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Would you believe me if I told you that if you showed up perfectly for your audience, you’d actually turn them off?
No one is perfect. Deep down we know this and yet we continue to chase an ideal to the point that we are unwilling to take action until we find the ‘right’ way to get the outcome we want.
But this perfection trap is precisely the thing keeping you from connecting with your audience.
Learn WHY and what to do instead when you show up on stages or other areas in your business where perfection keeps you stuck in this episode.
Episode Highlights
- What is Perfection Trap and what happens when we get stuck on this
- Why perfectionism will actually make you a sucky speaker
- 3 Things that you need to focus on to avoid Perfection Trap
Episode Show Notes
3 Things to focus on to avoid Perfection Trap
1. Be prepared.
This does not mean having a script and having it so well memorized that you know exactly what to say because here’s the thing— our brains like to screw with us. And that script, you’re going to forget line three and because of how you memorized it you will not remember line four and then it’s going to be a hot freaking mess.
Instead what I want you to focus on is how you can be prepared and what it looks like for you. How can you understand your audience? How can you know your talking points? How can you have that outline dialed in and practice and rehearse over and over and over again so you’re very familiar with the content you trust yourself to deliver?
PRO TIP:
Instead of practicing the parts you know really well, practice those where you feel a bit weird and awkward (ie. the part where you start talking about the price on a webinar).
Preparation is also anticipating the stuff that might come up. How do you manage the unexpected? the tech issues? (Listen to Episode 55 – How to Handle Tech Surprises When Virtually Speaking to learn the steps to navigate tech Issues & surprises)
I want you to anticipate some of the possible scenarios that might happen and what could you do if they did. Think of the things that you need to know to be prepared that will help you create the best experience for your audience.
2. Be equipped.
Preparation is all about your content, understanding your audience, knowing what your talk is and having your game plan. Being equipped on the other hand is building your skills.
If you want to get better at speaking, you have to train for that moment and start thinking of things like, how can you facilitate a conversation if you’re doing a workshop? How do you ask better questions? What do you do when people don’t have a question? What do you do if somebody goes off on a random tangent and you need to get control back of the room? What do you do if the room has low energy? (Check out Episode 60 – How To Create Engagement with A Virtual Audience and learn how to drive engagement from your virtual platform)
3. Be connected.
We have this desire to help and serve other people yet we have this need to be perfect. See how we have this conflict here.
We have this conflict because we’re out of alignment. Our attention is inward focused (ie. our nerves, our own judgment, what people will think about us, the pursuit of being perfect) but our intention is outward.
And if you’re too focused on getting your talk right and making it perfect, your attention is focused on the wrong areas. Remember that when you’re striving for perfection, you are limiting your own capacity.
Commit to taking messy action instead. So when you feel scared or terrified that things could go wrong, shift your mindset. Focus your attention towards your audience and how you can connect with them so you can help them take the next action–that’s how you make an impact.
Previous Episodes / Links mentioned:
How To Create Engagement with A Virtual Audience – Ep #60
How to Handle Tech Surprises When Virtually Speaking – Ep #55
How To Articulate Your Thoughts So They Make Sense To Others – Ep #02
Books mentioned:
Soundtracks The Surprising Solution to Overthinking, Jon Acuff
