the boat. Few of us relish conflict, but giving feedback directly is critical for your employees to be able to improve themselves. They need your help recognizing where they have fallen short, as well as their areas of success, in order to grow and reach their potential. Without that information, they are likely to continue along the same path.
Mistake #2: Letting it Pile Up
Because providing constructive criticism is uncomfortable, some managers wait until there is a laundry list of issues that need to be corrected before they set up meetings to coach employees. This is unfair to the employee, because he or she may have no idea that they were doing anything wrong, and now they face a long and overwhelming list of errors they must correct. Delays in giving feedback set up employees for failure. Instead, check in frequently with your employees to let them know how they are performing and how they are pacing against the objectives for their role.
Mistake #3: Not Setting Clear Expectations
Employees should not have to be mind readers when it comes to what is expected of them. Coaching employees effectively includes working with them to clearly define what success looks like for their role. Having well-defined goals and expectations gives the employee the opportunity to plan ahead and maintain control of their own progress. With increased clarity comes faster, better results.
Mistake #4: Giving Vague Feedback
When offering your employees constructive criticism, make sure to always be specific and offer examples. If you tell your employee, “I really need you to learn to write better,” it will be very hard for the employee to correct or improve the behavior—what exactly does “better” mean? Instead, say something like, "Before you turn in reports, please make sure to proofread for spelling and punctuation errors. Your last report had several errors, which could have been avoided with a little more time and attention paid to accuracy.” Giving feedback of this kind lets the employee know exactly what you are referring to and what they can do to improve.
Mistake #5: Doing All the Talking
Mentoring and coaching employees should be a two-way process. Employees should be given the opportunity to explain themselves, ask questions, and provide ideas. By speaking with, rather than at, employees, leaders gain perspective and allow employees the opportunity to clarify feedback and solutions necessary to correct their performance missteps.
Mistake #6: Prescribing Solutions
You’ve been around the block, and you probably have great ideas to help your employee improve his or her performance. At the same time, no one solution is right for everyone. While your ideas will certainly be helpful, they should be offered as suggestions rather than directives. Allowing employees to devise their own plans of action also helps them learn to be more self-sufficient going forward, and enlisting their help encourages them to look at problems from a different angle.
When employee coaching is done in a positive and collaborative way, managers find that employees become eager for feedback rather than fearful of it. Great coaching empowers employees by providing clear paths to success and opportunities to build on their strengths.
It’s no secret that effective leadership is critical to any company’s success. While each CEO brings a unique set of abilities to the table, there are some valuable CEO traits that everyone should have. Whether you’re a fledgling leader or a seasoned pro, adopting these 7 CEO traits will help you become more effective in your role.
In today’s challenging business environment, change is inevitable and adaptability is the new competitive advantage. Great leaders recognize that the strong CEO trait of being able to adjust makes you more valuable in an ever-changing environment. It enables you to excel as a leader because you gain experience and learn to modify your responses to handle different situations appropriately.
Communication is key in any company, but it’s an especially important CEO trait. Having good communication skills means knowing how to position matters in the best way possible to help you achieve your desired outcome. Communication isn’t only verbal—it includes non-verbal cues such as facial expressions and body language which can affect the impact of your message. Great leaders are able to be unemotional and manage conflict by giving everyone a voice, but not necessarily a vote.
A high-performing CEO trait is the ability to listen. Great leaders consistently listen to others and seek out the ideas, opinions, and even the advice of others. They recognize the need to be able to read people and adapt their management styles to elicit the kinds of responses and actions needed to produce results. Effective leadership comes from those who are continuously learning and are open to feedback from others.
Strong CEOs are influential, inspirational, and good motivators. They are able to create alignment and get all stakeholders—whether employees, board members, or clients—to buy into the business’s strategy. Having buy in at all levels is critical to effective leadership, executing the business’s strategy, and achieving its goals.
Taking calculated risks means considering all the possibilities and probabilities before taking bold and assertive action that has the potential to produce growth and results. Effective leadership requires driving transformation and innovation by daring to take these calculated risks and learning from the occasional failure along the way. Embracing risk also helps to overcome the fear of failure, as leaders realize that setbacks are the most effective way to learn and grow.
