Present Your Way to Your Presentation
I want to make a case for presenting your way to your presentation—using the *act of speaking* as the primary tool to develop your speech, your interview, your shortlist presentation, or your next big leadership presentation. This applies to conference talks, business pitches, and any kind of communication skills training moment where you’re expected to show up with clarity and confidence.
You can read about bicycling, but the place you actually learn to ride a bike… is on the bike. The same is true with public speaking and executive presence. We get into trouble when we overthink—when we try to craft the perfect version in our mind and then pressure ourselves to match it. It’s far more effective to speak your way into your speech.
Let me tell you a story. I know someone who had a really important presentation. Instead of practicing out loud, he sat in his armchair and visualized every word. He rehearsed in his head dozens of times—but never spoke a single sentence. Maybe you’ve done that too.
When he finally stepped onstage, the very first word felt different coming out of his mouth. Words travel differently through your voice, breath, and body than they do in your imagination. And you could see the split-second stutter—the internal moment of, “This isn’t how it sounded in my head.” No one else noticed, but in his mind, he was failing compared to a perfect internal script the audience didn’t know existed.
He learned something important: you must stand up and actually talk it out.
So when I develop a presentation—whether for coaching, a business presentation, an AEC shortlist interview, or a leadership communication—I don’t start with a script. I don’t begin with a dense outline. I might have a few anchor thoughts, but then I walk into a room and start speaking. Sometimes I record it. Sometimes I don’t. The point is: I speak into the subject before I try to refine it.
As I talk, I hear things that work. I jot down a note. I keep going. Over time, I speak my way into the ideas—and those ideas arrive through the same vehicle I’ll use during the actual presentation skills moment: the spoken word.
If the final product is spoken… build it by speaking. Don’t construct it entirely in your head or solely on paper. Let your outline follow your discovery. Let your notes become the refinement of something you’ve already heard yourself say out loud.
So whether you’re preparing for a high-stakes pitch, a leadership update, or a small internal talk, rehearse as you go. Speak your way into clarity. Let the written version support you—not dictate you.
The bottom line: the best way to learn to ride a bike is on the bike. And the best way to prepare for a strong, confident, natural speech… is to speak your way to your speech.
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