I’m not much of a routine person, but I have some.
I’m way better at post-routines than I am at pre-routine. If you are a speaker, an actor, or a presenter of any kind, there is so much power in the unwinding.
Yeah, I called it unwinding, because that’s what it is. There needs to be an unwinding on your part. When you stand before people, or you’re focusing just on them, you’re wound. You’re not relaxed.
This is where a person says, “I’m most comfortable when I am in front of people, that’s where I feel most at home.”
I totally get that, you trail blazer, you, but you’re not in sweat pants and a hoodie. Sure, I get energized sharing truth with people, but the feeling of goodness I have there is not the same feeling I have when I’m sitting with my wife watching Gordon Ramsey swear at someone in Hell’s Kitchen. GET OUT! (In fantastic British accent).
So, I do have somewhat of an unwind strategy at some points. For instance, I’m a lot more comfortable preaching than I am with my corporate training. I love both and they are both entirely different. Preaching feels more natural to me. The corporate training has a great energy, but it requires me to turn something different on in my brain. And I feel spent when I get done with training.
So, on the way home after the final class, I sit in my car for two seconds, put my AirPods in, and I blast a song that I’m not going to share with you (Yeah, I’m not telling. My stuff is sacred, plus it’s important that you find your own).
I let the class end with the beginning of that song.
It. Feels. Amazing.
I love that I do this. I delivered several keynotes a while back to a non-profit organization. I had a song I would listen to every day on the way home form delivering the keynotes. I would blast the song and sing as loud as I could.
It was cathartic. And if you heard it, I would hope and expect you would say it sounded beautiful!
Here are some routines you could try before a presentation or after.
Before:
Solitude – Get alone with yourself and silence your phone.
Mantra – Have a phrase that pumps you up or relieves your mind. This is great to relieve anxiety.
Food – Something specific you want to eat or drink. Be cautious of this. If you’re doing a three-hour training, you might not want to do the Man vs Food hot wing challenge. But, maybe something that you like that’s a treat wouldn’t hurt to indulge.
Music – Same deal, something that you want to do to pump you up.
After:
Collapse – I slump into my chair in my office after every sermon I preach.
Music – Make this different than you’re music you get pumped up to. This should be celebratory and decompressing.
Outing – What do you like to do? Bookstore to read some fiction? Maybe a trip in nature.
Show – Some planned entertainment is good. A treat would be something you’re not doing during prep time.
Food – I get fat after I speak. I can’t even lie to you about it. Since I typically don’t like to eat before any kind of speaking, I’m pretty ravenous on the way out of presentation land.
Those are just some ideas. Having a routine before or after will really help to minimize the difficult waters of connecting with people through your presentation.