Blue Angels and Practicing

This past weekend, I was lucky enough to watch an air show held in Sioux Falls, SD. The airshow included paratroopers, stunt pilots and of course the Blue Angels. Each of these performers were fantastic. The stunt pilots were doing things that I am sure would make most of us throw up had we been riding with them. My wife and I were asking ourselves a simple question while watching them "How do you first practice those moves?" I suppose it is something that takes a lot of training, but at a certain point, they are doing things that are not taught - someone had to try it to see if they could do it without crashing to the ground.

If you have never had a chance to see the Blue Angels flying together, you should try to catch a show sometime. The skill it takes to fly that close together and do certain tricks at that speed is nothing short of spectacular. The pilots who fly those planes have to go through extensive training and they have to continually fine-tune their craft by practicing constantly.

All of us can learn something from the performers I watched this past weekend when it comes to our speeches - we can all practice more. If you want to be a great speaker you need to practice. Do you need to practice as much as the Blue Angels or other stunt pilots? No. However, if you want to move beyond just giving a speech and being a great speaker, then practicing will get you on your way there.

Travis

Comments

[Jon Thomas, Presentation Advisors]

I actually use a slide in one of my presentations about presenting with a picture of the Blue Angels. The point of the slide is that as a presenter, you shouldn't expect to be perfect. We are all human, and nobody expects a flawless presentation, so we should avoid the fear of making a mistake because it WILL happen. I thought it was funny that you had posted this video of the Blue Angels.

Certainly if you'd like to ensure that you're keeping your mistakes to a minimum, PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!