Taking the place of another speaker

During a recent discussion with one of the members of the list, he made me realize something I rarely think of while preparing my newsletters. I have been focusing a lot on preparation and practice before giving a presentation. But as he told me, sometimes you can't practice because you're asked at the last minute to give a speech that someone else has prepared.

This can happen if the original presenter fell sick, was called off to do something more important, or who knows, maybe because someone wants to test your mettle.

In these situations, you will most likely feel a greater level of anxiety than if you had prepared the speech yourself. Things get compounded if you're given handouts, or PowerPoint slides to use, but you've never seen them before.

Here are a few tips to help you the next time it happens to you:

• Accept that you will not be at your best: in a perfect world, you would have had plenty of time to prepare and practice your speech. In this case, since you didn't have that time, just do the best you can. Don't focus too much on your performance, focus more on the content, and stick to what you know best about the content.
• Focus on the audience: in this type of impromptu speech, just as in any type of speech, your focus should always be towards your audience. The more you think about the audience and what benefits you can bring to them, the less you will think about yourself and your performance, and the less anxiety you will feel. Remember that if you have been asked to do the presentation, it is because you have the qualities and the knowledge required to deliver it. It usually is a proof of faith in your abilities. Take the opportunity to do the best you can for the audience. And as always, remember not to draw attention to the fact that you did not have time to prepare adequately.
• Prepare as a team: the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results. If you notice that you're often called upon to do a speech for someone else, ask that person to let you know ahead of time and prepare the presentation together. Think of it as being the understudy of a play. In any play, the main performer always has a backup in case he or she is unable to perform on any given night. Do the same for your speeches. When you prepare with your colleague, both of you will have the same exposure to the material, to the handouts, and to the PowerPoint slides. Therefore, if one of you is asked to replace the other at the last minute, you will already have an idea of what and how to present.

Doing a speech instead of someone else is usually no fun. However, as long as you treat it as an opportunity instead of a punishment, you can always get a positive outcome from this experience. And who knows, by doing this often enough, you just might get noticed and you may be asked to give all presentations. You'll then be able to get a little revenge once in a while!