The Truth About Winging It

Are you the type that feels you're better off-the-cuff? Big best man speech coming up and you figure you'll just wing it and that way it will come across more authentic? Important sales meeting next week and you don't want to seem too stiff, so you'll just improv a few of your slides?

This is flawed thinking and, as a rule, leads to failure. If you're a winger, then you may pose the argument that the last time you "wung" it everything was fine and it went great. But the truth is most people don't stand up in the middle of a presentation and scream, "Wow! You're bombing right now!"

Don't fool yourself. The way to come across as genuine as possible is to plan and practice, practice, practice. Think of it like basketball. You practice dribbling, free throws, and your jump shot until you can do them in your sleep. That way on game day when you're in the flow of the game and are forced to read the other guy on the run, you're able to adjust and still hit your jumper with no problem.

Ultimately, what you're trying to do by taking a winging it approach is reduce stress. If I don't practice, then I don't have to think about it, which takes away some stress. If I just get up there and muscle through it, it will then be over and I can move on with my life.

If these are your excuses, then by all means simply pass on the opportunity to speak and give it to someone who understands the power of the well-spoken word.

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