The Struggles of Improving a Speech
Imagine this scene: Youโre practicingย an important speech. You’ve spent time to write the first draft. You haveย struggled to craft the message you want to convey. You’re now ready forย feedback to see how the speech is being received.
And the evaluations arenโt positive. One person after another shares his ideas on how you can improve. The more they talk, the more demoralizedย you feel.
You leave your practice session. A mixture of thoughts fill your head.
Forget it, I’ll ask someone else to do this speech! ย
What do they know? They’re stupid!
I’ll just make a few little changes, give the speech, and get it over with.
Go ahead, admit it. You’ve felt this way after receiving detailed negative feedback. Every speaker has.
The Reality About Your Speech
Imagine thatย you get past your initial frustrationย and anger about the feedback. You realize that the evaluators wereย correct. Your speech requires more work if it’s going to have an impact.
This conclusion puts you atย the most important point in the development of your speech. Do you commit to crafting the best possible version, or, makeย it just good enough?
What do you do?
How a ‘Star Wars’ Movie Can Improve Your Speech
The importance of this question became clear while I was reading an online article. It wasย about the upcoming Star Wars movie, ‘Rogue One.’
There have beenย an unusually large number of reshoots and editingย to improve the movie. This has cast some negative light on the director, Gareth Edwards. A movie of this scope – and importance to the studio Disney could make or break a career. It could also destroy theย self-confidence of the director.
After reading Mr. Edwards comments about the many changes the movie required, Iโm convinced he’ll be fine. He understands his job and the legacy he is creating. He said:
โMaking โStar Warsโ is a team sport, really. You canโt make these massive movies completely on your own…ย itโs a real team effort.
…(eventually) things kept improving and the film was getting better and better โ and if youโre improving it, you donโt stop. I think any other movie you would say, โThatโll do. Weโre going to get a hit.โ But โStar Warsโ is going to live forever if you do it properly. We just canโt let it go. Youโve got keep going until they prise it out of your hands.โ
How Can This Make a Better Speech For You?
His comments bring up three points:
One, making a movie is a team effort. The director, actors, and writers needย feedback from others. That’s how theyย craft the best-possibleย message that impacts the audience.
Two, because this is a Star Wars film, he could simply make a few changes and release the movie. Itโs a Star Wars film!ย Itโll take in a minimum of half aย billion dollars based on that fact alone.
But, that wasnโt good enough for Mr. Edwards or the entire production team. They wanted to create the best possible experience for the movie-goer.
Three, his sentiment that “the movie will live forever, โif you do it properly.โย Mr. Edwards understands that he can have a lasting impact long after heโs gone. This will only happenย if he puts in the work now to craft the best possible film.
What Would You Do?
Based on the early reviews of ‘Rogue One,’ the efforts and dedication of Gareth Edwards and his team have paid off. The movie should be a major worldwide hit.
The three key points that Mr. Edwards raised lead back to the question at the beginning of this post. Faced with a similar situation forย your speech, do you deliver one thatโs just good enough?
Or, do you put in the time and effort to create the best possible message?
Your answer is the difference between a speech that is politely received and quickly forgotten, or an experience that touches lives long past your time on stage.
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