Mark Zuckerberg is known for
wearing the same t-shirt everyday, including presentations.
But I don't know if that would work for you.
But apart from the looks, is there any way you can influence the audience?
Is there any way you can make them trust you more?
How about Simon Sinek's advice, start with why.
Maybe you can start with a statement of your values and purpose,
and sort of sell your trustworthiness this way.
Well, there's a very sensible book on authenticity by Pine and Gilmore.
And in this book, they have three axioms of authenticity.
And authenticity is nearly the same as trustworthiness.
And axiom number one,
if you are authentic, you don't have to say you're authentic.
Just be authentic, right, it makes total sense.
If you say you're authentic, you'd better be authentic.
And axiom number three,
it's a lot easier to be authentic if you don't say you are authentic.
So their advice is don't say you're authentic, right.
And I say, don't say that you're authentic, but you can imply it.
You can tell a story, which has sort of your authenticity built in.
It's a story about a hard choice that you have
to make about some situation that you are in.
A story which is relevant to the topic that you're going to talk about, and
which is relatable.
Yes, I know at this moment in time, it's a bit of cliche.
Lots and lots of people fund their presentations with stories,
so you may need to work on your delivery.
It does require a lot work and sometimes rehearsals.
But I think it does make total sense.
It does make sense to share your vulnerabilities with the audience
because trust is something people reciprocate.
You trust people with your, maybe, intimate details and they trust you back.
So my advice is go ahead and share vulnerabilities.
I don't know if you've seen this talk at TED.
It's a talk by Brene Brown,
who is an academic researcher on subjects of vulnerability and trust.
And, once again, it's a very sensible talk.
And she mostly encourages you to share vulnerabilities with people, and
this is my advice, too.
I know what some of you are thinking.
We all hate those presentations which start with I'm really nervous.
And you know why we hate this?
Because this is not relevant.
Okay, you're nervous, so what?