Public Speaking Quick Tips #13

Practice is vital if you want to be a good public speaker, but can you over practice?

The three key words in Public Speaking are Practice, Practice, Practice.

But is there a situation where you can have over-prepared?

TRANSCRIPT;
Can you Over-Prepare for a Talk?
When asked about how to become a good public speaker I always respond with the key words – Practice, Practice, Practice.
But can you be over prepared?
Many speakers believe they can overcome their pre-speech nerves by over-preparing, believing that if they rehearse and practice enough nothing could possibly go wrong. Wrong.
Something will always go wrong but usually the audience will be oblivious to it. You’ll leave out a small point, hesitate over a pronunciation or have a momentary brain fade but the odds are you will be the only one to notice. The audience has no idea what you are going to say or where you are going with a train of thought. It’s not your ‘mistake’ or ‘stumble’ that’s important but how you recover from it.
Bottom line – all the practice in the world will not make perfect. Accept it.
Your speech is not going to succeed on content alone. It’s how you come across, so spend more time on your vocal delivery, your appearance, your gestures, your eye contact and communication skills with the audience.
All the great content in the world doesn’t mean much if your audience has fallen asleep through boredom.
Prepare your speech thoroughly but don’t forget you and your talk are a package, a performance.
All aspects must be delivered in harmony. Worry less about being word perfect and concentrate more on communicating your message.
If you can, remember it’s more about the audience and what you can do for them than it is about you. That thought alone will help reduce pre talk anxiety.

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