“It’s really best if you DON’T succeed” – said no one ever, except for THIS company

I once coached a client on an important presentation that she had to deliver to her company’s sales team where she, and other members of her marketing department, had to present the new product updates and marketing strategies for the next quarter.

Over five intensive sessions, we restructured her presentation, created engaging elements, shared relevant stories and examples, and rehearsed extensively. We even brought in fun props – largely because it was a toy company, and everything was fun. We established a call-to-action to help her sales team understand their next steps, including what they should say when in their client meetings, so that they could drive interest, engagement, and, ultimately, sales.

It was really shaping up to be a focused, strategic, and fun presentation.

Before our final session together, where we were going to wrap it all up with final content tweaks and additional rehearsal, she called me with some surprising news.

One Step Forward – Then Pushed Back

She told me that the company completely changed their presentation strategy completely. All the presenters in the marketing team – including her – were now going to present to the sales team via a pre-recorded voice-over that would run along with their slide deck. That way, the marketing team wouldn’t even have to present in person, in front of the actual sales audience.

In other words, because most of the sales team were not comfortable with public speaking, the company decided that they would not have to deliver any live, in-person presentations anymore. Ever.

I’m sorry … they did WHAT?

Supporting the status quo of mediocrity and….meh

The company made this exceptionally unempowering choice because the rest of the marketing team was too nervous to present, too stressed about having to do any public speaking, and begged their supervisors to let them out of it. So, while my client was taking her time (and initiative) by working with a coach to enhance her speaking skills, her team spent their time lobbying their supervisors to skip it altogether.

That way, they wouldn’t have to deal with the nervousness, the rehearsals, or, you know, the actual work required to present in a way that engages an audience.

Nor would they receive any of the rewards, recognition, and results that come with it.

I wish I could say that the company supported the marketing group by giving them learning opportunities to grow their visibility in front of the sales team, build their speaking skills, and push them to attain new – and perhaps scary – goals. Achieving those objectives would have ultimately benefitted both the employee and the company in the future.

Instead, the company just let them out of it, and let them give up. Just like that.

But that’s not what you’re all about, right? (let’s assume so, or you probably wouldn’t have made it this far in this article).

Of Course it Takes Work… but the Rewards Are Beyond Worth It

Giving a successful presentation takes work. You have to think about what you want to say, come up with new ideas, put it into a structure, create slides, practice, deliver it to your audience, manage your nerves, and hope that your message is received in the way you intended it.

(Although I suppose that it can also take no work at all. You could get up in front of the room, “wing it,” and hope your audience appreciates your innate brilliance. But I wouldn’t advise it!)

We definitely all have enough obligations pulling at our time, so sometimes it’s just easier to plug away behind a computer and avoid any speaking opportunities rather than spend time working to create an outstanding presentation and not faint from the terror of standing in front of a room full of people.

And I might agree with you about that….if only for the fact that speaking is the number one way to gain credibility as an expert in your field, step up your reputation and visibility, and drive your career or business.

“If everyone else jumped off a bridge….”

As my mom used to say when I was younger, “You don’t have to do all the dumb stuff that your friends are doing. If they jumped off a bridge, would you??”

So the next time you are given an excuse to play small, hold back on sharing your experience and expertise, or even cancel a coaching meeting because you’ve been given an “out” by your company that doesn’t want to challenge you or support you in gaining incredibly important skills….

Don’t fall for it.

Don’t sell yourself short.

Don’t take the easy way out.

Just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t mean that you have to.

You’ve got experience, knowledge and expertise to share. Even if you feel slightly uncomfortable presenting in front of people or doing any form of public speaking, the rewards of stepping up and speaking up – and the feeling of accomplishment after you’ve done it – will far outweigh the discomfort.

If others choose to shrink away from the opportunities, that’s their choice. But if you’ve got the skills – and yes, you HAVE got the skills – then step up and showcase them.