Work presentation - just can’t do it

[driftingintheair]

I’ve been in a new job for nearly 5 months and despite being an Admin position (a very specific type of admin - not generic) I am in a team that comprises the SLT, Directors, a PA, and a few other very senior staff - then there’s me. In the pecking order of things I am at the lowest end of the organisation.

The organisation is spread across 4 sites and I am based at one by myself whereas everyone else on my team is at another site. I’ve only seen my manager in person 6 times since I started, and in an average week I might get one email from her, if that. So, I don’t know her that well and I’m not sure how she will react to my suggestion.

In January it was announced that people in my team have to give an 8 minute presentation to the SLT - about your role, what’s happening, challenges and improvements you are making etc. Fair enough I guess but I simply cannot stand up and give an 8-minute presentation, even if I put a PowerPoint together to help me. Never in my working life have I been told to give such a thing to anyone, let alone the SLT.

I am happy to put a PowerPoint together to send them to read, but I simply cannot stand up in front of people. Eight minutes is a long time when you have never done this before. I have no career aspirations in this organisation so I don’t see it as an opportunity to get my profile out there etc. I realise some people would love this sort of thing if you are looking to climb the career ladder but I’m not.

DH was initially ‘oh it will be fine,’ but he’s seen how stressed I am about it and has conceded that the rest of my team are very senior staff who are used to this sort of thing, whereas as I am an admin nobody and am horrified. DH is well used to giving presentations to hundreds of people so he wouldn’t be fazed in the slightest, so he said talk to my manager about it and see if you can come to a compromise.

I don’t want my manger to think I’m pathetic - I had review feedback last month where she said I am doing ‘a fantastic job’ etc, so this is absolutely not me being lazy. The thought of standing up for so long actually makes me rather resign.

How can I professionally word this to my manager so that the SLT would hopefully compromise but still get the information they would like to hear about?

dont do it. Explain in supervision what you’ve said and insist. You can do the PowerPoint but there’s no benefit for you. 8 minutes is a long time I agree. Someone has decided this without any thought about you.

Stop thinking about it as a ‘presentation’ - they’re asking to hear about your role, because they’re interested in the work you do, which clearly contributes in an important way to the organisation as a whole.

It’s a chat about the things you deal with, improvements you’ve made or would like to suggest. It’s not going to be in a lecture theatre, surely it’s going to be a few people in a meeting room or over a Teams call?

Talk to your line manager, ask them for some help and support, see if they’ll run through it with you in advance.

The benefit is that it shows the SLT are interested in the work everyone does in the organisation, I think it’s a really positive thing to offer this across the board - how often do people complain that less senior staff aren’t being given an opportunity to raise ideas or explain the work they do.

Totally understand your reluctance and anxiety.
I'm a teacher and when students need to do presentations for courses I suggest this format.
Write a ppt, then using the options in Microsoft, add a voice recording for each slide. They write a brief script for the slide, record and rerecord until they're happy with it. Then move on to slide no 2 etc.
No need to be on camera, no live presenting, do it from your own pc until it's done. Save and send. You could play it at a meeting but it just means pressing play from your seat.

Alternatively just decline and send a ppt. I'm certain they will accommodate anxiety and not force the issue. Good luck.

You can do it, you just don’t want to.

You can tell you manager that you refuse to do it if you wish, or resign if that’s what you would rather, but this isn’t a “I CAN’T do it”.

I agree with pre-recording it. I loath presenting, will do anything to avoid it, I blush, blotchy patches, all over my chest, run out of breath after the 1st slide, hear my blood pounding in my ears. All the things! Unfortunately it's part of my job to do it. So I draft my slides, write my script, practice and then record myself. I then play it to my audience, I'm totally honest and tell them why. No one has complained so far. It's awful listening to my own voice though!

How do you know what someone else can or can't do?

When you raise the issue with your manager, you must do so not with apology, but with purposeful professionalism. Here is how you might word it:

"I have been giving careful thought to the upcoming presentation and the best way to deliver the most professional, high-value information to the SLT. Public speaking of this nature is not a core strength of mine, and I would not want the delivery method to compromise the clarity and quality of the work I’ve been achieving. Instead, I would like to propose creating a detailed and highly professional PowerPoint, supplemented with comprehensive notes and a written executive briefing. This will ensure the leadership team has a clear, structured overview they can retain and review at their convenience. I am, of course, more than willing to follow up on any points they wish to discuss. My priority is to present my work in the most effective, professional manner possible."

You reframe your objection as devotion to excellence.

@driftingintheair

They are doing this because they want to understand your role and how it fits with theirs ( and that is the same for all the roles in this team, they want to understand each others challenges)

If people understand each other it makes team work much easier as people don't only look at the work from their perspective.

So it's not meant to be seen as challenging BUT it does show that they already don't understand your perspective.

If I were you I would write a short piece with slides. Then sit next to the computer and say 'I'm going to talk through the slides' and just read them out.

I would also explain how you feel to your line manager in advance.

Can you prepare a power point with a voice over at home, or one of those avatars that speak for you?

She can physically speak for 8 minutes. She doesn’t want to, which is fine, but it doesn’t make it impossible.

I've been you - so nervous about giving a presentation that I sounded like Minnie Mouse. It does get better and now I could give a 20 minute presentation with no problem at all. What gives me confidence is knowing what I'm talking about.
Maybe you could say no and they won't ask you again but if absolutely necessary, what I'd do in your situation is break the talk into 4 sections:

1. a quick this is my name and I'll be telling you about me and my job today (30 seconds)
2. tell them where you sit and your job objectives, what you enjoy about your job - for fun you could add that what you don't like about your job is making presentations (3-4 minutes)
3. sum up - this is what I just told you (30 seconds)
4. ask if anyone has any questions (mops up rest of time)

Speak slowly. Breathe. I hope you can get through this.

