Most of us are not happy presenters.
Consider the complications: the drill of assembling our ideas, putting them in order, finding that, nope, they’re out of order, rearranging them, developing slides, exhausting our eyes as we create clever little graphics, only to find that they are way too busy, or not interesting enough, or the headlines need fixing. Or, worse yet, deciding not to use slides.
And then the attempts to get the whole damn thing up on it’s hind legs. How will we rehearse? Will we write a script or just use bullet points? Should we invite the boss to our rehearsal or just a trusted colleague? Will we rehearse at all? Maybe we think we know our content so well that we can step to the front of the room and wing it. We’ll need good luck if we go that route.
Rehearsal introduces us to everything we might forget to say. We worry about going blank, having a meltdown. Those of us who have never been actors or singers or dancers or musicians–which is probably most of us– are not familiar with the rigors of rehearsing. It can feel like we are walking abroad in our underwear. Especially if the material is new, the audience is important, and the stakes are high.
So let’s just say most of us do not radiate happiness when we step in front of a crowd. The burden is heavy. We are the engine that must pull the long train of thought. We are likely to be grim with responsibility and pressure.
And then there is Dr. Elizabeth Frates, (Fray-tees) whose presentation at Harvard Medical School, called Managing Your Energy to Thrive, is a playground–a jungle gym–of health and happiness.
She engages, gambols, and hula hoops her way through her serious and substantive talk on Lifestyle Medicine.
Furthermore, you will be hard pressed to find any academic so free of throat-clearing and ponderous pronouncements. In fact, she should have a TedTalk and her own TV show. She is smart, funny, and literally at play in the fields of her expertise, which are numerous, and include lifestyle medicine, exercise, nutrition, stress resiliency, Physiatry, Motivational Interviewing, health coaching, and a host of other similar practices.
And P.S., she is a client of mine. About eight years ago she called me because she simply wanted to get better and more comfortable as a presenter. We worked together for a day and a half, and look what happened–she’s on fire.
Dr. Frates is the founder of Wellness Synergy, and has developed evidence-based programs that enable people to reach their optimal wellness.
Who would have thought that vegetables, exercise, and moderation in all things could be so healthily, so happily presented?
Don’t forget, watch her video: Managing Your Energy to Thrive