If you’re not as confident as you’d like to be when presenting to key stakeholders, then it might be time to start channelling your inner George Clooney. In this article, Network member and Presentation Expert Zac Guberek, shares the story of how a simple change in perspective when auditioning, took George Clooney from a struggling actor, to a household name.
To survive and thrive in today's crowded market, charities and NFPs are now required to do more than just incredible work.
They must also be able to effectively communicate the value of their work, when presenting their vision to stakeholders, media, funders and partners.
This requires maintaining composure and exuding confidence when all eyes turn to them, regardless of how they might be feeling inside.
All too often, anxiety can undermine our effectiveness in these moments. Leaving us looking and sounding like we’ve arrived with a problem, rather than the highly effective solutions that we help to deliver, on a daily basis.
Sound familiar? Then you might want to consider channelling George Clooney the next time you have to present.
That’s right.
Very few of his fans would be aware that George Clooney’s journey, from hundreds of failed auditions to Hollywood stardom, offers us all a valuable lesson in the power of perspective.
Clooney’s eventual breakthrough didn’t come from an improvement in the quality of his work, but a shift in his perspective.
For so long he’d arrived at auditions viewing himself as the one with the problem – he was out of work and desperately needed an acting gig.
Until one day he realised the opposite was true.
In reality, he was the one with the solution.
The casting director didn’t have a lead actor and the clock was ticking. If they made a wrong choice the movie would flop and millions of dollars would go down the drain, along with their careers.
Once he realised that he was there to find solutions to other people's problems, his energy completely shifted in auditions. He went from being self-conscious and needing approval, to a creative and passionate problem solver.
His transformation was so profound that executives began to instantly identify his acting talents as precisely the ones they’d been searching for.
It wasn’t long before he landed the lead role in the hit TV-series ER, and never looked back.
When you’re communicating the value of the work your organisation does, keep in mind that you’re the one with all the solutions.
Just like you, your audience would love to be making a positive difference in the world too.
But they either don’t know how to, don’t believe they can, can’t do it alone, or have a limited capacity to do so.
In each of these scenarios, you have a solution – in the form of a ‘way in’ for them to contribute in a meaningful way.
Every time you share your organisation’s vision, be sure to offer your audience an opportunity to contribute, donate, volunteer, make an introduction or simply spread the word.
When you do so, you’re solving a problem for them.
That’s the reality.
A reality in which anxiety evaporates, confidence returns, and a passion for storytelling is reignited.
