***Striving for Perfection in Public Speaking? Stop Reaching for the Impossible!

By Nancy Daniels The Official Guide to Public Speaking
The official guide to Public Speaking

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What do you consider to be a perfect presentation? A dynamic delivery and great material? Or possibly the fact that you didn’t make a mistake? Or maybe you believe that a perfect presentation is one that flows smoothly without flaw?

Perfection in any live venue is subjective and striving to attain it is a total waste of your time. What I may consider to be perfect may not be what you consider to be perfect. Unfortunately, perfection is something that the Type A personality is always trying to achieve. In the field of public speaking, however, it unfortunately depletes your energy as well as your ability to be yourself at the lectern.

Public speaking is difficult enough without adding to your nervousness. Why seek a goal that you cannot reach? Why not, instead, strive for excellence?

The difficulty with perfection is that it does not allow for the occasional mistake. Excellence, on the other hand, does. This is something that the Type A personality would be well served to understand and to accept. In doing so, you can then deal with the reality of the situation and not an unrealistic attempt to achieve the impossible.

Do you know how many times TV and radio broadcasters make mistakes? How about professional musicians, singers, and actors? Are you aware that seasoned professional public speakers make mistakes as well? In most cases, it probably doesn’t register with you, the listener. But, it happens. The secret is that they don’t let it fluster them. They fix it, if need be, and move on.

Another one of the secrets for professional public speakers is that they don’t memorize their script. They know their material inside and out but when they speak, their delivery is slightly different each and every time the give the same presentation because they are speaking from their heart and not just from their head. In doing so, they can express themselves with passion, with enthusiasm and with emotion. A memorized performance does not allow for the same colorful delivery because it is exactly what it is called. A memorized performance.

Good public speakers communicate with their audiences; those delivering a memorized script do not. In truth, delivering a memorized presentation is more akin to acting.

Stop trying to achieve that which is not possible. Instead, create an excellent presentation; deliver an excellent presentation and don’t fret if you make an occasional mistake. Without a doubt, the best in the business are excellent but they are not perfect!