Fake it till you make it when speaking in Durban

There is a very popular saying in the seduction community that you should fake it till you make it with women. What they mean is that you should pretend you have confidence until you develop real inner confidence. And the same goes for confident body language, etc.

This last week, I’ve been giving talks on MXit and blogging in Durban. This is one of the most beautiful cities in South Africa, and especially the North Coast, where I was staying in the guest house, On the Beach.

Anyway, this morning I presented a Blogging seminar for a paid audience organised by ePages.net, a specialist e-business and web design company. The venue was excellent, the room was packed, the mic was there, and the projector was set up. Just after I started my presentation, we completely lost all electricity in the area. This took me by surprise for a brief moment. There have been so many power outages in South Africa for the last year or so, it was not a complete shock to the audience.

I immediately continued to share some stories with the audience. Someone opened the windows so we could get some sunlight. And so I proceeded, albeit a bit shaken by the loss of my presentation. My instincts kicked in, and I proceeded to talk. I know one thing that happened was that I spoke faster. And I ended the presentation with an hour instead of the agreed 1.5 hours. We took questions, and there was a good response from most of the audience. The feedback I received afterwards was generally positive. In my mind, I tried my best to remain calm. There is something about fake till you make it that came into play here. Because I was unsure how to proceed without my presentation. I think we in business have developed an unnatural reliance on visual presentations. So even though it can enhance the message being delivered, it should never be the primary source of stimulation for your audience.

The best comment I received was that my Toastmasters club would be proud of how I handled the loss of electricity and smoothly moved on, and continued to deliver my presentation on Blogging. So the last word here is to take it till you make it. Just continue talking as if nothing happened, and your audience will follow your lead. Remember, you set the tone of the engagement. And most people are going to look to you for reassurance of some kind.