Okay, so how do I actually practice being a better professional?
Because we tend to focus our energies on public speaking, I’m going to limit my discussion to that topic. However, much of the advice that follows is applicable in a variety of professional circumstances.
I’ve written before about the extreme prejudice we’ve found among our clients against public speaking and how that translates into a distinct unwillingness to practice such a torturous activity. But, what we learn from outliers like The Beatles, Tiger Woods, and others is that everyone has to practice if they want to get better -- even people who are already very good.
I feel pretty certain that no one reading this is terribly interested in becoming the next toastmaster’s champ or outstanding speaker on the motivational speaking circuit. I am quite sure, however, that everyone reading this could stand to improve their public speaking skills at least a little.
Get to Know the Playing Field:
The first thing that you can do to prepare yourself for a professional challenge is to get to know the basic outlines of the situation in which you find yourself. Who will be there and what are they like? What are their expectations for you and for the event? What are the implicit and explicit rules of engagement?
If you don’t who and what you are up against, there’s no way that you can possibly prepare adequately.
Develop a Game Plan:
If you’re a musician, you don’t step onto a concert stage without a playlist. If you’re a golfer, both you and your caddie have extensively researched the course and you have a plan for how you want to play each hole. As a professional, it makes sense to have put a great deal of thought and effort into preparing yourself before you are ever in the spotlight. That means if you have a difficult conversation with a subordinate/coworker, you have to run a meeting, or you have to give a speech at a seminar with 1,000 attendees -- you must do the leg work. Developing a game plan means you need to write out a script of your conversation, construct a detailed agenda for your meeting, or research and outline your speech.
Work Through the Soreness:
The first few times you do anything, you are bound to feel uncomfortable and awkward. Ever started a training or exercise program? Ever quit one? If you have, you’re not alone. Many people don’t make it past the first few days of a new exercise regimen because they aren’t psychologically prepared for the soreness and pain that accompanies the process. The people who are successful anticipate the discomfort and prepare themselves mentally to deal with it.
When you practice a speech, you might as well get ready to feel awkward and silly. That’s part of the process. But, the more you practice, the more comfortable you will begin to feel. Thus, by the time you actually give the speech, you have worked through all/most of the uncomfortable feelings and able to give it your all.
When Game-Time Comes, Play With Heart:
When the time comes to have the conversation, conduct the meeting, or give the speech, you must be willing to meet the challenges of the situation with authenticity and feeling. The means you need to throw away the script and speak from your heart. I know it sounds like a cliche, but it’s not. If you want to improve your abilities as a professional, you must learn to speak to people directly and not just throw a previously prepared message at them. They can tell the difference -- and they don’t like being talked at.
So what if something goes wrong? Something goes “not according to plan”? Well, I’m pretty sure that Tiger Woods never includes an errant tee shot in his game plan, but sometimes his drives end up in the trees and he’s forced to improvise. The difference, here, is that Woods has prepared himself for that possibility and has spent quite a bit of time preparing himself, both mentally and physically, for the unexpected. That way, when it happens, he’s not totally thrown off his game and he manages quite well.
