The fear of failure is generally more powerful than the allure of success. It takes significant mind power to seek excellence in work, yet the results are worlds apart. You can take the same presentation with the same verbiage and get two completely different results just based on these motivations alone.
The presenter who presents just to keep from embarrassing him or herself will give a flat, acceptable presentation. The presenter who presents to be excellent will have that intangible quality that makes the presentation entertaining, engaging and worthwhile.
It’s the difference between rehearsal and memorization. Memorization feels safe; rehearsal feels natural.
The funny thing about it is that the practice is often even the same. The best way to practice for your presentation is to run through it time and time again, ideally getting honest feedback. So how do you know whether you’ve rehearsed or memorized your presentation?
It’s as simple as giving yourself an honest assessment. As you’re running through your practice, do you feel:
- Confident or Insecure
- Unscripted or Scripted
- Authentic or Fake
See, the main difference between the two is subtle. It’s feel. And there isn’t much more practice necessary to go from memorized to rehearsed. It’s just the extra bit of excellence to internalize the presentation, to have that knack for which slide is next and when the transitions are, and to be comfortable enough with the flow of the narrative that you can even break or pause to make a candid point without disrupting the overall presentation.
So rehearsed vs. memorized? Which will you be when the next presentation comes around?
Question: Who do you ask for honest feedback when you practice your presentations? What do you ask them to look for and critique?
