There is no secular world for God's people

Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to see Nancy Martin give several presentations. Nancy is the leader of GE's Edison Engineering Development Program and Lead instructor for technical training across the company. During her presentation one of the topics she covered was effective presentation skills. I enjoy presenting but I do find myself nervous at times. Her tips seem very applicable so I wanted to share!

I also see this directly relating to sharing the gospel with non-Christians! I find it exciting when I see God weaving my IT job into the plan for His Kingdom because there is no "secular part" of a Christian's life. It is about bringing God glory in all parts of our life!

There are three areas to focus on:

1. Content

• The first minute of the presentation is crucial, especially when presenting over the phone. We need to engage our audience, make them understand why they should listen to us!
• Don't start with a joke (and only in some cases should you start with a question). Your audience may be unsure how to react and it could make you start out on the wrong path.
• We should plan our presentations to focus on what our audience wants to hear and determine the point of our story. How much detail do we really need to share? I know the exact number is 11.983945 but maybe I should round it up to 12.

2. Body Language

• When standing in front of a room, the most powerful body language tool is moving forward.
• When sitting in a chair, the most powerful body language tools are leaning forward slightly and sitting on the edge of your chair.
• Both of these techniques give the audience the feeling that the presenter is confident in what they are talking about. This directly translates into the audience believing your message, whether it is for funding for a project, hiring additional resources, or learning about Jesus!

3. Fears

• We can be forgetful which leads us to be fearful and nervous. A practical solution is to write down some notes. Sometimes just the act of writing down what we will say is enough. Other times we can bring those notes with us.
• If we our hearts start pounding and we are sweating … breathe! Try breathing in 1-2-3 through your nose, hold your breath 1-2-3 and blow out through your mouth 1-2-3. Repeat this 2-3 times.

When we have Christ as our Lord and Savior, we know God's Holy Spirit is within us. If we seek God in all our daily actions, He will guide us.

James 1:5-6

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.