TJ Walker says the best way to prepare a speech is to record yourself and watch it back. Video reveals real weaknesses that visualization misses and builds genuine confidence. Audiences care most about clear ideas, not perfect delivery.
Chapters
What's the best way to use the power of visualization to prepare for a major speech or presentation? Is it to go to a quiet room, cross your legs, get some candles, and visualize yourself being a spellbinding orator? Visualizing the standing ovation? Well, guess what? Visualization is a great tool for a lot of things. Athletics, other accomplishments. But there's a much easier way when it comes to presentations and speeches. So no, I actually do not advocate you sit around visualizing yourself giving a great presentation because there's an easier way. There's a simple trick, and that is practice your presentation on video. Record it, look at it, figure out, is this my ideal? If you can visualize in your brain what's great, look at it and then think, is this great? Would I really want to listen to this person? Would I want to watch this? Is this person speaking or compelling? If it is great. If not, do another practice, make a tweak. If you found your presentation boring and tedious and just kind of an uninteresting data dump, guess what? Now you know how everyone in your audience would feel. So the solution isn't to just ignore, oh, I don't want to look at myself. Let me visualize myself being great and interested. No, I can visualize myself having the perfect body walking through Times Square in nothing but a bathing suit and everyone's saying, wonderful. But if I do walk through Times Square with nothing but a bathing suit, my visualization isn't going to help. People are going to be maybe pointing and laughing, saying, look at this guy. You need to actually make the thing great. So when it relates. Sorry about that horrible visual. When it comes to your speech or presentation, you need to practice on video. Keep doing it again and again and again until you like what you see. So now you have a visual role model. It requires zero creativity, it requires zero aspects of your visualization abilities. It doesn't require candles, it doesn't require a dark room. You don't have to have a mat and sit cross legged and do any ums or us or mantras, you can just look at the video of yourself. Now you have a strong visual role model and it's you. If you keep practicing on video until you love your speech, your presentation, and you honestly sincerely think, wow, if I speak like that, I'm going to do a great job because I look my best, sound my best, I'm coming across the way I want. My ideas are really clear, my ideas are really memorable, my stories are great, I'm going to be the best presenter at this conference or at this meeting, you're going to be so filled with confidence. It's infinitely more powerful than the strongest visualization tool you could ever use. When it's just in your own mind, you've actually seen it in a way that is completely concrete and tangible. It's got crystal clarity to it because you've seen yourself on video. That is the most important way and most effective way to use visualization to help you prepare your next big speech or presentation. And I realize intellectually you may be thinking, oh, that's a great idea, wonderful idea. But emotionally, you're thinking, I don't want to look at myself on camera. That's no fun. I don't like my hairline or my jawline or my waistline, and I don't like my voice. Okay, but why delude ourselves? That's what everyone else is seeing. And here's a little secret. When you're talking to people in the business world, the professional world, nobody really cares what we look like. Your audience is so happy. If you can just give some idea to them that's interesting and memorable and useful, they'll love you for it. Because most business speakers are boring. And if you can just make an idea come alive to them that's useful and helpful to them, they will love you.
