The Biggest Missed Opportunity

One of my mentees asked me what is the biggest opportunity I missed.

Not rehearsing enough for my biggest presentations.

How many presentations have I bombed? How many have been merely average, missing the opportunity to shine?

It's hard to imagine what my path could have been if I had focused on that one specific skill.

In consulting, we influence others by speaking effectively and presenting our ideas.

Better late than never!

After nine years in consulting, I finally realized how important presentation skills are. Duh!

Don’t get me wrong, I was doing alright. I regret not learning to do it at the highest level.

So this year, I came up with the following protocol.

→ For each big presentation, I draft key talking points.

Slides are terrible for that. They contain too much information.

I allow myself to make 2-3 main points per slide.

I always try to weave in a short story to make my presentation memorable.

Once I have my bullets written and sharpened, I then start rehearsing.

I don't just go through it in my mind but actually rehearse it out loud in front of the camera.

→ Yes, I do it on video.

I found that recording and rewatching videos accelerates my learning and improves delivery.

Initially, I cringed and couldn't stand hearing my voice and seeing my face. It was so painful.

But then I realized that is the exact feeling I experience when presenting via Zoom.

Needless to say, it affected my delivery. I got distracted, demotivated, and thrown off. My confidence took a hit, and the whole thing went sideways.

After practicing many times, I reached the point where I didn't cringe at myself.

Another thing I learned was that I used to speak too fast.

I was stuttering, eating endings, and using filler words. My brain was trying to create some time and space to catch up after my mouth.

This fast pace also prevented people from understanding what I was talking about.

→ When I slowed down, I got rid of these problems. My speech became much clearer, more composed, and more articulate. I felt a step change in my daily work.

So, back to video practicing.

→ I practice at least four times for any important presentation.

Usually, I become fluent and comfortable with the content after four practices.

This frees up my brain's capacity to focus on presentation delivery.

Articulation, voice volume, tone, and variability make a huge difference. They help you connect with people.

→ For my video practices, I use the Yoodli app, an AI-powered service.

It provides insights into speech quality, pace, repetitions, filler words, etc.

There, you can see trends in how you improve over time.

I also use video recordings to practice my storytelling skills daily.

→ Each day, I record myself for 5-10 minutes, telling short stories on various topics.

I kill two birds with one stone. I practice my public speaking skills. And develop a library of useful stories that I can use in different social settings.

I can’t imagine what impact that could have if I regularly applied these practices for many years. Don’t miss this opportunity. Invest early.

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P.S.

I feel your pain.

As a consultant, I struggled to perform and faced an impossible situation with extremely high expectations and minimal support.

My life turned into relentless stress, pain, and anxiety. But I always suspected that there should be a better way.

All that pain was not necessary with the right support.

Nine years later, I designed the coaching program I desperately needed back then. Its sole focus is helping you excel and achieve high performance.

Only then can you build strong sponsorships, find great projects, and become confident.

If you are an MBB consultant and want to achieve high performance, please
Book a 1-1 Discovery Session.

Learn more about the Hero Journey coaching program.

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