I thought it might be a useful reflective practice for me to keep a diary of ‘the day’ of a presentation – and that might be interesting for anyone else… but when you read it, remember that I wrote it ‘live’ for my own use. (I’ve edited slightly to do things like make words out of shorthand but not for anything else, so if I make grammatical errors, you’re just going to have to live with it ;) )
The night before (this bit was written retrospectively)
I found a nice Mexican restaurant – not literally on the recommendation of the girl at hotel reception, but she pointed me to the right street where there was a reasonable choice. Flipped through my notes for the following morning while waiting. Checked I knew the venue, how far it was to walk from the hotel and that my phone’s map app knew the way.
Spent some time in the hotel bar later, online. Chatting to friends in the background (sometimes we spend too long apart because of our jobs and this is a good substitute) while doing some background research on a gig in a month’s time. And reading some emails which were feedback on my next book. (Presentation Genius)
6:50
Alarm. Snooze button. Text my wife. Alarm once more. Up, stretches and a few exercises (half hearted), shave and shower. Breakfast by 7:30. Writing this by 8:00. Then pack.
The exercise is important. You can’t be a speaker/presenter unless you’re on top of your game, and people often don’t understand (or realise) how physically demanding it is to be a presenter. If you’re not fit you’ll not realise how much less you are giving your audience than you could be. And I don’t mean the ‘average’ fitness that the UK has – I mean properly fit. Starjumps, burpees, crunches, planks and press-ups, please! :)
To help me when I’m on the road and can’t get to a real gym, I have a long, strong, broad length of elastic that I use to provide resistance and so on. For example, one end goes under your foot and the other hand is in your hand… and you’ve got a poor man’s weight to do bicep curls.
Leave for the venue at 8:00 to arrive by 8:30 for a 9:30 gig.
8:30
Set up. Go through my checklist of things to do… We have a literal, written checklist to make sure that things don’t get mixed in the heat of the moment. Re-arrange chairs to make it more suitable for the nature of today’s topic.
The checklist is absolutely key to our performance. In the heat of the moment, when I’m nervous, things can get missed. A checklist means they don’t. Simple as that. No matter how experienced you (think you) are I recommend a checklist. Microphone batteries? Check. Slides run through to make sure they work on this projector? Check. Stage marked so I know where I can/can’t stand? Check. Handouts in order? Check. Handouts in place? Check. Range of my remote control checked? Check. You get the picture, I’m sure.
Our checklists are called ‘Ties and Flies’ by the way as an in-company joke (okay not a good one!) because the last thing to check before you go on stage…. yeah, ties and flies. ;)
On this occasion there was a problem with the VGA and sound cables. Turns out that venue had ’em in back to front, so they worked but weren’t long enough if you wanted audio as well as vid. Got a bit sweaty sorting their kit out – can’t believe it took me more than 30 seconds to spot the problem :(
Ready to rock ‘n’ roll by 9:00. Get up of tea.
9:00
Ready to greet people as they arrive. And at 9:15 leave them to their own devices so that I’ve got a little while to get my head straight before kickoff. A lot of people will tell you that you should stay with your audience and make yourself approachable. My way, they say, looks rude… to which I say that I need some time to be myself so I can really perform well on stage and if that means I have to look rude for a few minutes, so be it.
For gigs which are big enough to justify taking a member of my team with me, I leave them socialising on my behalf… (getting paid to drink coffee and eat cookies…)
Apart from anything else, it stops well-meaning well-wishers saying “Good luck”. I know they mean well, but it’s just rude: professionals don’t rely on luck. ;)
9:30
Showtime.
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