Effective leadership requires a clear vision that team members can buy into. CEOs need to be able to communicate in such a way that they instill confidence in others and elicit the kinds of actions and thinking that result in better performance. Effective leaders have conviction and are able to understand all the working parts of a business, and make quick, far-reaching decisions that benefit the company as a whole.
Many high-performing entrepreneurs will tell you that having resilience is key to success. Despite best efforts, the path to success isn't always a direct journey. Sometimes success is built on failure; as a leader, you need to be able to turn failure around and learn from mistakes. Successful CEOs are resilient because they understand the impact of failure, learn to think differently, and are determined to achieve their goals no matter what.
Having these key CEO traits will help differentiate you, foster effective leadership, and elevate you to become the most exceptional leader you can be.
Pivotal coaching moments in sports are great metaphors for business and life, because we’re all trying to win, make progress, or get to the next level. The best coaches—and the most inspirational speeches—strip away all the distractions and remind us that accomplishing goals is completely possible if we own our greatness.
In this small-town sports film, Matthew McConaughey plays Marshall University’s new football coach, Jack Lengyel, who arrives in the aftermath of a 1970 plane crash that claimed the lives of 75 Marshall team members and boosters. Lengyel encourages his team, telling them that even though they are vastly outmatched, if they play with all their heart, they can never lose, regardless what the scoreboard says. Marshall goes on to win on the final play of the game. The message is clear: accomplishing goals—even difficult ones—is possible when you believe in yourself and your team.
One of the most memorable underdog stories to play out on the international stage, the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team’s improbable victory over the seemingly invincible Soviet team, was made for Hollywood. Kurt Russell is Coach Herb Brooks, who delivers the stirring “This is your time” pregame inspirational speech that sparked the team’s gutsy gold medal run. This is movie offers plenty of inspiration for anyone facing impossible odds.
High school basketball coach Ken Carter (Samuel L. Jackson) benched his entire undefeated team in 1999 due to their collective poor academic performance. His role as a tough, principled mentor has its shining moment when, after a defeat, he tells his team in an inspirational speech that he’s watched them mature into men who have achieved victory within themselves by excelling as students. Coach Carter is a great reminder that success is a journey, not just an end goal.
The pressure is on Coach Gary Gaines (Billy Bob Thornton) and the Permian High School football team to make the playoffs in light of the local community’s high expectations. In his halftime inspirational speech during the final game of what would be an undefeated season, Coach Gaines sheds new light on the true meaning of perfection: being a person of integrity in your relationships.
This Oscar-nominated movie about a small-town Indiana high school basketball team that ends up winning the state championship excels, offering on-the-court lessons about dedication, determination, and redemption. Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) gives an intense pregame speech, imploring his players to forget about winning or losing and instead, play to their potential. If they do that, the results will come. This movie is sure to inspire anyone who believes that hard work, passion, and grit can take you anywhere you want to go.
Newly appointed African-American high school football coach Herman Boone (Denzel Washington) must lead his team’s first racially integrated season in 1971. Battling lingering racial prejudice from the community while breaking down barriers between his own players, Boone takes his team out to the site of the Battle of Gettysburg to deliver an inspirational speech about unity. This movie sends a powerful message about the importance of supporting each other in accomplishing goals.
These coaches emphasize the value of having heart, sound principles, integrity, unity, and seizing the moment when it’s go time. In sports, and in life, coaching can make all the difference. The next time you find yourself facing adversity, seek inspiration from these examples of great coaching to up your game when it comes to accomplishing goals.
It’s common for people to have misconceptions about any industry or field they haven’t directly experienced, and sales is no exception. Some people may shy away from making a career in sales, because they have preconceived notions of what working in sales is all about. If you’re considering getting into sales, it’s important to have the right information. Here we uncover 10 sales myths—and offer you some sales facts to combat them.
1. One Pitch Fits All
When it comes to sales, one pitch doesn’t fit all. Every prospect has different needs and as such, every pitch must be tailored to suit those unique needs. Positioning your message to suit your customer is critical to landing that sale. Perform your due diligence—research the customer or the market so you can better understand them and communicates in a way that addresses their interests and concerns.
