When I provide speech coaching for executives and when I direct
Presentation Skills seminars for corporations, one of the first
points I make is this:
Trying to be perfect will ruin your presentation.
Why? First: People want to deal with human beings, not flawless
robots. To illustrate: When you hear a speaker who is oh-so-
precise with enunciation, so programmed with canned gestures and
so fluent without a single blunder, you might react negatively.
You sense that you are observing an actor, not a real person.
A prominent example you might be familiar with: Bill Kurtis,
executive producer and host of three award-winning shows on the
Arts and Entertainment network-- Investigative Reports, Cold
Case Files and American Justice. Although Kurtis has garnered
widespread acclaim during his four decades of broadcast
journalism, I never watch him without thinking "That's a planned
gesture," "He decided ahead of time to take a step forward after
that sentence," or "He rehearsed the inflection he used in that
phrase."
He's highly successful, yes, so there is no doubt he has
satisfied millions of viewers. Even so, I wouldn't recommend him
as a role model for speakers I am coaching. Kurtis represents a
level of stiltedness that borders on stuffiness, in my judgment.
Knowing this should encourage you to loosen up, and let people
see you "warts and all," as the saying goes. They will know they
are hearing the authentic you.
Second: The quest for perfection creates a damaging perspective.
I'll bet you have looked back on events that, at that time,
seemed so critical for your professional success --your report to
board members, your explanation of why your company had voted to
merge, or your quarterly pep talk to your sales force. You feared
that less than a perfect performance would jeopardize your job
and profession.
What really happened, though? During the speech, you lost your
place once or twice, stumbled over a phrase, and misstated a fact
you had to correct. To your surprise, the results were not so
dire after all. You accomplished your goal. Although you
performed at 80-85% of your potential, that was good enough.
So if you had berated yourself during the speech for your
imperfection, you might have slipped to a dismal 50% skill level.
Author Mark Twain became a renowned lecturer, appearing across
the globe-New York, London, Hawaii, Venice, Berlin, Melbourne and
Calcutta. Still, he suffered many embarrassing moments onstage,
with large audiences witnessing his gaffes. The first time he
tried to lecture, his memory-and nerves-failed him. For two
minutes, he and his listeners endured an agonizing span of
silence before he could start speaking. Periodically, he
experienced other platform failures. Fortunately, he accepted his
imperfection, maintained a beneficial sense of proportion, and
moved on to the next performance with his confidence intact.
Like Twain, we can recover from those occasions when the words
just wouldn't come out, or came out wrong. Our career will move
along without a hiccup.
Third: If you try to be absolutely perfect with every speech you
give or with every meeting you direct, your preparation will move
so slowly that you will get very little accomplished with your
other responsibilities.
My advice: Prepare rapidly, without fear of blunders. Then review
your outline to check the organization, facts, illustrations, and
predicted length. Not only will you get more done, you will work
more creatively because you are not hamstrung by inordinate fear.
Fourth: Too much preparation for a presentation might reduce your
enthusiasm. By the time you stand up to address an audience, you
have re-outlined, rewritten, rehearsed, and performed so much
wordsmithing that you have lost the zest you felt when you
selected your topic.
Audiences want "The Illusion of the First Time," a phrase
borrowed from theatre. When an audience sees the curtain rise,
the actors must give the impression that this is the first time
they have thought these thoughts, said these words and gestured
like that, even when the cast has presented the same play dozens
or possibly hundreds of times. Similarly, your audience wants to
believe "this is a live performance." They want to sense your
energy and enthusiasm.
Fifth: Keep in mind that our imperfection is what makes life
interesting, challenging, and rewarding. Business mogul Donald
Trump hasn't done everything right. Some of his casinos have
plunged into bankruptcy. Tiger Woods went three years without
winning a major golf tournament, prior to winning the 2005
Masters. Martha Stewart left her domestic empire to serve jail
time.
To sum up: Be real, don't dwell on your mistakes, reserve time
for your other duties while you are crafting your speech,
avoid emotional burnout, and accept imperfection as a normal
circumstance. Your audiences will love the results, and
so will you.
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