As Usual, Yogi Berra Said It Best!

"You can't think and hit at the same time," the great philosopher Yogi Berra once advised.

Actually, the Yogi-ism was better than that. He said: "Think? How the hell are you gonna think and hit at the same time?"

That's terrific advice for public speaking as well. Our practice time is valuable, but the techniques we work on can't be the focus of our actual presentation. By then, we either have them under our belt or we don't.

When we speak, our focus must be on three things: 1) the needs of our listeners, 2) our essential message, and 3) whether the audience is engaged and receiving that message loud and clear. Too much analysis, on any issues outside that laser-like focus, will only weaken the dynamism of our presentation.

I've been mulling over questions like this lately, as I've been reading Gerd Gigerenzer's book Gut Feelings: The Intelligence of the Unconscious. The author, a psychologist, points out that expert motor skills (like golf swings) are carried out unconsciously. Thinking too much about how the skills are applied actually inhibits performance.

We forget, after all, that as speakers, we are embodied. We're not talking heads--we use our bodies, and move in our bodies, as we speak. Vocal production itself is, of course, a physical act. And even a "talking head" is part of a body!

So, trust yourself when you speak. Believe that the strengths you've tried to build in your preparation and practice will "be there" when you give your speech or presentation. The present moment is rich with both challenges and opportunities for speakers. Live within them, and the experience will be enriched for both you and your audience.

Remember: The future ain't what it used to be.* It's the present that counts.

* Yeah . . . he said that, too.