2. Scripts are for Rookies
This is a particularly malicious sales myth. The fact is that preparation is always beneficial. Simply put, it provides the framework for your prospecting campaign. Even seasoned salespeople must practice their pitches. Writing a script will help you to anticipate any questions the customer may have, and it helps to ensure you know the key benefits of the product or service you’re selling.
3. The First Three Minutes Determine the Success of a Sale
While first impressions do count, the first three minutes is not long enough to establish if you’ve closed the deal. Everyone is different, and many customers decide to make a purchase after they’ve grown comfortable with the salesperson. Rather than focusing on any arbitrary time limit suggested by this sales myth—apply that attention to establishing a relationship with the customer by engaging them in conversation and asking them relevant questions to help you better position your pitch.
4. Sales is about Getting People to Buy Things they Don’t Want
Good salesmanship is about connecting people with things they need, not convincing them that they need something they don’t. Great salespeople become great by asking questions and seeking to understand exactly what the customer is looking for so they can provide the best solutions. That’s an important sales fact to repeat often and eagerly.
5. Salespeople Care More about Commissions than about People
This sales myth is just silly. Like anyone, salespeople hope to be successful at what they do, and the fact is you can’t be good at sales if you don’t like and care about people. Great salespeople are passionate about what they do and they love and care about their customers. Good salespeople are concerned about creating satisfied customers—those are the customers who keep coming back.
6. Salespeople are Born, Not Made
With anything in life, commitment and training are key ingredients to becoming successful. While many of your personal traits will prove beneficial to your sales career, training, practice, and ambition are what will ultimately decide your success as a salesperson. In fact, great salespeople pride themselves on maintaining a student mentality—a passion for lifelong learning, growth, and development. You can develop yourself and your skills by using free online resources such as blogs or watching TED talks. Check out two Cydcor blogs in particular: “How to be a Successful Salesperson” and “How to Write a Winning Elevator Pitch.”
7. Salespeople are Only out for Themselves
Salespeople are certainly not out for themselves. Great salespeople are working to build a business and add value to their organization, not just to make a sale. They’re interested in being as efficient and effective as possible to achieve their goals. They know that the success of others doesn’t take away from their own chances for success so they’re happy to share what they know and see others reach their goals. This is one of the more damaging sales myths out there—those who walk this walk quickly discover that it won’t take them far.
8. All Salespeople are Extroverts
It’s a common sales myth that all salespeople are outgoing and assertive. Being a successful salesperson means having the ability to make people comfortable and being a great listener—whether you’re an introvert or extrovert. Being an attentive listener is key because it allows you to hear what the customer really wants and needs. This, in turn, better positions you to address their concerns and fulfill those needs with the right products and/or services.
9. Technology Rules
Technology has advanced at a rapid rate. While it has certainly helped speed things up and improved the resources available to salespeople, there are just some things computers can’t do. True selling always comes down to having great people skills and sales skills. No matter what, face-to-face contact remains invaluable in the sales industry because people connect with other people more than they do with any other form of advertising.
10. Great Products Sell Themselves
While great products are easier to sell, they still need to be sold. It’s up to the salesperson to create awareness of the product. Customers need to understand how your product or service can fulfill their needs and where and when those needs can be met. Even a great product needs marketing and sales support.
For many, the idea of speaking in public is daunting. While a little nervous energy is healthy, excessive public speaking anxiety can be crippling. Being charismatic and engaging doesn’t necessarily come naturally, even to successful business people and world leaders. Whether it’s a keynote speech for hundreds of people or a simple team meeting, it takes a lot of effort to be a great speaker, starting with controlling your nerves.
Learn how to manage your nerves and boost your confidence so you can confidently conquer public speaking.
1. Get into the Zone
Focusing mentally before a public speaking event will allow you to give your best quality output. Make sure you’re comfortable with the venue by arriving a little early to get a feel for the set up. If possible, do a brief run through with the microphone. Whether it’s a small breakaway room or even the parking lot, find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed and take a moment to focus. Different people need different things, so you’ll need to learn what works best for you.
