Do You Do It Enough? Tim Does

 

When I was at Yahoo!, I was asked to record a training video that could be used by all Yahoo! managers as a learning resource for conducting better performance reviews.  At the time I was the director of Yahoo!'s Learning and Development organization.  It was my first time recording in Yahoo!'s production studio.  The camera, lights, backdrop, marks on the floor telling me where to stand … all this was new to me.

 

As I was preparing for the video shoot, I asked Adrian Smith if he had any advice for me.

 

 

 

 

At the time Adrian was the head of all online training for the Yahoo! sales organization, and he was producing our training video. (Adrian is a great guy who now runs his own full-service video production company, Slice of Life Media.) 

 

Adrian's answer.

Rehearse.

Simple.

Rehearse.

 

He said, "We all need to rehearse.  If you want to be good at something, you have to rehearse."

 

Then Adrian gave me an example.

Tim Sanders.

 

 

At the time, Tim was leading an organization at Yahoo! called Value Lab; it was a strategic think tank focused on creating value for our customers.  Tim played an important role in the company.  He was respected.  He was successful.

 

And according to Adrian, he rehearsed.

 

Adrian said Tim was tireless about making sure he gave his best effort in preparing for all of his presentations and speeches. (Even back then he was called to speak all the time—check out one of Tim's videos on his site.) 

 

How did all this preparation work out for Tim?  After a great career at Yahoo!, he wrote three bestselling books: Love Is The Killer App, The Likeability Factor, and Saving the World at Work. Now, Tim’s working on his fourth book, and he is one of the most popular transformational speakers nationally.

 

Think about your expertise.

 

How much are you practicing?

How much are you rehearsing? 

Listen to Adrian.

Follow Tim's example.

Make time for rehearsal.

 

(Here's Tim in his own words about the importance of rehearsing.)

 

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Comments

[video production company]

Rehearsal is really important for us to be go in our work..I had so much fun on this post.!!Thanks for sharing it on us.!!God job.!!

[David J. Pollay]

Thanks, Laura for the post. Your students are lucky to have you. And we all need to heed the advice to rehearse like Tim! It takes effort, but sure is worth it.

Big hugs,

David

[Laura C.]

Thanks for this reminder, David! The only homework my students have the week before a presentation is "practice, practice, practice". Your post brought forth for me that there are places in my life that I can take my own advice (and yours!).

[David J. Pollay]

Good point, BRem, about stress reduction -- not just during the speech, but the days and weeks prior to the event. Great to get your post.

Check out Tim's videos to get a sense of what a speaker looks like after as much preparation as Tim does. It's impressive.

All the best,
David

[BRem]

Thanks for reminding us of the importance of rehersal. Not only does the practice improve results, the confidence you gain from being prepared can reduce stress. I appreciate the post.

[David J. Pollay]

Way to go, Kait! Congrats on your presentation! That's awesome...and all the more impressive because you made time to rehearse.

Tim and Adrian would be proud of you.

Big hugs, David

[Kait]

It's funny, I was just thinking earlier today about how much better my presentations are when I rehearse. It seems silly to talk to yourself, and it often seems hard to fit a trial run in but it really helps me to be confident and focused on the main message. Today, after a few rehearsals, I knocked one out of the park! Thanks for a great example on why we should make time to rehearse.

Kait

[David J. Pollay]

Nice to hear from you, Lil. Great point about being a part of the daily routine for singers and performers. Thanks!

And you'll like Tim's books...very practical and good reads.

Best,

David

[Lil]

As a professional singer, practice and rehearsal are important and must be part of a performers daily routine. Tim is a very interesting guy. Thanks for recommending his books. Great post David. Thanks, lil

[David J. Pollay]

Thanks, Sid, for the post. You'll like Tim's books.

And good point. It's easy to get comfortable when we know there's a screen with our notes behind us. I can tell you that Tim Sanders does not look as his slides when he uses them. Tim always goes mano a mano with his audience. He's at the top for a good reason.

Sid, good to hear from you.

All the best,

David

[David J. Pollay]

Good for you, Max. Enjoy!

All the best,

David

[Sid Harris]

Great post about Tim Sanders and rehearsing. It's easy to forget how important it is to practice our presentations in the corporate world. Most of us think we're done when our PowerPoint is done.

I'll have to get one of Tim's books. Thanks.

[Max]

Thanks David. Your column is great. It reminds me that I don't practice enough. Piano is my interest. To the piano I go. Max