If you stand up and deliver every detail of this deck to senior managers (or to anyone for that matter), they’re going to be overwhelmed and wonder what you want them to do with all this.

Think about what problem you are solving, and the passion you had to start this business. At the same time, get to the root of what is driving you to act.

As I teach in my workshops, there are a lot of things you can do about nerves, but adding the visual of your audience in their underwear most likely will short circuit and distract you from why you’re speaking in the first place.

In our daily lives, this critical committee can provide valuable information on how we’re doing based on a set of goals we’ve set for ourselves. But when you’re addressing a group in a high stakes situation, they’ll sabotage your confidence - and your delivery.

Follow the rule of 5 when you’re pressed for time. Once you’ve clarified why you’re speaking and what you want your audience to do as a result, speak through your presentation out loud 5 times.

If you listen to professionals doing voice overs or ads, you’ll notice they’re hitting different pitches which makes it easier to take in what they’re saying.

At least once a week (but often more if I have the time), I pull out a record, and sit down and just listen. I look at the record cover, watch the record spin, meditate on the lyrics, or just close my eyes to take it in and get away from all of distractions in my life.

Follow these 3 tips. You’ll lower your stress, boost your confidence, and wow your crowd.

The next time you’re speaking at a meeting, in front of a group, or maybe on a land line–use your phone to record yourself and listen back afterwards. You can use the voice memo function or start a video with the camera facing down (so you just focus on the audio).

So, take a breath, pause and truly engage with your audience, making eye contact to see if they’ve received your message. Imagine that there’s a thought bubble that appears after each major thought that asks: “Did you get that?”

So prepare as best you can, do lots of run throughs, and cut yourself some slack. Try to have a sense of humor, and expect a stumble here and there.

Ask yourself beforehand, what do you want your audience to do, think or feel? What verb that captures that?

The effort you put into making a positive first impression lays the groundwork that gets results. The thought bubble in the head of your audience says “this is someone I’d like to work with,” and everything from there on out becomes much easier.