Nov 1, 2011

Rehearsal
Great Performers Show Up for Practice

Every time someone asks me for public speaking tips, my first instinct is to say, “Prepare, prepare, prepare, prepare.” Many of the problems encountered in presentation can be traced back to a lack of preparation. One of the easiest—and most neglected—elements of preparation is rehearsal.

Most people assume a speech is ready when it’s written, but real preparation addresses so much more than content. If you stop to think about it, it’s obvious that writing a speech and delivering a speech are two different skill sets. You’re not fully prepared until you’ve spent time doing what you actually will be doing during the speech: standing on your feet and talking through the material, out loud.

Much of the nervousness felt at the beginning of a speech stems from unfamiliarity with the process and the realization that you’re not as prepared as you thought you were. Your voice sounds strange in the room. Words that looked good on paper seem stilted coming out of your mouth. Transitions from one point to the next seem abrupt and too obvious. If the actual performance is your first experience of the speech, no wonder it’s nerve-wracking.
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Jay shares, from personal experience, how rehearsal can make a critical difference.

Spend lots of time rehearsing the opening and closing sections of your speech. They are perhaps the most important parts of the performance, the first impression you make and the last thing the audience will remember. Those are the moments you need to nail, so get them down cold.