Only you know the script
Food Network Star was on TV, and I kept it on. Why not? It was a lazy Sunday night.
It was actually a very interesting study of presentation, and we all know that in the business world, not so different from the television world, one need to successfully present their ideas. Otherwise, no one will ever know how good we are! In a camera challenge, I saw several candidates simply choked. Why they choked? They were perfectionists. They had their script in their head. The moment they messed up a word of it, they couldn’t recover. That’s the kind of flaw that will kill you on television, or in any boardrooms, or other public speaking occasions.
The secret trick that I learned long ago about public speaking: The audience doesn’t know your script!
If you skip over a point, they would never know, unless you let them know. If you just move forward as if nothing happened, that’s what the audience would feel.
The trick of pulling this off is to not get too married to your script. Have bullet points in your head, but never the full script. That way, you’re not starting off with wanting perfection. Also, in bullet point format, if you skip over a point, so be it. Move forward to the next point. Or if you’re already really skilled, go backward to cover your missed point, but it’s not necessary because the audience never knew how many points you had!
Image from Masternewmedia.org
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Jeannie Chan is a Brand Manager for a Fortune 500 consumer goods company. She considers herself a marketer, a traveler, and a foodie. Jeannie lives in NYC. 
