Pardavimų formulė was my biggest speaking event with 1800 delegates, so I can tell you I was nervous.
Three months before the event, I would think about it and get nervous; all the ridiculous what-ifs were racing in my head. But the closer I got to the event, my nerves relaxed, and it was all about the logistics.
I was grateful I had my good friend and colleague, Bev Hancock, with me; speaking internationally may seem glamorous, but it can be a lonely affair.
I remember reading Patricia Fripp Presentation Skills Expert newsletter about dealing with nerves before a presentation, and now I always stand on the stage, ideally the day before my presentation. Knowing what it feels like and making the stage your friend is essential and one less thing to deal with on the day.
🚶🏾Once I waited so long for my turn to present, my legs felt like lead, and my energy was low. I never make this mistake and now walk around before going on stage.
Here are six tips to ensure your nerves do not control you during your presentation:
- Picture yourself rocking that presentation, feeling like a total superstar. I imagine I am Oprah!
- Take deep breaths to let that tension melt away.
- Pump yourself up with positive self-talk, reminding yourself how awesome you are.
- Connect with your audience by making eye contact with the whole room and consciously remember to smile.
- Kick off your presentation by opening with something attention-grabbing and captivating.
- Spruce things up with engaging visuals that fit the size of the audience, and less is more on a slide is more powerful.
If you are not nervous, you are either dead or as bored as the audience will be. Embrace your nervous energy and convert it into enthusiasm and energy you give the audience. 🤸🏾
The venue was excellent the calibre of speakers too. Dainius Baltrušaitis and his team do a fabulous job in staging and hosting. I have never met any conference organiser so calm and relaxed at an event, and Danius made it all the more fun.
It is a relief to be able to be myself and have fun, and I certainly did at Pardavimų formulė. I love getting into the audience and talking to as many delegates as possible, and I loved the warm reception and conversations during the breaks. My social media engagement demonstrates this and went nuts😊.
In my keynote – What can you do to be the best choice in the eyes of your customers, I shared three practical strategies and three stories:
1. Priority
2. Simplicity
3. Futureproof customers.
The feedback was delightful; I was quoted on LinkedIn, “Price is what customer pays. Value is what your buyers must buy. Simplicity earns a Premium.” Another messaged, “Thank you for inspiring speech😊”
The programme of Speakers at Pardavimų formulė in Vilnius, Lithuania, was impressive:
Steven Van Belleghem – Building customer partnerships by reducing friction.
Darius Pietaris – Chemistry with your customers.
Lee Warren – Getting your customer to do almost anything.
Gediminas Galkauskas– E-commerce and not making customers work so hard to give you money.
Deividas Matačiūnas– The capabilities of AI in the traditional sales process.
Indrė Radavičienė PhD – You can use negative emotions to sell without discounting.
Darius Čibonis 🇺🇦🇱🇹 – The traditional sales process.
Aida Rafanavičė – Why is Monday a lousy day to “close” the sale?
Tomas Kriščiūnas – Great story about what can happen in Sales.
Ken Hughes – The blue dot consumer.
Dr Kristupas Sabolius – Only 8% separates imagination and reality.
Dr Tali Sharot – Influencing decision-making with the joy of anticipation.
Dave Birss – Good friction in exclusivity.
Donald Duskinas – 54% of body language is in the voice.
Haroldas Nauseda – Luck versus success.
Balys Virsutis – Aka Malcolm Gladwell, 10,000 repetitions to mastery.
Dr Loreta Vaicekauskiene – Sociolinguist, delivered a very humour presentation.
My absolute highlight was meeting and sharing a hug with Chris Gardner, who oozes leadership and charisma. Sharing many lessons from his Mother and insights from his books Start Were You Are and Permission to Dream.
I enjoyed experiencing the professionalism of Giedrė Kapočienė, and I loved being interviewed by Kotryna Kurt, Linkedist Courses Academy.
I always learn a lot from watching and listening to other keynote speakers’ presentations.
Two tips Sales professionals can learn to enhance their sales presentation skills:
- I continue to improve my storytelling engages my audience. The more salespeople can incorporate storytelling into their sales presentations to create an emotional connection, framing the products or services within a story that resonates with the buyer’s needs, priorities, and aspirations will increase success.
- I aim to deliver impactful presentations to capture and hold the audience’s attention. An effective using of body language to convey messages with clarity and confidence is a technique that will enhance salespeople’s communication and presentation skills to be more engaging and persuasive.
This trip was an experience. This is why I love to travel the world and share my content with the sales community. I believe it is the highest honour to educate others and learn from shared experiences.
Travelling with my friend Bev Hancock, who supported me during the event and took many of the photos that captured the experience. After the fabulous event, we explored Vilnius’s old City further with a walking guided tour and visited the Museum of Occupation and Freedom Fights. I love the history and the pride in the culture.
I am grateful for the welcome and warmth; it was a delight to gain access to Lithuanian humour and experience so many delightful people.
🚗Thanks to Mindaugas Reinikis, GTD recommendation, we even got a lift to see Kaunas, met professional basketball players, and joined a motorbike convention. 🏍
You never know whom you will meet and what you will see when you are open to experiencing everything :-).
Thank you to Pardavimųformulė, the organisers; Mantas Bartuševičius, the MC was amazing, Dainius Baltrušaitis Arturas Laucius Giedrė Kapočienė, and to Vilnius and Kaunas Lithuania, until I return.