Speaking for 8 minutes non stop is very unusual in normal life!

Speaking in front of of other people is something the OP has never done and would be difficult in itself.

Speaking in front of Senior people who the OP perceive to be authority figures and who can impact the OPs career and life, ups the intensity by a 1000%.

But apart from the above none of us know, possibly not even the OP, what trauma she experienced as a baby/small child to make her fear this type of situation.
It may well be that she has consciously or unconsciously plotted her life to avoid situations like this, even choosing a career path that will minimise the risk of it happening (I know I did).

Maybe if her manager has even an ounce of empathy, they will understand this.

Keep it simple
Manager, I won't be able to talk about my role in a big meeting. It might be a phobia or extreme anxiety and either way it is an absolute no. Given the other presenters are all senior directors, could I decline and someone else explain where I fit? I can prepare the slides.
Happy to talk about this

If you're actually going to resign rather than do a presentation, speak to your manager first to see if there is an alternative. Perhaps the team would be happy with you preparing a presentation and speaking notes for them to read, or maybe you could video the presentation alone at home, so you don't have to speak in front of anyone; or maybe, as you haven't presented before, they may be happy with just a 1 minute intro like, "I'm Janet, I've worked in x department for x years and I focus on [e.g. drafting our HR documentation]."

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNd2QytQP/

You might already k ow how to do this, but if not this shows how to record your voice on a PP presentation.

@driftingintheair , I am in a senior role. We are expected to present, teach, lead, chair, etc. I tried the teaching bit. I was good at it, but I hated it. Presenting is similar to me, I would rather be the lead for my part of the team taking part in a Q&A about my role, than prepare a monologue. (I also don't learn best through someone else presenting. Give me the original source literature and then lets discuss it together, but that's by the by) Thankfully, I'm not asked to do this often, but a few years ago I just started saying no. It's not about my confidence. I have good self esteem, I just find "presenting" - monologing in front of a group for a specific set of time such a bewilderingly odd thing. So you have my complete sympathy.

I think it might be reasonable to offer a compromise, and perhaps for you this could be a written statement about the things they want to know. You could even ask your line manager to specify some of the questions they might like to have answered, or do a "reply all" letting the team know you'll be doing this and ask them to submit any questions they have by a set date to give you time to write it up. You could disseminate this well in advance of the meeting, and then be available for follow up questions in the meeting, if needed. Again, the follow up questions are a lot more interactive and something that doesn't require prep and presentation skills. My heart goes out to you. I absolutely understand your willingness to resign rather than do this so, if you like your job otherwise, present alternatives you would be happy with and see if they'll accept them.

I hope to God that you've spent the last 5 months taking notes and have at least made a start on your presentation so you've got something to build on as you've gained experience and settled in.

If you've done nothing I'm not surprised you're a bag of nerves - I wouldn't worry too much the 8 minutes but if the team are set on it I'd ask what their expectations are. Maybe talk about a process or some bit of work you're doing as an EA and where it's leading.

PS, when I say that I say no, I should add, I just say it casually, similarly to how a vegetarian might respond to being offered some chicken.

Oh my word. I had this in one of my roles as well. It is one of my biggest fears. I emailed my manager and said I was really sorry, but that there is no way I’d be able to do it. It would riddle me with anxiety and I just could not bring myself to do it.

line manager was brill about it. Said no problem at all. It’s actually happened to me in 2 separate roles within civil service. I refused both times, and there was never an issue with it. If it isn’t a normal part of your role, then I wouldn’t worry. It’s also ridiculously intimidating making you do that alongside a load of Senior members of staff.

I would just be honest and tell them you don’t think you can do it.

Or if your manager is funny about it (which I think is unlikely), then I would just call in sick on the day. Frowned upon, but they’ll get the hint.

I’m in an admin role too and this would be my worst nightmare. I don’t think people realise how much anxiety this causes some people. A friend of mine has just resigned from her job in sales as part of the role was presenting once a month and the anxiety it caused her was huge. Some people don’t understand, it’s not the case of rather not doing it. In your shoes I would email my manager, explain it’s not something I’ve ever had to do and is causing me anxiety. I think the suggestion of doing a pre-recorded presentation is the best option.

I think you’ll just have to be honest. Tell your manager that you’re feeling extremely stressed and overwhelmed about it, and mention that you have no experience of giving a presentation.

She might be very understanding, and she might offer you alternatives or suggestions, or she might offer to coach you. She might also be not so understanding, and tell you that it’s expected of everyone, so I’d possibly prepare for that too.

I’ve never had to give an actual presentation, but I’ve had to speak at team meetings, and that was enough to make me extremely anxious,
to the point I would feel faint, so I really feel for you.

Easy way out - make your slides and say you’ve got an immovable medical appointment at the time of the presentation but you’ve made the slides for them to look at, at their leisure or in the session.

medium - speak to your manager and see what options are available. It’s really possible they don’t mean you if you are admin and they are c-suite and I don’t mean that in an offensive way.

hard - learn how to do public speaking, take beta blockers etc and force yourself to do something you don’t need to be able to do. Maybe you’ll like it but it’s a lot of work for find out.

extreme - don’t speak to anyone, assume the worst and quit your job.

Could you do a 4-6 min presentation?
In your position I think that would be enough, 4 mins would pass quickly and you may surprise yourself
I don’t think anyone would have any issue with you giving a shorter presentation, I wouldn’t even tell your manager it will be shorter, I would just do it