As a speech coach, I hear this a lot; “I’ve come to you because my boss says my presentations are not organized enough.”, or “…because my boss says I’m not spontaneous enough”, or “…because my boss says I am not passionate enough”, etc., etc.

Of course, there are many times when we receive constructive feedback from our employers, but what feedback should we take in regard to presentations, and what should we leave?

I recently had a young woman in the field of finance come to me for a twenty minute consultation. She said she was having a problem presenting, yet when she spoke to me, she was very present, articulate, and organized. My first thought was, “so what’s the problem..?”. One of the worst mistakes a public speaking coach can make is over-correcting, so I dug a little deeper.

Needless to say, this young executive told me of an endless, unconstructive stream of criticism from her colleagues; she was disorganized, not passionate enough, and inarticulate. I told her I would need to do a longer evaluation to rule out some of the problems she was suggesting, but that she didn’t appear to demonstrate any of these negative traits in the present moment with me. She was Russian, but her accent was slight, and her command of English was strong. She was thinking very carefully about the problem in front of her, seeking out professional help, and staying calm. She had taken a lesson with another presentation coach, and he told her she was a strong presenter. So again the question was begged: “What’s the problem?”.

In a phrase, the workplace. No amount of presentation training can make a difficult boss less difficult, or a crappy workplace less crappy. Unless your presentations are truly 100% disastrous (they rarely are), than you can bet that if you are on the receiving end of an endless list of criticisms, you are most likely not in need of a new presentation coach, but rather, a new job.

So how do you know whether it’s you, or them? Get some feedback. Talk to work colleagues you trust, who are discerning and fair. Record yourself on-camera. Watch yourself carefully, and ask for feedback from others. Gather information. If the feedback is positive, touch up your resume, and get yourself a job with a supportive work environment. If the feedback is mixed, make some adjustments to your presentation, and see if your work colleagues notice. If the consensus from your fair- minded friends is that your presentations are seriously lacking, well, call me ! That’s the time to pick up the phone, and seek out professional help.

That’s my tip of the day! Please feel free to post your horrible boss stories… it may be therapeutic, and remind you that you are not alone!