Bridge 2: Week 8 - 12 — Demo Prep
demo prep, demo prep and more demo prep.
In 2012, I did something I was scared of. I tried out for a part in Once Upon a Mattress (based on the book Princess and the Pea), a musical being put on by Union Street Players in Pella, Iowa. I was 32 years old, and not since “going up” in 8th grade had I ventured into the theatrical space where memorizing lines, movements, music, and dance was essential. Through graduate school and working with FCA, I honed my presentation skills to the point that I could write a loose outline, but I often strayed from this script and never delivered the same talk twice.
One thing I realized about community theatre is that they practice a lot. Like a lot, a lot. Repetition creates muscle memory in the brain, just like repetition on the court leads to muscle memory taking over in a game. We practiced so much that I became more comfortable delivering the line without thinking, just reacting to the cues. I was nervous each night before we performed, as the fear of “going up” was still in my mind. But to my surprise, I only missed one cue in three performances!
I successfully conquered my fear and had some fun in the process!
A few years later, while working at Sonic Drive-In, Rebecca Esposito and Ben Keenan came to our Oklahoma City headquarters to teach a week-long “Executive Communication” course. The leadership team asked a handful of Directors to join the class to enhance our public speaking skills. In the first assignment, I returned to my comfort of creating a loose outline, confident I could deliver a pretty good presentation with little prep. Rebecca called me out immediately after I finished — “You couldn’t repeat that if you tried.”
Ouch. She was correct; if I had delivered the presentation again, its structure, tone, and content would vastly differ.
Part of the issue is how my brain works; I think in visuals, that is, it is tough to read words aloud as my brain gets ahead of itself. I begin to picture the next slide and the next slide, inevitably losing my place and rhythm of delivery. I can’t slow down; once the brain train gets going, it’s hard to stop! Rebecca then asked some probing questions, and in my answer, I said something to the effect that “maybe I was nervous.” Rebecca quickly corrected me, “No, it’s not nerves; it’s adrenaline. Did you play sports?”
“Yes,” I answered, “I was a wide receiver at the University of Tulsa.” She smiled and replied, “OK, so your body has a memory; when you get in front of people, your adrenaline spikes to meet the performance demands of playing football, and this rush of adrenaline floods your brain and causes you to speed up. Again, it’s not nerves; you’re just too excited.”
“So, what do I do?” I replied.
“Before you present to an audience, stand up, and maybe even go to the back of the room and do some breathing exercises. Take five slow, deep breaths with long exhales. This will relax your autonomic nervous system and slow the effects of the adrenaline being released.”
She then asked me to take five breaths and try again. So, in front of the class, I took five deep breaths with slow exhales and repeated my presentation—this time with much less frenetic energy.
On a side note, she was good at correcting in real-time with the more confident class members so that when others presented, they would know what to expect; it was a Master Class in mastering a class.
Why do I share this story? Mainly, it is for myself. I’ve once again lapsed into thinking I don’t need to practice; I can get up there and wing it. Which is true; I could. But to get the best performance, my frenetic lizard brain needs repetition and direction. Lucky me, the last four weeks of Bridge2 are about polishing our five-minute pitch, five minutes to get an opportunity for a fifteen-minute presentation sometime in the future from those in attendance.
So, I’m doing what I know I need to do but hate doing… I’m practicing, taking critique, applying the feedback, tweaking slides, creating transitions, and honing the craft of telling a story.
My pitch deck is coming along, and you can track my current draft here; there will be tweaks and edits.
We are all working towards the culmination of the Bridge2 program, an exclusive Demo Day on January 24th at Sailor and The Dock here in OKC. If you’re interested, Register Here.
