Stop Treating Every Presentation Like a TED Talk

Most people cope with public-speaking anxiety the same way: by preparing really, REALLY well.

Which is cool. Preparation is essential. Scripting your content, planning the nonverbal aspects of your delivery, and getting it into your muscle memory all help you show up as your best. Being really prepared is a very good thing.

Until it isn’t. Until you start over-preparing to the point of diminishing returns. Until it becomes a time suck, a barrier that prevents you from doing the thing that will most help you achieve excellence: actually getting in front of people and speaking, again and again and again.

Public speaking is a lot like driving a car. The more often you do it, the better you become at noticing what’s going on around you and responding intuitively. But if you had to do a full safety inspection and oil change every time you got behind the wheel, you’d probably do it a lot less often.

Similarly, if you obsess about perfection every time you speak in front of other people, then the whole thing will become an unreasonable burden. You’ll avoid it, and as a result you’ll miss out on reaching that stage where you can stand up and experience a nearly-effortless state of flow.

So how do you short-circuit that perfectionist instinct, so that it doesn’t get in your way? It starts with a phrase I say to my clients all the time: Not everything is a TED Talk.

Let's be clear: the tight scripting and flawless delivery you see in a TED (or TEDx) talk is the result of months of preparation, multiple drafts, lots of practice and a hefty dose of professional coaching. It’s a lot of work, and it’s worth it because those 18 minutes on stage can introduce you to a massive new audience and incredible opportunities. It’s your one shot at a first impression in the minds of hundreds, or even millions, of people, and that’s worth a big investment.

Similarly, if you’re pitching to investors or creating a high-priced training program, it makes sense to strive for this level of preparation. But if you’re presenting the second-quarter financial report to your team or giving a free webinar? Give yourself a break! You need to know your stuff, of course, and you need to prepare. But it would be overkill - and a huge waste of time - to memorize a script and train for it like you’re about to go on Shark Tank. 

And as a result, you’re a lot more likely to just say “screw it” and skip the opportunity altogether.

So instead of obsessing about the minutiae of each individual presentation, try this: focus on developing a simple, easily-repeatable system (like the one I teach in the Fearless Public Speaking course) for planning your content, deciding on the appropriate tone and delivery techniques, and engaging in a dialogue with the audience. Focus on getting lots of practice and lots of feedback, which over time will make the whole thing feel easy - and even give you the skills to “wing it” with confidence when the circumstances call for it. 

The key words here are systems and skills. You’re not re-inventing the wheel each time; you’re using a set of tools that let you bang out the kind of quality presentation you need, when you need it - and it’s EASY.

In short: forget perfection. The point of public speaking is to make it easier for you to reach the right people so that you can achieve your goals.  The key word there is “EASY.” That’s why strategy and systems are better than over-preparation. 

Taking a “not everything is a TED talk” attitude lets you dedicate an appropriate amount of time - no more, no less - to your presentation, win people over, and then get back to the stuff you do best and that you actually *want* to do.

Because that’s what it’s really about, right?

If you could use some help building your public speaking systems and skills, sign up for our newsletter and get lots of tips for taking the “ick” out of public speaking. Or, contact us and find out how Stage Light Communications can help you achieve your speaking goals.