2. Warm Up
Public speaking can feel like a workout. Get yourself physically ready by doing some vocal exercises, which will help you project your voice and come across more confident in your delivery. Now, strike a power pose. Amy Cuddy, a body language researcher at Harvard Business School, suggests power posing to ease nerves before a presentation or public speaking engagement. According to Cuddy’s research, simply putting your hands on your hips or striking the CEO or Superman pose for two minutes will reduce your levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. This will give you a boost and make you look and feel powerful.
3. Work on Your Body Language
Public speaking isn’t just about what you’re saying, it’s also about how you’re saying it. The way you convey yourself—your body language, your facial expressions, and even your gestures—can affect the impact of your delivery. It’s important to be mindful of these nonverbal cues. Simple things like keeping your posture upright and expanding your chest helps. Smiling and making eye contact will put your audience at ease even if you’re speaking about a more serious topic.
You can read more body language dos and don’ts in our blog, 8 Common Professional Body Language Mistakes to Avoid.
4. Memorize Your Content
Memorizing the sequence of your slides or your note cards—whatever you’re using to prepare or presenting visually—will help you to feel in control and allow you to anticipate which slide comes next, making you look more professional. Start by memorizing key points and you’ll slowly begin to weave a story line. It will also reduce the likelihood of you getting off track should you feel overcome with your public speaking anxiety.
5. Tell a Story
The more data-driven your content, the harder it is to keep your audience engaged. Telling a story with your content is a good way to connect with your audience. It will help them understand where the concept comes from and what it means. The key is making sure you have a thread that links the different ideas and concepts throughout your presentation.
Structure your material so you start and end strong. Don’t waste time with a longwinded introduction, especially if you have a time limit. You may even consider starting with a personal anecdote or provocative question—something that will make the audience feel they can relate to and connect with you.
6. Rehearse
The best way to boost your confidence is to rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. This will also help you memorize the material. Ideally, rehearse in front of someone. If that’s not possible, you can use a mirror. Always time yourself while rehearsing to ensure you don’t exceed the time you’ve been allocated. If your presentation includes a question-and-answer session, you can prepare some model questions and answers ahead of time to help ease your public speaking anxiety.
7. Pace Yourself
Be mindful not to lose your audience. There’s a fine line between speaking too fast and too slow. Speaking too fast can make you come across as nervous. You can manage the pace of your public speaking by including pauses before or after key statements. This will make them stand out and have the added benefit of giving you a breather.
8. Stay Hydrated
Drinking warm drinks before your engagement will soothe your throat. Nerves can make your mouth go dry, so keep a bottle of water nearby to keep hydrated.
Like most things in life, practice makes perfect when it comes to combating public speaking anxiety. The best way to build your confidence is to take up every opportunity you can to speak, no matter how small the audience. The more experience you have, the more confident you’ll be and the better you’ll become at managing your nerves.
Whether you’re seeking to advance your career or grow your business, making progress toward your goals can come down to your ability to enlist the help of others—often through activating one’s personal power bases. Perhaps you need to ask for a raise or a promotion, or maybe you need to request funding to kick off an exciting new project or cover the cost of new hires. Whatever the case, understanding how to get others on board is critical to achieving the outcome you’re hoping for. But if you’re low on the totem pole or just beginning to establish your fledgling business, asking others to reward you with money, time, or increased responsibility can feel like a David vs. Goliath scenario.
Don’t underestimate yourself, though: you may have a lot more personal power than you think. A person’s power bases are the sources from which they draw credibility, influence, and character, traits that can be assets when asking others to help your cause. Power bases can come in many forms, and you may have more than one effective power base to draw from. You simply need to learn how to identify your power bases and use them to your advantage. By recognizing the sources of your power, you can feel more confident as you ask for the things you need to achieve your goals.
Recognizing your personal sources of power is critical to your ability to collaborate with others and ask for the resources and opportunities you’ll need to grow your company and advance your career. It’s easy to underestimate oneself and overlook how much you have to bring to the table. Success in business requires constant negotiation, and by understanding your own power to get others on your side, you improve your chances of achieving the results you’re hoping for and reaching your goals.