Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse

This is the time we've been waiting for. The big presentation is just around the corner. Now what?

First, let's realize that now is "crunch time". It's not enough to do great research, craft a compelling business fit or develop a powerful presentation. Now we have to deliver the presentation, and it has to say that we are knowledgeable, capable, confident and trustworthy. In order to communicate these things in a presentation, we have to rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.

First, we rehearse to commit the presentation content to memory. Second, we rehearse to be able to nail the transitions between bullets and pages. Third, we rehearse to hone our delivery. Of course, there are a number of ways to rehearse - in front of a mirror, with our peers or manager, and with a video camera, among others. Whichever you prefer, it's critical to rehearse. In fact, it's a good idea to rehearse several times in the days and/or nights leading up to the presentation.

The positive outcomes associated with effective rehearsal are obvious - we know the material and our confidence in our ability to deliver it is very high. That translates to success. The negative outcomes associated may be just as obvious - we don't have strong recall of the content, our confidence is low, and it looks to the customer like we lack conviction and ability. That seems like a good trade-off for the dark circles under our eyes!