Knowledge vs Practice

Hello Everyone!

Apologies in advance as today's article is going to be a short one. I'm in the middle of moving to a new home, got Covid earlier in the week and have a few keynotes and workshops that are coming up. Talk about a perfect storm!!

Speaking of workshops, I have one in a few weeks for a Fortune 500 company where I'll be helping senior managers master boardroom-style presentations. While reviewing my slides with the team lead, we were discussing the importance of practicing presentations in advance. She agreed that practicing is indeed important, however, she personally doesn't practice because she knows the content inside-out and therefore feels well-prepared.

I responded that she is an outlier, since there are many who know the content well, but may not be able to present it effectively. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary for MOST people to practice.

Over the last few days, I was thinking about this and was asking myself this question:

Which one provides more of an advantage before a presentation: Practice or Knowledge?

The Foundations of Confidence:

When I teach how one can build confidence, the two core pillars in that are Knowledge and Practice. The more you know something (i.e. Knowledge), the more confident you will be about that subject. The more you do it (i.e. Practice), the greater your confidence grows on executing it.

When it comes to presentations, many lack confidence because limited to no attention has gone on these two pillars.

Practice vs Knowledge

I don't think it comes down to one being more important than the other. They both are needed for MOST people. Some people are naturally gifted at getting in front of an audience and delivering an epic speech or presentation. Other people are extremely knowledgeable on a subject, but struggle articulating the subject in a clear, concise and interesting manner.

In presentations, the presenter must ensure they are knowledgeable on the topic for obvious reasons. I believe practicing helps with the knowledge part. The more repetitions on the subject matter, the greater the chance it will retain front and center in the mind. Additionally, the practicing part can help with how the presenter wants to dispense the information or with refining the presentation to make it more impactful.

That being said, if you are naturally talented in front of a crowd, do what works best for you. For the rest of us mere mortals, keep practicing.

Parting Words

Just remember, Michael Jordan, arguably the greatest athlete ever, is also considered the greatest competitor. Many of his former teammates have stated that he was very tough on them when they played with him - especially during practices. When MJ was asked about his thoughts on this, he simply stated that he never asked his teammates to do anything he didn't do (whether in the game or in practice). In other words, to be the great at something, practice is an ingredient that shouldn't be negotiable...and when you do practice, make sure you go at it with everything!!

Have a great rest of the week ahead.

If you are interested in improving your speaking, communication skills and confidence, schedule a call with me or learn more about communication coaching here.

Thought Of The Week

A weekly thought to meditate, ruminate, and/or ponder on:

“I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying.”

- Michael Jordan