One of the professional golfers on the PGA tour said, ”The more you practice, the luckier you get" ... this is so true in any endeavor.
Many times you have heard it said when playing golf, “if that ball would've just been six inches more to the right it would have rolled up to the pin instead of dropping into the sand trap. Of course, the person who practices more gets what we would call the “lucky bounce” but it is really not luck. It is more than likely the constant recurring practice that people do.
You can be the smartest person but if you can’t sell your ideas you are not likely to get ahead.
I have always felt the Speech was one of the most important classes in college … Dale Carnegie is also a great way to learn the art of “public speaking.
For several years, a friend of mine paid for ten high school students to attend the Dale Carnegie Program. He is a very successful businessman and realized the value of public speaking and wanted to pass it on to others. What a nice way to help young people.
I had a reputation of being a good public speaker and people may have the opinion that I was just a “natural” … Far from it … I worked very hard at becoming a good speaker.
I would make a “detailed” outline of what I want to say and get it burned into my mind. Then I would stand in front of a mirror and practice, practice and practice … working on delivery, posture and gestures. For example, did you know?
If you are standing behind a podium and you step around to the side and rest your elbow on the podium you are signaling your closeness to the audience?
Don’t chew gum.
Don’t have car keys or jingling things in your pocket.
Don’t stand with your legs crossed.
Don’t point your finger at people.
These are just a few quick things I learned … There are many more. The important point is practice
Another great tip is to “role play.” I have mentioned that one of my first jobs was at Eddie Levine’s Men’s Store. When I would finish with my daily chores, Eddie would give me one-on-one sales training by role-playing with me. Some times he would be a nice customer … Sometimes he would be a difficult customer all the time showing me “the ropes” of Selling.
One of the executives of Brockway, Inc. was going to testify in front of a House Committee … He spent hours “role playing” … answering “hostle” and “friendly” questions he may be asked. It helped him prepare to answer questions in a high stress situation.
One person that continues to impress me with his public speaking is Newt Gingrich. He normally speaks “off the cuff” or with a few cryptic notes. My daughter, Anne, worked for him for over twelve years and as far as I know only once did he write a speech … the day he was sworn in as Speaker of the House. He is an amazing speaker … No pun intended.
A side story … Few people know that Newt Gingrich is a speed-reader … The first afternoon that our daughter Anne was with him, He was traveling to some rallies in his District … During that time he read a book and 2 newspapers … He has written over 300 Book Reviews for Amazon.com … He is a prolific reader with great retention.
The day he was being sworn in as Speaker, He called up to Anne and asked her to call over to the Archives and have them look up a quote … He wanted to get it just right. It was from Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America. He said, “It goes something like this … It is about 1/4 of the way into the book … About 2/3 of the way down a left hand page … The last sentence in the paragraph.”
Sure enough, they found it and Anne took it down to Newt. He was in the Ceremonial Room off the House Chamber … Newt was sitting their alone at Thomas Jefferson’s Desk.
Anne said it was “A Kodak Moment.”
I am sure you have heard the saying, “practice makes perfect." ... Well, we know there are such things as a lucky bounce but more often than not it is a result of many hours of repetitive practice. “The more you practice the luckier you get."
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