I was working with an accomplished leader who moved to a new organization where she took on a bigger leadership role.  She was excited about the new job, but found herself physically shaking while speaking to the group.  She would forget where she was, had to refer to her notes, and the paper would rattle so loudly that her colleagues in the audience looked concerned.  She had never experienced anxiety in public speaking before. Now she panicked at the thought of her next team meeting or training.  Her panic mounted as the annual company retreat loomed closer. She would be introducing, moderating, and hosting the event in her new role, which, of course…Read on.

Imagine a circus performer moving directly from practicing aerial feats in a studio to performing those same feats in a circus tent, in costume, with blinding lights, for a large crowd of rowdy onlookers. Nobody would expect that to work out well. Any performer knows that we need a transition between practice and performance. In the theater, we set aside a full week to be awful: we call it “tech week.” During tech week we are awkward, make big mistakes, lose any spark, while we get used to the props, set, stage, lights, music, sound design, people in the seats, and begin to bring it all together. As speakers and presenters, we can give ourselves this gift. We can do a mock-up rehearsal or two in our own space and, if we are really proactive, a “tech rehearsal” in the presentation space with all the tech—slides, clicker, lights, mic, everything. Here is what a tech rehearsal might look like for a corporate speaker…Read on.