Paul du Toit on Presentation Skills

A while back I was delivering a public seminar in East London on the east coast of South Africa. Although the function coordinator had been given a full list of my requirements, I arrived at the venue to find that the setup was far from complete. To start with, the venue was locked. I wasted what seemed like an eternity arranging for the door to be opened. Then my “locksmith” disappeared! So instead of being free to set up my equipment I was reduced to moving tables and chairs around and creating a reception area. Shortly before my guests were due to arrive for registration, the hotel staff started sauntering in, with no sense of urgency whatsoever.

Mustering all my assertive powers, I created sufficient urgency to get events moving in the right direction, then found a manager to take control of the bad situation. This freed me to set up my presentation equipment. By the time I was happy with the room setup and all my equipment was working, there were only 15 minutes to go before my talk was due to commence and I was not in the best frame of mind. With the “front of house” situation now under control, I walked upstairs into the fresh air on the esplanade and spent the next eight minutes taking in the sea, the rocks, the waves and the gulls while doing a bit of earnest self-talk.

My audience were in no way responsible for the shambles at reception. They had not only paid good money, but had set aside precious time to come and hear me speak. What an honour, what a privilege! Today, I promised myself, I would deliver the most powerful, energetic, convincing and humorous talk I had ever delivered. And I did.

That talk stands out to this day as one of my most highly rated by a public audience. It proved to me that I was in control of my emotions – and you can be too!

Paul du Toit, Certified Speaking Professional and author of “Even YOU Can Present with Confidence”. This is an excerpt from Chapter 1 of the book.