If you asked the average business professional to take several hours, or even days, off from their job, during the middle of the work week, to prepare, rehearse and perform a musical revue of Broadway show tunes, they would think you were crazy.
They don’t have time for things like that. They are busy people. Their days are tightly scheduled, their calendars full and their lunch breaks, evenings and weekends booked weeks in advance. They are under constant pressure to produce results.
Yet these same business people seem to be willing to waste hours or days preparing, rehearsing and performing a presentation that accomplishes nothing, that is every bit as much of a waste of time, in business terms, as a Broadway musical revue.
It amazes me. Their professional colleagues or potential clients are voluntarily giving them a large chunk of their time and attention for the presentation, and they squander it.
If you call them on it, they will tell you that they are building the brand, getting their name out there, or informing potential customers about their products or services. It’s as if Research and Development said their goal was to make some cool stuff or Marketing said their plan was to tell people about the company.
In either case, management would demand that they come up with specific, concrete, actionable plans, or heads would roll. So why don’t they demand the same from the executives that represent the company, when they speak. The time and attention of others is a valuable resource, and vague, half-baked plans are no way to take maximum advantage of such a resource.
Take the time to figure out what, specifically, you want to happen as a result of this presentation or speech. Come up with a concrete, viable plan for how you are going to use the speaking opportunity to make that happen.
If there is no clear purpose behind the presentation, create one. If a major airline offered you free, first-class tickets to anywhere in the world, with the stipulation that they be used within the next month, would you turn them down because you had no plans to travel? Or would you quickly think of someplace you wanted to go?
Do the same with your speaking. Figure out a way to take full advantage of the opportunity you have been given.
If you can’t be bothered, then stick with the Broadway show tunes. At least that would be more entertaining.
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