What’s the number one most important thing in a shortlist interview – or, really, any presentation? Pete suggests that it’s about the clarity of your message. Focusing on anything else creates a danger of getting in your own way. Check this latest post out, and let us know how it lands on you in the chat box below.
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I was working with a group of seven architects this week, and one woman stood out. She was clearly experienced—an expert in her field—but she was rattled about an upcoming presentation. Each time she got up to speak, she struggled. I think what was happening was that she was comparing herself to others who were particularly eloquent, and she felt like she needed to sound just as polished. So she started scripting herself out and turning her presentation into poetry.
Her writing was beautiful—evocative, elegant, full of great word choices—but it didn’t sound natural when she read it. It sounded like writing, not presenting. To make matters worse, her sentences were long and hard to remember, so she kept defaulting to reading from her notes. She knew that wasn’t how she wanted to show up.
Eventually, I sat down with her and helped her talk through her content out loud. We stripped it down to its bare essentials—just her main point and what she truly wanted to communicate. Two things happened: she realized what her real message was, and she saw that her own words were getting in the way of her message. When she let go of the polished “poetry” and focused on simple clarity, her natural confidence came through. She sounded powerful, genuine, and knowledgeable—because she was.
By giving up the need to compete with her colleagues’ eloquence, she actually elevated herself. She didn’t need to sound like anyone else—she just needed to sound like herself.
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