Another hapless presenter stood in front of the crowd and sputtered and stammered. We all squirmed in our seats. Probably because we have all been there. Or maybe because it was of the appearance of that toothless troll who lives in the back of ever presenter’s mind.
I speak about that evil beast: FORGETTING YOUR STUFF. Yikes. I shiver just thinking about it.
It is, of course, one of our biggest fears. It is a real problem. It is a speaker’s Achille’s heel that does not lend itself to a quick fix.
But there are tools and techniques you can take to quell this monster that destroys speakers.
Everyone has a secret cure, a technique, a trick.
Here is one solid, proven solution I know works. Actually, here are two of them.
The first is serious practice. Lots and lots of practice. I will not dive deep into this at this point. I will say, I spend a lot of effort inside my course helping folks build a solid, logical and very effective practice routine. I call it by the catchy name of Intelligent Practice. Here’s a hint: start earlier than you think you should.
The real point I want to make is something I heard recently from my good friend and mentor and superstar speaker, Ron Chapman.
This is so simple, but so effective.
He said if he needs to burn a presentation into his brain, he takes a walk. It is only one part of his practice routine. (By the way, professional speakers practice the way professionals do in any other business – all the time.)
Back to his walk. He takes off and repeats parts or all of his material over and over. He might take a few notes with him if necessary. But the words have to come from his understanding of his topic not from a script.
He doesn’t hesitate to mix things up either. New words and phrases. New order. He tries everything until he gets a good fit. Then he practices some more.
It’s a big commitment.
But if you want to play big, like Ron, you better be committed.
Wanna play big? R U Committed? Jump on my waiting list: https://ready2speak.com/course
Tom
