Practice make Perfect

Take a look at this 20 second video, I removed the audio (which was itself priceless) to focus on his expressions... his expressions say it all. It's my youngest son practicing the pitch he's about to give to two of the most demanding coaches I know. Just look at his expression as he screws up, walks off camera and starts over... just to trip over his words 10 seconds later. 

I never thought that having my kids sell ridiculously over-priced (albeit delicious) popcorn would provide them with some of the most important skills they would learn in Scouts. I always figured it'd be something more primal, like survival skills... you know being able to take on a bear while alone in the woods with a spork and some paracord. However, it seems like one of the most important skills they have learned is practicing a sales pitch.

Yesterday, I had a similar experience. I participated in a lunchtime practice session giving a foundational demo of AppDynamics. The goal: in 15 minutes ensure that my audience knows what AppD can do, convince them that AppD can help them and maintain a cohesive story. Now, I wouldn't say I was dreading being recorded while giving the pitch to the sales engineering manager, the regional sales director and my peers but I certainly wasn't looking forward to it. Who would? I knew I was going to feel exposed. The presentation aspect of being a SE has always been my weakest link. Participating in this session was like I was Adam in the garden of Eden and someone is asking me for my fig leaf. It's uncomfortable to expose my flaws to the criticism of my leadership and peers. 

"In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" Genesis 3:19

The wisdom from the Old Testament stories amaze me. The Old Testament in it's written form is ~3000 years old and it's oral stories that preceded the written form are, well, God only knows how old. It's clear that our ancestors have known for a very, very long time that the work we do to produce bread should be hard and the work I do provides ample bread for my family. So it should follow that, for me, practicing a pitch should be hard. It should be uncomfortable. It should be challenging. If it's not then I'm doing it wrong.

I am incredibly grateful for my coaches who are challenging me to grow as well as to Scouts who have provided my 3 youngest children with the opportunity to develop the other salesmenship skills (confidence when speaking, handling objections and overcoming rejection) which will help them whatever path they choose... because even if you aren't in sales you are always going to have to sell ideas, and we need good ideas to produce bread.... and we all need bread.