Foods to Eat and Avoid When Preparing for a Successful Business Presentation

Whether you are performing a business presentation or speaking/reading before a group, your success does not depend entirely on your script or material. The type of nutrition you have consumed beforehand matters as well. With the right nutrition beforehand, you can increase your chances of success. Here are foods to eat as well as ones to avoid to best prepare yourself for a big business presentation.

What to Avoid Eating Before the Presentation

Avoid munching on mucous-producing dairy foods like milk, ice cream, cheese, and yogurt. It is also not the right time to load up on vitamin C. In addition, do not consume orange juice as it increases the thickening of saliva. As a result, you may end up constantly swallowing your saliva during your speech.

On the day of your presentation, avoid eating any foods that are new to your body. You never know how your body will respond to an unfamiliar ingredient. Beware of hard to digest and fatty foods like hamburger, pizza, and fries. Similarly, if you want to remain comfortable, avoid gas-producing foods such as cabbage and broccoli.

While many people want to have caffeine to keep themselves alert - it can also lead to a lot of restroom breaks. Instead of coffee before your presentation, you can consume something more herbal that will not put pressure on your bladder. Another reason you may want to avoid consuming caffeine, and carbonated drinks as well, is that these may dry out your throat, leaving your vocal cords tight and irritated - not so good for a speaking voice!

While some professionals try to avoid taking alcohol before giving a presentation, there are many who believe that drinking alcohol helps in calming stress or nerves. As a business presenter, you have to be sharp, interesting, and engaging so that you convey confidence to your audience. When you are already stressed and feeling nervous on the day of your presentation, drinking alcohol is not a good idea. Alcohol consumption has detrimental effects on the human body, and excess consumption can influence memory, clear thinking, gestures, focus, breathing, and speaking. Even drinking a small amount of alcohol tends to impair your cognitive abilities. You can save the alcohol for celebrations after the presentation.

Foods to Eat Before the Presentation

To not feel dehydrated and to keep your tongue from going too dry, you can have a glass of water or two before the presentation. Salads, vegetables, fruits, cashews, whole grains are also recommended to maintain your energy levels. You can also make a fruit smoothie to calm your nerves. In addition, proteins, especially fish-based meat, can have beneficial properties for keeping your energy sustained ahead of the presentation.

Good nutritional habits are essential to providing a successful presentation. The food you put into your body pre-presentation will eventually reflect how you are going to act, behave, and feel during the event. With this in mind, consider the foods mentioned above in deciding what to eat or avoid before a presentation.