There is one thing I find in common with many of my media and presentation training clients: they like to talk about how they are going to give a speech or talk about what they are going to say in a media interview, instead of actually rehearsing the real thing.
THIS IS A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME.
The best way to prepare for a media interview or a speech is to actually rehearse it in an environment as close to the real thing as possible. My experience is that people can talk a good game about what they are going to say in a media interview, but when you stick a microphone in their face and ask them a question, something completely different comes out. Far better to spend some time—even if it’s only five minute—rehearsing a media interview and recording it. Then, when you play it back, the executive can see what was said. Bluster counts for nothing at this stage—the camera doesn’t like.
Similar is the situation with speaking. Executives are often great at talking about the interesting points they want to cover in a speech and insightful anecdotes they want to bring up. But then they get nervous in the actual speech and start reading bullet points of facts off of a wall.
It’s easy and relaxing to talk about what you are going to do at a later time.
It’s relatively hard to actual do it now. That’s why baseball players play real innings in practice; they don’t just run wind sprints.
There is a reason that Broadway actors don’t just talk about their characters and what they are going to say on opening night of the show. Actors do lots of full dress rehearsals. If you are giving a speech or media interview, you don’t have to memorize the way an actor does, but you do need to rehearse. It is the only way to get an accurate gage of your strengths, weaknesses, and what needs to be fine tuned before the real performance.
Rehearse, don’t just rehash.
