How to Uber Lyft your confidence

Introduction

In a recent LinkedIn poll I asked the audience, "Which portion of giving a presentation do you enjoy the least?" The choices, along with there results, were: Practicing your speech (38%), nerves & anxiety (25%), building the slide deck (25%), and giving the presentation (13%).

Interestingly, the two options I thought would be more similar -- practicing your speech and giving the presentation -- were the most diametrically opposed in response.

This raises an interesting question about how other people practice their presentation. When I go through my slides, I like to surround myself with silence to eliminate nearby distractions. I pull up my slides in Powerpoint's "Presentation Mode", allowing me to further minimize distractions on the screen as well as get a feel for how much time I'm spending per slide. If need be, I can also record my slide timing to review later.

Once in Presentation Mode, I start my speech at the very beginning -- the dreaded Introduction slide. Vocalizing each word aloud, I'll often begin by introducing myself and leading into the slide deck contents. As I walk through the slides, I work on slide transitions, explanations, and building verbal "bridges" between my slides that continue my conversation without awkward pauses or losing the audience's attention.

Each time I mess up or want to try a new transition, I'll start at the beginning again. Every time. This helps me become comfortable with my slide deck, solidify parts of my speech that I'd previously decided on, and try out new variations on slides I've become familiar with. I make it a point to start at the beginning each time, because I find the overall flow of the presentation can change significantly if I do not restart. In turn, the words I say during my presentation are the words, phrases, and transitions I've iteratively built during my practice sessions.

Let's return to the poll data -- why is practicing the presentation the largest source of misery? Maybe it's too time consuming, or maybe we simply feel silly talking to ourselves over and over again. Or maybe because we get a first glimpse into our own discomfort with the material we're presenting over! If the latter were true, wouldn't it be nice if we could become more familiar with presenting and discussing our material without the risk of being judged? Enter ride sharing.

A personal connection

It's no secret that my wife and I love to travel. We find ourselves at the airport at least twice a month and we typically use ride sharing (e.g., Uber or Lyft) to avoid long-term parking fees. Our opinions on ride sharing, however, differ drastically.

In my wife's eyes, when you hire someone to do a job for you there should be minimal interaction between the customer and the worker. You've hired them to do a job, and there's little reason to speak with them outside of necessity (ex. payment, instruction, etc.). I do not share her philosophy. To me, when you hire someone to do a job for you (ex. hiring an Uber driver), I'm hiring another human to help me out -- someone who has an entire life story, experiences, and other bits of knowledge that I can learn from. On the one hand, I understand her point of view; if I've hired a plumber to fix a backed up sink, for instance, there's no need for me to sit and ask him about his life -- he's there to work, and he has other jobs to get to. When it comes to Uber/Lyft, though, my philosophy changes.

When we enter the driver's vehicle, our differences quickly manifest in our behaviors -- my wife will typically look out the window or check e-mail on her phone while I seize the opportunity for conversation; if the driver doesn't start the conversation, I will. I do this for two main reasons: first, I have a twenty minute opportunity to hone my conversation skills with a complete stranger. Second, if I were driving for a ride share, I'd probably appreciate some friendly conversation as well. Furthermore, traveling to the airport is a relatively low-stress experience; if the conversation doesn't go well, I simply get out at my destination. In turn, this helps reduce the nerves of talking about my subject in front of a large audience.

Admittedly, I was hesitant at first to talk to the ride share drivers. What if they don't want to chat? What if they would rather listen to their radio? What if they don't want to tell me about themselves? After a few conversations, I quickly found these worries to be unfounded. People who place themselves in the Uber/Lyft occupation enjoy meeting new people, and sharing their experiences! Why not use this to my advantage?

More than just a Lyft

The more conversations I had with the Uber/Lyft drivers, the more I came to realize how much I was able to sway the conversation. On one hand, I could make it into a game -- learn as much about them as I could, while revealing the least amount about myself. This is an interesting exercise because people have the tendency to reciprocate in conversations. For instance, if I ask someone what they do for a living, they'll probably end up reciprocating by asking me what I do for my job. The challenge here is to sidestep their questions in a non-awkward, conversational manner, while still showing that you're genuinely interested in learning more about them. It ensures that you pay attention to details so that you can pick at a loose thread or detail they'd mentioned earlier in the conversation. The game here is to not wind up at a dead end.

On the other hand, I found that I could improve my presentation skills by discussing the content of my presentation with the driver. As an example, let's say that I have an upcoming pitch where I'll be discussing the services of Present Proper to a potential client. The drive time between my home and the airport is roughly 30 minutes -- I can use the half hour opportunity to practice pitching my company to the driver and gauging their feedback in real time. Would they would find the services useful? What points may be confusing in my pitch?

The best part of practicing your pitch on an Uber/Lyft driver is two-fold: (1) You'll likely never get the same driver twice, ultimately producing more opportunity to practice, and (2) you never know the background of the driver. Just like you may never know the background and experience of the person you'll be pitching your company to, it is advantageous to be able to adapt to the personality of the person you're talking to as well as the situation as a whole. In some instances, you may even find yourself in a circumstance where the driver needs exactly what you plan to pitch. In one instance, I found myself in a conversation with an Uber driver in LA; she was retired military with an honorable discharge, but had no idea how to structure all of the skillsets she picked up in the military on a 2-page resume! Twenty minutes and one business card later, I'd arrived at my destination with a new client.

Lastly, your pitch is bound to receive immediate feedback. Like you, the driver has a vested interest in keeping the conversation active, and the only way to keep the conversation going during your trip is to react what the information you're presenting to them. If you cannot manage to get a complete stranger excited about your presentation topic and its importance, why should your colleagues react any differently?

If you're not confident or knowledgeable about your topic, it will come across during your presentation.

Conclusion

Many people see Uber and Lyft as an opportunity to get from Point A to Point B, but I see it as much more than that. I see each ride request as an opportunity to practice my communication skills, improve my conversational finesse, and gather real-time feedback from a wide variety of individuals. In many cases, this has helped me gather stories to use anecdotally in blogs, feedback on my elevator pitch, and make professional connections that I would have otherwise let go unnoticed!

But why does any of this help me practice my presentation? Because familiarity and confidence in your presentation topic enables you to speak more openly, clearly, and confidently during your practice sessions. Let's be clear on one thing, though -- practicing with random strangers can help, but there will never be a substitute for practicing your slides, your transitions, and your timing. As Vince Lombardi stated, "Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect."

Thanks again for joining me in my blog series! If you find these articles insightful, subscribe to my newsletter or my website blog, or drop a comment below telling me your experiences! Until next time, present clearly, present concisely, Present Proper.