PREPARE OR FAIL

In my career I have the opportunity to attend lots of events with a variety of speakers. It is always most surprising to observe, how few presenters are truly messmerizing and how even the most exciting topic gets boring, when it is badly prepared and never rehearsed.

Typically people pay good money to hear a specialist talk on a topic in order to educate themselves and deepen their knowledge on a subject matter. Courses, seminars, webinars and workshops, there are plenty of well paid speakers trying to deliver content, to expand the horizon of professionals. 

So how come that the quality of the delivery is so often very questionable and frustrating to the audience? I suppose this is a two folded answer:
1.) The presenter is highly qualified and technically minded but lacks the ability to speak at a normal level
or
2.) The presentation has been badly prepared, without a clearly defined path or objective and possibly never rehearsed. And yes, it shows!  It can be annoying to the audience and discredits the individual almost immediately.

In the first instance, you somehow can’t blame the speaker. However perhaps the question should be raised to the organizer for ensuring good quality content and delivery beforehand.

In the second instance I can think of a number of reasons why the presentation was not adequately prepared - lack of time, procrastination, maybe even due to lack of self confidence and/or lack of topic knowledge. Whatever the reason the speaker will allianate their audience and potentially damage their reputation.

The lesson to be learned here is simple. Get prepared! And this does not just apply to public speakers or lecturers but to all entrepreneurs as well.

Don’t leave it up to chance to deliver a strong message. Think well in advance about what you want to get across and than rehearse this with objective professionals to get it just right. Practice until it becomes embedded into your mind and feels like the powerful reality that you deliver. Now, enjoy how your audience will hang on your every word.

Suddenly your value can not be measured in dollars!