Switzerland. Famous for banks, watches, mountains, and of course, chocolate. In the summer of 2017, Eric Molin traveled to the world headquarters of Lindt & Sprügli to coach their management team on presenting with more impact in their day to day presentations.

In this group we were: 2 lawyers, a marketing expert, an executive assistant, and a “master chocolatier” (chocolate expert and company ambassador). Together we spent the day, as with all Impact seminars, identifying their existing strengths when speaking, getting feedback on how to improve, implementing those improvements, and then delivering a new and improved presentation in the afternoon session.

• Don’t memorize your talk – Though this might reduce anxiety in the short-term, it can make your talk seem fake to your audience and diminish your impact. Instead, start with a basic idea of what you’d like to accomplish with your talk and what supporting information you need to give, then practice your opening and closing (not the middle).

• Have your audience in mind – As you practice, try and imagine how your audience might be feeling in that moment. Are they bored? Does it need shortening or more engagement? This way, you’ll end up including the information that is definitely relevant, rather than a long monologue of information.

• Practice with a colleague – set up a meeting with a friend, co-worker, or family member. Have them give feedback on any body-language issues or aspects leaving them confused or bored. With virtual presentations, this can also give you a chance to familiarize yourself with the software and any features you wish to use.