Do You Stay Up Late The Night Before Your Presentation?

by Promod Sharma, President 2011-2012, CC

‘Tis the night before a presentation
and all through the house,
not a creature is stirring
’cept my ‘puter mouse.

That's because I'm still making changes to my slides.

Get Rest

When you sleep early the night before a presentation, you're alert the next day. You look fresh. Your mind is sharp. You're in control. Your socks match. You're at your best.

What if you can't sleep because you're worrying about your presentation? You won't be fresh, sharp or at your best.

Stay Up

I tend to stay up late the night before. This allows time for last minute refinements that improve quality. When I do go to bed, I'm ready to sleep.

I should have trouble waking up the next morning. While I'll be tired, there's a nervous excitement that gets me out of bed and ready to go. Exhaustion doesn’t hit until after my session.

Haze

Presenting with a hazy mind can be an advantage. The content is fresher in your memory even if you're not fresh. You have a deeper understanding.

My haze evaporates just before I start speaking. Thanks nervous energy! I might make interesting deviations from what I planned to say. That's an advantage of a wandering mind.

There are drawbacks to lack of sleep. I tend to use more crutchwords and longer, run-on sentences. The conscious mind is less able to maintain quality control. I didn't realize this was happening until I started recording my sessions.

Why am I telling you all this? I have a presentation to freelancers on How To Earn And Keep Trust in the morning. I really should be asleep. Instead, I’m blogging and tweaking. Why break tradition?

Links

• The two tools PowerPoint presenters need
• Three tips to add impact to your content
• Beyond buzz words
• What goes wrong when presenting outside your club?
• Three mistakes seminar speakers make
• Make your presentation better than a TED Talk
• Speaking as a panelist
• Get feedback from the right group
• image courtesy of Wouter Tolenaars (Holland)

Promod Sharma is more of a night owl than an early bird. You'll find his presentations at http://www.promodsharma.com/presentations.