Practicing helps you to be prepared for what’s coming up. Doing it by yourself is certainly effective, but it’s even better if you enlist some support.
Practicing in the open, with some trusted support, can really help you get on top of the extra value you could provide. It’s all about how what you are doing will land with others, which is super important in a business context.
Getting support in this way is where you take the practice to the next level.
Imagine you are giving a 10 minute presentation. Create your outline, put some slides around it and get your script in place. Work out the big blocks, and then you are good to get some support.
Book an hour to practice in person. Go for a first run through. Ask your supporter “What did you take from the presentation?”. If they hit your key message, then that’s great, jump to refinements. If not, shift up the approach to try and land that core message.
If you are refining, then ask about what felt weak, and what felt strong. Squash the weak parts, edit out the waffle, reframe so the punchy statements hit first.
Make sure that the strong parts come together nicely, that you have a good pace and the story flows.
Then go again, start by giving the slides that you’ve changed the most. Are they landing well with the audience? If not, go again.
Run this loop for the middle 30 minutes of your session.
In the last 15, give the presentation again, and take a fresh round of feedback. It should be loads better. Stronger message, better put together and lands well with your audience.
Preparation is key, practicing in the open takes it up to the next level.
James Osborn 