Every now and then you will have a really important presentation and you might invest a lot of time into it, more than usual. You want to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible. So, how do you know when you’ve practiced enough? When do you know you’re good enough? In these sorts of cases, I like to think of this quote from the movie “Shine”, where a prodigy piano player is practicing to play a difficult piece from Rachmaninoff (called the “Rach 3″ in the movie to make it sound cool).
Professor: You have to learn to be able to play it blindfolded. The page, for God’s sake! The notes!
David: I’m sorry I was, uh, forgetting them, Professor.
Professor: Would it be asking too much to learn them first?
David: And-And then forget them?
Professor: Precisely.
For a really important presentation, I like to practice a lot as well; so much that I can actually improvise if needed, because I know the “base” presentation so well already. How about you? Let me know about your thoughts.
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I am definitely the type of person who prefers practicing a lot. When I am comfortable enough with the words, then I can work on related the ideas presented in the appropriate manner and tone. For my next presentation at work, we recently upgraded the video processor to a Spyder by Vista Systems. I plan on practicing my presentation in the conference room so I can use the equipment and get used to it, although I heard its easy to use, you can never be too prepared!