I subscribe to Seth Godin's blog. I love Seth Godin's blog. I find it inspiring, entertaining, educational, and enjoyable.
But not always. That's good, because if we agreed with everything we read it would be an awfully boring world.
A couple of weeks ago Seth wrote that "Rehearsing is for cowards".
He quoted Jackson Browne, who I suspect when he said rehearsing is for cowards was being controversial, confrontational, or both. Browne has sold more than 17 million albums, headlined live shows across the world, and written some of the most powerful songs of the last forty years.
And you don't get that good without rehearsing.
The next time you have a presentation to make, or a conference speech, or you're part of a pitch team, please don't fall into the trap of thinking you can wing it. Plan it, prepare it, and rehearse it.
I'm lucky enough to see a lot of great speakers in my job - indeed, I'm just back from the annual convention of the Professional Speaking Association, where I got to watch some of the best speakers in the world perform. I even got to do a keynote myself.
If great speakers look natural, confident, spontaneous and off-the-cuff, that's because they have put the work in to do so. I had a laugh at the convention with the brilliant after-dinner and conference speaker Graham Davies about rehearsing ad-libs. I was only partly joking.
Professional speakers plan and plan and plan. And then they start rehearsing.
Don't think that being under-rehearsed looks 'edgy', spontaneous or relaxed. It looks unprofessional, unprepared, and for the audience, it simply feels awkward.
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Excellent Kenny - I agree completely. The problem I think is that most people who are in the "anti" rehearsal camp are those who only do one or two rehearsals. Small amounts of rehearsal are worse than no rehearsal, so people who only do a little rehearsal therefore think that no rehearsal is better. But much more rehearsal is beneficial. The problem is people do not rehearse enough - Seth Godin included, it seems.
ReplyDeleteHaving worked in the music industry and in the theatre I know that the best people who looked and sounded the most "natural" on stage, were the ones who did the most rehearsal. Hours and hours of it. Some of the most "natural" stars I have seen are the ones who practised and practised and practised to get that naturalness just right.
I could was lyrical about the psychological need for rehearsal and why there is no such thing as over-rehearsal and why we appear more natural when we rehearse a lot....but I won't. I'll leave it simply as this:
Seth Godin is wrong.
To be honest I think what Seth Godin is saying here (and I imagine Jackson Browne) is that you learn a lot more playing live than you do from rehearsals. There's a difference between practice and rehearsing. Practice is what you do at home, or when you jam. Rehearsing is what you do in the rehearsal rooms.. I've never met or been in a band that didn't get more out of playing live than rehearsing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments guys.
ReplyDeleteVincent - you make a good point, and you may well be right about musicians and bands. However, for presenters and speakers (about whom I was writing) the key is not what they get out of it (or what they learn).
It's about the audience - and to give your best to the audience you need to rehearse. Presenting without rehearsing is like a band getting on stage without knowing the set list, which chord comes next, and who harmonises with whom.
Although I have seen speakers AND bands who performed like that!
As Graham says, more rehearsal is beneficial - for the speaker and the audience.
Seth Godin didn't make me laugh. Even with the advantage of a silly name. Not a titter. So much for him.
ReplyDeleteGraham Jones comment 3rd para 3rd word.....would not have been picked up by spell check.....by grammar check? Possibly....
ReplyDeleteHowever....did we read through 'our' comment?....maybe not. So, in the light of being prepared and rehearse, rehearse etc............ Read and maybe re-read your comments!..............OR..... maybe you were just checking to see if I 'wax' awake!! HaHa!
The time shown by my comment is incorrect IF you are using BST as the standard time. I sent it at 1758BST......8hrs different!
ReplyDelete