[Updated 2024]
As a presenter or speaker, should you be interesting or interested?
When I was younger I used to worry that I was never interesting enough; I was quite shy, and never one of the cool girls…and I used to fret that I had nothing special or exciting to say socially.
Well one of the great things about getting older is that I’ve become pretty comfortable with who I am – and no longer worry when presenting to groups that I’m not an interesting or dynamic enough speaker.
I know that my content is solid, and that the right audience will like my style and approach. (And I usually have the luxury of choosing which audiences I speak to!)
But what can you do when you don’t believe that you’re interesting enough as a speaker, or you don’t have a choice with content or audience?
Trying to be interesting can add a whole other layer of pressure!
I have a different suggestion – a better focus would be to ask yourself this:
“Am I interested?
Interested in my audience?
Interested in my topic?
Interested in showing my audience why this topic matters, and specifically why it matters to them?”
So if you fret about not being interesting – or worse, actively uninteresting – see if you can flip it around:
if you struggle to be interested in your content (or you don’t believe in it, but have to deliver it anyway), shift your focus and energy to working out how you can make your delivery of that content more interesting.
You might ask yourself: “how can I successfully get my message across to this audience?” What will interest them? How can I engage with what they need, or want?
This will probably take focus and thinking time, but it can make a radical difference to your presentations.
Best wishes with your public speaking and presentations!
