Knowing what to do before a presentation mostly comes down to the last ten minutes. The slides are finished and the rehearsing is done. What's left is the corridor, the bathroom mirror, a glass of water and the walk into the room. Speakers and speaking coaches agree on most of it, and it fits on one page. Below is the routine we'd follow before a big pitch, a board meeting or a conference talk, with the sources for each step, and the small ritual we keep in a pocket for the last minute.
What to do before a presentation in a room you don't know
Todd Dewett, who teaches the LinkedIn Learning course Overcoming Your Fear of Public Speaking, tells speakers to get to the venue at least an hour ahead. Use that time to find out where your notes go, whether there's water at the lectern, and how the clicker and microphone work. Then practise a few lines out loud from the exact spot where you'll stand, even in a low voice.
Prezi's own checklist adds a detail most people skip. Learn how to switch the projector input and go full screen yourself, and carry the deck on a USB stick in case the venue laptop won't play nicely with yours. For a pitch in someone else's office, the same rule applies. Ask the assistant which screen you'll use when you book the meeting.
A pre presentation routine for the last 10 minutes
This is the part people search for. Most of it comes from three places: Darlene Price, president of Well Said, Inc. (in a widely shared Business Insider piece), the Prezi team's 15-minute countdown, and John Zimmer's public speaking blog Manner of Speaking.
- 10 minutes out. Go to the bathroom, even if you went half an hour ago. Price points out that nerves create a false urge, and you don't want it arriving on slide four. Check your collar, your teeth and your fly in the mirror.
- 8 minutes out. Walk. A lap of the corridor or the stairs. Price suggests light stretching or a few knee bends if there's nowhere to go.
- 6 minutes out. Run your opening line in your head, word for word. The Prezi guide cites Stephen Lucas's textbook The Art of Public Speaking: nerves tend to drop off after the first 30 to 60 seconds, so the opening is the bit worth knowing cold.
- 5 minutes out. Stand up and stay standing. Price recommends being on your feet for the last five minutes.
- 4 minutes out. Slow breaths into the belly, three or four of them. Price says this eases tension in the chest and throat.
- 3 minutes out. Sip room temperature water and put a glass where you can reach it.
- The last minute. Your ritual. Ours is below.
“Oh wow, the saliva flow.”
Why your mouth goes dry right before you speak
A dry mouth right before you go on is common enough that Zimmer wrote a ten-point post about it. His list on Manner of Speaking is practical. Drink plenty of water the night before. Sip steadily in the hour before you go on, then use the bathroom. Keep flat, room temperature water on stage, because cold water tightens the throat and bubbles from sparkling water can come back up mid-sentence. He also suggests skipping coffee and alcohol beforehand, and chewing gum or a lozenge in the corridor (spit it out before you walk in).
The gum tip gets at something useful. Anything that gets the mouth watering in those last minutes before you open it to speak is worth having on you.
Say "I am excited" instead of telling yourself to calm down
Alison Wood Brooks at Harvard Business School tested this in a set of experiments published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General in 2014. In the speech study, 140 people had two minutes to prepare a persuasive talk that would be filmed and judged. Before speaking, some said "I am excited" out loud, some said "I am calm", and some said nothing. Independent raters scored the "excited" group's speeches as more persuasive and more confident, and those speeches ran longer.
Brooks's reasoning is that anxiety and excitement are both high-arousal states, so it's easier to relabel the pounding heart than to slow it down. Before a pitch, that means you don't need to feel calm. You need to feel ready, and slightly charged.
One spray in the corridor
Our last-minute ritual is Dragon Breath, a 50 ml mouth spray of chilcuague root extract (Heliopsis longipes, a root from Central Mexico also called golden root). In the final minute, step into the corridor or the bathroom and give one spray into your mouth.
The first second tastes earthy and a little peppery. Within about 10 seconds a bright, electric buzz spreads across the tongue and mouth, and then the mouth waters fast. A customer filming their first spray said it before anything else: "Oh wow, the saliva flow." After that comes a clean, fresh feeling that lingers, which is a nice bonus when you're about to shake hands with the people across the table.
Ten seconds earlier you were going over your opening line for the fifth time. Now your whole mouth is buzzing and you walk in switched on, already in the moment. The buzz comes from affinin (also called spilanthol), which Mexican researchers measured at 6.9 to 8.5 mg per gram of chilcuague root. The full story of the plant, from the Sierra Gorda to how it's been used in Mexican kitchens, is in our guide to chilcuague root.
Start with one spray. Once you know the feeling, some people go up to five. Swallow the first rush of saliva before you start your opening line, so do it out in the corridor rather than at the lectern.
Why a spray beats loose root before a pitch
Chilcuague has been chewed as a root in Mexico for generations, but nobody is chewing a woody root in a glass meeting room. The spray lives in your jacket or bag, takes a few sprays at most, and holds 250+ sprays per bottle. The extract is sealed in Miron violet glass, which keeps light off it and adds significant longevity to its quality and potency. Loose root and powder sit open to the air every time you use them.
Dragon Breath – Chilcuague Extract
50 ml mouth spray. Wild-harvested chilcuague root, dual-extracted. 250+ sprays.
Add to bagThe root is wild-harvested from growth zones the Mara team selects with the help of local elders, then dual-extracted in organic solutions. It's vegan, gluten free, sugar free and non-GMO.
Dragon Breath considerations
If you're pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or allergic to plants in the daisy family, ask your doctor before using it.
Questions people ask
How do you get ready for a presentation the night before?
Finish the slides, rehearse the opening out loud, and drink plenty of water. John Zimmer of Manner of Speaking recommends hydrating the night before so your mouth is in better shape the next day.
What should you not do before a big presentation?
Skip coffee and alcohol beforehand, and avoid cold or sparkling water at the lectern. Don't rewrite slides in the last ten minutes either. Run your opening line instead.
How early should I get to the room?
Todd Dewett says at least an hour for a venue you don't know. For a pitch in a client's office, 15 minutes in reception is enough if you've confirmed the screen setup in advance.
When should I use Dragon Breath before I speak?
In the last minute or two, out in the corridor or the bathroom. One spray gives the buzz within about 10 seconds, and you'll want to swallow the first rush of saliva before you say your first line.
