Many speakers seem to head to the podium under the impression that their audience is just waiting for them to screw up, as if everyone will be looking for the least little error or grammatical bobble and just so they can say, “Aha! I knew you were a loser.” But think about it.
First of all, many of the common errors speakers make, such as leaving out a point they planned to make or mixing up the order of the points, aren’t even apparent to the audience. They don’t know what you planned to say. I’ve left out whole sections of speeches, either accidentally or because I was running out of time and no one was the wiser.
Others errors, such as getting a model number wrong or mispronouncing a name, may register with a few people, but many either won’t realize you made a mistake or won’t remember it later. People don’t remember the majority of what you tell them anyway, so they’re bound to forget points you messed up too. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t strive to get everything right, just that it’s a not a major catastrophe if you don’t.
Second, your audience is hoping you’ll do well. Nobody goes to a movie hoping it sucks or goes to a restaurant hoping the food is awful. Likewise, no employer goes into a job interview hoping the candidate is a loser or to a presentation hoping the speaker is terrible.
Your audience is pulling for you to be great. They want you to wow them. You begin with their goodwill in your pocket. That doesn’t mean you can’t lose it if you aren’t prepared or don’t have their interests at heart; and once they turn on you for that, there’s no getting them back. But provided you’re doing your level best to give them what they expected, want or need, it takes a relatively major problem to turn them against you.
Knowing that they’re in your corner from the beginning should give you a big jolt of confidence.
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