In a world of AI-generated content, your ability to stand in front of a room and make people believe something has become more valuable, not less. The stage hasn’t changed. No agent is doing this for you.
Most people feel some version of nerves before presenting. That’s not a weakness. It’s physiology. The goal isn’t to eliminate the feeling; it’s to recognise it, prepare for it, and deliver in spite of it.
Early in my career I could not even speak out in a small group setting. I’d flush, I’d stutter, I’d feel self conscious. People were looking at me. Over a long period of time, I gained confidence and was coached on how to deliver content well. This was not an overnight sensation by any stretch of the imagination. It took years. But here’s the underlying secret: it’s really only 2 things.
When you stand up to present, your brain treats isolation and scrutiny as a form of stress. Sweaty hands, a quaver in your voice, the urge to rush, these are normal stress responses. The first thing to do is simply name what’s happening. Acknowledgement is the beginning of regulation. I used to say out loud “well, you’re nervous Adam, guess that means you care about this one. So lets go kick some ass”. Side note: as someone diagnosed with panic disorder, one of the techniques I was taught when in that spin cycle and unable to breathe is to humm to yourself … your brain hears the humm and realizes “oh, I can breathe, because you can’t humm when you’re genuinely asphyxiating”. The brain is a wonderful thing.
My absolute number one practical step: be prepared.
Know your content well enough to deliver it without the slides. Practice until you can recite the key points in sequence without looking at anything. That’s the threshold, not “I’ve read through it a few times,” but “I could do this in the dark.”
A Goldilocks note on practice: too little and you’ll stumble. Too much and you’ll fatigue, rush on the day, and sound like you’re reciting rather than communicating. The sweet spot is when you can run through the material cleanly, multiple times in a row, without the deck in front of you. Once you’re there, you’re ready.
A few practical details that matter more than people admit: eat in moderation beforehand, drink water just before (and have some on stage), go to the bathroom, and wear something you’ve worn many times before. Don’t debut a new outfit or new shoes on a high-stakes day. You’ll be thinking about that and not your delivery. Ask me how I know.
A few things to trust once you’re in the room:
You know more than your audience. You know what’s coming. They don’t. That asymmetry is your advantage.
It’s always okay to take a sip of water. Have some even if you don’t end up needing it. Just knowing it’s there is calming.
Take a breath before you start. Not a subtle one. A real one. Especially if you’ve walked out to the front of the room or done anything that elevated your heart rate.
If you’ve done the preparation, the delivery will come. Trust the work you put in.
You crushed it. Take a short walk. Let the adrenaline clear. Review briefly in your mind how you thought it went, and be honest without being hard on yourself. Listen to the feedback, but set a high bar for what you take onboard.
Presenting is a skill. It atrophies without use and improves with repetition. The PMM who presents regularly, in low-stakes and high-stakes settings both, will always outperform the one who only does it when forced to.
In an AI-first world, this is one of your most durable competitive advantages. Practice it.
Full post: Presentations and Demos →