COVID-19 is on everyone's minds. Many businesses have asked staff to work from home when possible. Video conferencing might be the primary way many of us will be meeting for the next (hopefully) short span of time.

Once you’re clear on their needs, you can speak specifically to their concerns, and leave out anything that’s not relevant.

Ask any actor and they'll tell you the story of blanking out, and how they lived through it. Don't let it freak you out or define who you are.

Within 30 seconds, it was hard to pay attention to what he was saying because he was speaking in the most monotone voice we’d ever heard.

Anytime you’re going to be speaking in front of anyone, speak through your content at least 5 times out loud.

After many years of leading presentation skills workshops, I’ve found that the number one thing people DON'T do when preparing to speak is rehearse. The majority of presenters spend 95% of their time working on their slide deck and just 5% practicing their actual talk.

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?