Most people shy away from anything Existential. Is it because of fear, or fear of the unknown? When you break it down, it’s not all that difficult. It’s life.
I’m the Existential Coach. It just makes sense to incorporate my coaching guidelines into the presentationYOU approach and the Leadership Communication coaching I provide. But then again, even if I tried, I could not keep that influence out of the approach since I am part of the experience.
What’s Existential about presenting? Almost everything.
Let’s start with these five concepts:
1. Individuality: each individual is unique and we each have our own worldview; we each have our own way of being in the world.
As a presenter you need to recognize this in yourself, and in your unique audience.
2. Choice: not just freedom of choice but we are responsible for those choices. Existentialists believe that our lives are NOT predetermined. We create our lives through the choices we make.
You choose to share your ideas, to challenge your audience, to become more influential so you have more impact in the world.
3. Time-bound: we humans have a finite about of time in this existence – and we know it! This is the all powerful concept of death. We will die eventually and that knowledge is always with us. How you use that knowledge is your choice.
If you only have so much time, then make every moment count. Make every word clear. Make your message simple, clear, and brief.
4. Isolation/Interrelatedness: existential isolation is the tension between our awareness of our absolute isolation (the individual) and our wish for contact, for protection, our wish to be part of something bigger than ourselves. There is a constant struggle to balance between isolation and connection.
We influence others and are influence by others (the world around us). Our interrelatedness is how we decide to be in this world. How connected, how responsible for our choices, how much we participate or watch from the sidelines.
Can you see how this is building into how we present and communicate?
And these decisions lead to finding….
5. Meaning: These factors all lead to the existential angst that is often misunderstood. Knowing we will die (eventually) how do we make meaning of this absurd existence? How do we make choices?
You find meaning by living well….by living with passion and intensity! And by sharing your ideas, your strengths, your experience with others in your communications and presentations – by connecting.
Feel the fear, and do it anyway…until the fear shows it’s meaning.
Embrace the angst of presenting. It’s part of life!
You are presenting all day long. Every time you share an idea – whether you are in the boardroom, in a webroom, or across the table – you are presenting.
Presenting is communicating an idea.
Presenting with impact and influence means you get your idea across to your audience and it somehow changes them. It changes them so much they are ready to take action.
