“So, have you prepared for the presentation?”
“Don’t worry, I’m not afraid of public speaking; I’ll do great.“

And this is where those who are not afraid go wrong.

In presentations, the mantra “prepare well” holds twice as true, especially for people who are not afraid of public speaking. They give the worst public speaking performances. It seems counterintuitive, but it’s true. Not so much from a performance perspective (in fact, they are good speakers), but from the perspective of their ability to convey a message.

They are calm and confident, which leads them to underestimate their presentation. They don’t prepare, so their performances are “aesthetically” great (voice tone, non-verbal language, proxemics, etc.) but lacking in audience engagement and message transmission. They don’t communicate anything.

As a result, the audience is fascinated but needs help understanding the key message and the purpose of the presentation.

It’s pointless to be a stage animal if your skill isn’t in service of strong and convincing content tailored to your audience.

Presenting doesn’t mean giving a stage to your ego but communicating an idea or a product in a way that persuades your audience. And to do this, preparation is fundamental if you want to be persuasive and compelling.

Muhammad Ali once said, “I run on the road long before I dance under the lights.”