I’m a big Seth Godin fan, and usually find his blogs insightful and thought-provoking. Rarely, I disagree with them entirely. Recently, Seth posted the following blog, with which I disagree so violently that I have to blog in opposition:
Rehearsing is for cowards
Jackson Browne gave us that advice. He would rather have you explore.
Exploring helps you figure out what you can do the next time you present or perform or interact. Rehearsing . . . means figuring out exactly what you're going to do so you can protect against the downside, the unpredictable and the embarrassing.
I'm not dismissing study, learning, experimenting or getting great at what you do. In fact, I'm arguing in favor of this sort of hard work. No, I'm talking about the repetition of doing it before you do it, again and again. Just drilling it in so you can regurgitate later. Better, I think, as they say, "…let's do it live."
A well-rehearsed performance will go without a hitch. An explorer seeks the hitches, because hitches are the fissures and chasms that help us leap forward.
For public speakers, this is terrible advice. I often work with executives who say, “I don’t want to rehearse. I’ll just get stale. I’m better when I wing it.”
And when they wing it, what happens? They ask the first person they see, after the talk, “How did I do?” Of course, the first person is the Senior Vice President for Stuff, and he says, “You were great, Chief,” because that’s his job.
In fact, what happens when you wing it, or you don’t rehearse, is that your body language signals to the audience, “Hey, folks, I’m doing this for the first time!” It's unconscious, but the audience picks it up subliminally right away. Now, some people are terrified when they’re doing something for the first time, and some people are merely excited, but everyone is at least a little uncertain.
If a little uncertainty is what you want to telegraph to the audience, then by all means don’t rehearse. But if you want to show up, instead, as confident, or cool, or in charge, then you need to rehearse.
The idea of getting stale is widely misunderstood. It’s your job as a speaker to show up for your speech with 3 things: a great talk, a passion for your subject, and a willingness to listen to your audience. To have a great talk – which means knowing it thoroughly – you have to rehearse. If you bring your passion to the performance, you will never look stale or canned, because you will be genuinely there, in the moment. And similarly, if you show up in the moment, you will be able to listen to your audience.
That’s why you have to rehearse. And that’s why Seth’s blog, just this once, is terrible advice for public speakers.
Both of you are right but you’re talking about slightly different things.
In his post, Seth defines rehearsing as “figuring out exactly what you’re going to do so you can protect against the downside, the unpredictable and the embarrassing.” Your definition is more general; it’s about the process of planning prior to a performance. Both of you would probably agree that preparing before a presentation is good practice but don’t want to over-do it to the point that you no longer interact with your audience.
Seth is just saying that the interaction between speaker and audience — questioning, responding, debating, improvising, exploring — is far more valuable than the rehearsed parts of a presentation.
Nick – I have to agree that you need both if you are speaking professionally. And I also agree it’s noticeable.
I took a softer stance on this by suggesting that indeed we need to rehearse and let it go to the extent that you focus on the connection with the audience. My thoughts and my approach here: http://bit.ly/cNSpJ0
Jeff
Nick, I have to side with Ryan and Jeff on this one. I have written and spoken extensively about the need to prepare for one’s presentations. It makes for a more fluid, more meaningful presentation and it shows respect for one’s audience. (Who wants to listen to someone who is not prepared rambling on?)
However, what I took away from Seth’s post – you can read it here: http://wp.me/pwfa1-1dC – is that there comes a time when the preparation has to stop and we must deliver. We can prepare and rehearse all we want – and preparation is important, to be sure – but until we get up and do it, we will never truly know what it is like. How many of us learned to ride a bike from a manual?
Don’t get me wrong, I agree with everything you said about the importance of preparation. I just took a different message away from Seth’s post: Prepare properly and then do it, and in the doing, be prepared to learn more.
Cheers!
John
http://mannerofspeaking.org
Thanks to Ryan, Jeff, and John for fascinating comments. As an old friend of mine used to say, “I think we’re all in violent agreement here.” But Seth said, “Rehearsal is for cowards,” and that is both plainly wrong, and plainly a fabulous attention-grabbing headline.
It’s hard for people to rehearse, because it (when you do it right) means looking honestly and critically at what you’re proposing to do. That takes courage. And I believe that only a well-rehearsed speaker can get the most out of a talk — and give the most to the audience.
Couldn’t agree more with you, Nick. Specifically re: Godin’s attention grabbing headline(s). It’s transparent and downright irresponsible. And I’m a fan of his (though not a follower – we should follow our own paths).
So many Bloggers today use these tactics – I’m seeing too many Gagas and Biebers in headlines that have only vague relevance to the subject matter, or discussions stretched to the point of irrelevance to justify the use of these obvious SEO-type posts. (rant over)
I’m all for serendipity, exploration and discovery. In fact, I embrace it, but no, rehearsing is definitely not for cowards.
Thank, Nick. I love that expression: “in violent agreement”. Classic!
I’ll grant you that the title of the post was sensationalist, even if the text does temper it. But the bottom line, on which I think we all can agree, is that a speakers must be properly prepared / rehearsed, and that means neither too little, nor too much.
…a great, apt, heroic reply Nick (and not in the least one of cowardice). Thanks for the reflections and good reminder to bring ‘The 3’ i.e. passion, ability to listen, and a great story.
Hi, Jill —
Thanks for your kind comments. And the reinforcement that the important point — besides knowing what you’re doing — is that you need story and passion, but also listening, to form an unbreakable bond with your audience.
We just had the same discussion in Germany. Seems to have hit a nerve :)
I think maybe we should define “rehearsing” first.
As I see it, it is *impossible* to be entirely unrehearsed. Because we rehearse in our minds and dreams, for live, for talks, and we think of a word, a phrase and save them up.
Later, it all just connects.
The more experience you have as a speaker (or writer), the better you know your subject, the less you need to repeat such rehearsals. And the more space there is for improvising.
I for one hardly ever write a script *before* a talk … but I have pretty much said it all in my mind, tied my ideas to a certain slide, an image, so it is NOT the first time (my brains thinks and is tricked into cosy comfort) that I have said the words when I give my talk. More or less the way I had planned to.
Surprises included, of course.
Hi, Anke —
I like your way of thinking — and you’re right about needing less rehearsal as you get more expert. But a word of caution to less experienced speakers: I can always tell when someone has only “thought” the speech ahead of time, rather than actually talking it out, because the transitions from one thought to the next always trip you up. Beware the transitions!
Nick,
I couldn’t agree with you more. I first encountered this debate over on John Zimmer’s blog and he pointed me to your post and discussion.
I don’t believe a speaker can ever be over-prepared. My clients also frequently use the “I don’t want to get stale” excuse for not rehearsing.
When someone goes into “robotic” mode, it’s not because of over-preparation. Rather it’s because of disconnecting from being present with the audience. And part of good preparation is thinking about the audience’s mindset, how your message relates to their situation and what questions they may have.
Only when you have done that amount of preparation can you be free enough to really focus on the audience, instead of yourself, and welcome any spontaneous “hitches.”
Best,
Kathy
Kathy — Your comment should be the last word on the subject, since it’s so spot on. Thanks for weighing in. I recommend that all serious public speakers who want to improve their skills do Improv work as a way to increase their ability to be present. Once you learn to embrace the idea of just responding in the moment without judging there’s very little that gets between you and the audience.