After I had been coaching speakers for a while, I began to notice a curious pattern.
Many of the better people I worked with would create a presentation that seemed out of order. These we often very skilled presenters. But they would pull their punches. They would take their best, most powerful material, which was often a killer story, and bury it in the interior of their presentation.
Maybe they felt it belonged there because it was solid proof of their point of view. Or maybe they didn’t think it was that powerful. Or maybe they were just not sure, not confident enough to make it work as the starring role in their presentation.
One of my guiding principles has always been a variation of that old show biz saw: “Start with your best. Finish with your best.”
When I would help my clients see the power of opening with their killer material, grabbing their audience’s attention and then delivering more of their solid content later, they would often gasp in amazement.
“I never thought of that!” they would frequently say.
I would like to think that this was my superpower, but it really is just the power of coaching.
As creators and practitioners of our own work we don’t know what we don’t know. We don’t see what we are surrounded by every day. We need a knowledgeable mentor or coach to help us find the confidence and the perspective to take the bold move and open as strong as possible.
I get it. I know that having confidence in your abilities and in your material is a process. It comes from the hard work of crafting a solid presentation, polishing and practicing everything until it is brilliant and then putting it in front of audiences to see what really works and what doesn’t. Confidence has to be earned – no participation trophies here.
But a good coach can help you short cut that creation and rehearsal process. Can give you valuable feedback when you cannot see things clearly yourself. And a good coach can help you decipher the results of your real work in front of real audiences and then give you the perspective you need.
That’s why I love coaching.
