Tongue in cheek: the art of presentation

Do you suffer from a “presentension”?  It is a condition that tends to manifest itself when you are about to give a speech in front of a group. When all eyes are on you, you begin feeling the warmth of their welcome literally, as if you were transported into a sauna, still in your business suit.  So you sweat a little…or a lot.  Then you mind goes blank.  We are not sure why it happens, but it may be a result of the telepathic abilities of your audience.  The information leaves your head and goes directly into theirs.  So there you are, standing in front of a bunch of people, and you have nothing to say.  They, on the other hand, already know everything that was part of your presentation.  So they watch you suffer and think:  “What new can you possibly tell us?”  Then just as you are about to open your mouth and ask” How are you today?” the air gets sucked out of your lungs and a big hot potato rolls up your throat, turning your mouth dry.   It’s really hard to give your speech if you have a “presentension” attack.  But have no fear.  You can find out the ways to alleviate the symptoms in Guy Kawasaki’s post “Speaking as a Performing Art” and its follow up “Bite Your Tongue: Eight More Ways To Improve Your Presentations.”  The tips are the result of his collaboration with Doug Lawrence, who is a professional singer and speech coach.  There are many similarities between speaking and singing, so learning about how singers control their performance can be beneficial to all of us.  Who knew that biting you tongue literally (and gently) could help your dry mouth:  “Opera singers use this all the time to release saliva which moistens your mouth.”