Roger Kethcart is a reality TV junkie with an amateur interest in the art of public speaking. He almost made his trade the dissemination of information by becoming a public school teacher, but the lure of writing about TV all day long was too much for him to resist. You can find his writing at Cable.tv and follow him on Twitter @RKCart

Presentation Tips from TV’s Shark Tank & Dragons Den

It’s not easy getting up in front of people to give a presentation or speech. It’s even more unnerving when the success or failure of your cherished business idea is in the hands of the audience listening.

Such is the case for entrepreneurs on the television shows Shark Tank and Dragons’ Den. They are given the opportunity to present their business ideas to a panel of investors, with the hopes of landing financial backing and achieving their dreams of grandeur. Some are successful. Some are not.

While the idea is the most important factor to getting a deal, it’s also about how that idea is presented. Here are some tips from Shark Tank and Dragons’ Den that anyone giving a presentation or speech—whether for investment or not—should consider when “selling” their ideas to an audience.

Confidence is Key

When giving a presentation or speech, confidence is one of the most difficult things to control. Even hardened, self-confident presentation vets can get a case of the butterflies when faced with a crowd. Pressure to perform, anticipation, high stakes, and other factors can draw from your confidence reserves.

The best thing to do is fake it till you make it. That means stand tall, speak slowly and authoritatively, and look people in the eye. These are all things you can control with your body from the onset. The good news is, once you start to get on a roll, confidence will take care of itself, replenishing as you speak and make your points.

Confidence also comes into play when dealing with objections. Do your homework, stick to your words, and speak with conviction, and you shouldn’t have any problem dealing with questions that would otherwise make you look uninformed and less credible.

A good example of confidence going from low to high is in this pitch from Dragons Den. You can tell the young guys start out a little shaky and nervous, but as they get into the meat and potatoes of their business, they become more confident. What’s more, despite objections regarding the longevity of their concept, they remain confident in their idea. The investors take notice.

Be confident in what you have to say or get eaten by the sharks.

Dress to Build Credibility

Looks, as they say, are everything. This can’t be more telling than when the spotlight is on you for a presentation. That’s because as soon as your audience can see you they begin assessing your credibility.

That’s not to say you have to dress up in a lab coat if you’re presenting on a newly discovered amoeba. But you should dress in a way that will make your audience comfortable and gain their trust. Often this means dressing professionally.

Jeff Stroope’s pitch from Shark Tank is a good example of how to dress appropriately to build credibility. Jeff is a fireman, who saw the need for a new type of firefighter hose-to-hydrant attachment to save time. When he came to the sharks with his idea, he was decked out in firefighter gear. This instantly established him as a credible source to discuss his product. Had he dressed in a suit, his physical presentation would not have had the same affect.

Use A Visual Aid

Sometimes what you do can have more of an impact than what you could ever say. That’s where visual aids come in. Visual aids range from the common, like PowerPoint and video, to the not so common, like riding onto the stage on a motorcycle.

What’s most important is that visual aids should be relevant to the topic of presentation. Their purpose is to help the audience better understand and receive what you’re saying, not replace it.

Shane Pannell made a great demonstration for his new and improved broom invention on Shark Tank. His broom became his visual aid, enabling him to quickly and effectively show how much better his is than the standard broom. Because of his demonstration, he was able to secure a deal with the sharks.

Shark Tank, Dragons Den, and other shows that focus on presentation skills, such as The Apprentice, all provide good case studies into what it takes to pull off a successful presentation. Check them out and follow these tips, and start improving on your own presentations today.