#5 Presentation Mythstakes…
“I don’t need to rehearse; it makes me less spontaneous”
I don’t have enough fingers on enough hands to count how often I have heard this from people I have trained. Have you thought what it might be like to fly with a pilot who has never practiced his flying skills in a simulator, or to be a patient in the hands of a brain surgeon who has never had some practice? It’s a recipe for failure. Rehearsal doesn’t mean you memorise your entire presentation so that you can spew it out like a recitation. I prefer to call it a dry-run or practice-run where you (and your team) simulate as close to the real thing as possible. It’s where you test your ability to follow the outline you have prepared and to tell the stories you have planned, within the timeframe allocated. Especially helpful if you have a real-life ‘audience’ who can observe and give you constructive feedback (not a mirror!). It will not only build your confidence, but in fact increase your potential to be a more credible and engaging speaker. It is a discipline – a sign of respect to your audience to test and perfect before you try it out on them!
