Why presenters need rehearsals
As preparations began for the launch of Andrew Lloyd Webber's latest musical Cinderella in London's West End, Facebook offered me an insider's view of the opening day of rehearsals. The first question the maestro asked his leading man Ivan Turco — who plays Prince Sebastian — as they met in the theatre foyer was, "You know the songs? You've learned them? We can't let each other down!". And I am sure they won't.
The very same week I found myself reading the acknowledgements to Mariana Mazzucato's latest book entitled "Mission Economy", where she thanks in this order: the journalist and editor 'who helped translate my ideas into an easier language'; a second 'patient' editor, 'able to bring elegance and logic back to tangly passages'; her neighbour for his critical eye; her publisher for their careful editing and comments; her husband for making her reflect, and her children for putting everything into perspective. Wow that's quite a list.
Rehearsal, practice, checking, re-reading, taking things apart, reconstructing them are all clearly necessary if you intend to find an audience for your work, so why is it that I see so many speakers, presenters and zoomers (is that a word now?) thinking they can step onto the global virtual stage and get away with absolute murder (for the audience I mean).
Lead don't follow
As online meeting fatigue sets in, those tasked with working online and doing business without in-person interaction have an even bigger responsibility to rehearse. To guide an audience through a talk, hold their attention, keep them entertained, perhaps even sell your product requires you to have truly understood the work you are doing and the thoughts, plans or message you are presenting. You need to lead and not follow, without clinging onto your slides for dear life, praying you have permission to share the screen.
The producers of Cinderella or the editors of Mazzucato's book will be extremely adept and wise enough to take things away, to delete or rework if something is failing to ignite. The show like the book, will have a beginning, a middle and an end — it's that simple. And if they get it wrong the show will close and the book will stay on the shelves.
And that is why you need to rehearse before you present because you don't want your zoom audience at the box office demanding a refund.