In this QuickBites episode of Public Speaking with Peter George, Peter makes a confession: he used to have no use for preparation. It was time-consuming, boring, and about as far from the exciting part of public speaking as you could get. He even had a mental collection of examples where he had succeeded without it — carefully ignoring all the times he hadn't. This episode is his honest reckoning with why preparation matters and what it actually looks like done right.
Real preparation, Peter explains, begins long before content is developed. It starts with research — conversations with organizers and attendees to understand what the audience wants, needs, and expects. From there comes crafting the content, deciding on slides or props, and only then rehearsing, revising, and repeating. He closes with a line from Ken Hamer that reframes the whole thing: designing a presentation without the audience in mind is like writing a love letter and addressing it to "whom it may concern."
Welcome to QuickBites — public speaking tips and techniques you can digest in five minutes or less.
What do you think about preparation? I'll be honest — I wasn't a fan. Let me count the ways. One, it's time-consuming, and I already had too much to do. Two, it's not fun — let's face it, preparation can be pretty boring. And three, it's not the sexy part of anything, especially public speaking, where we want to get out there and do our thing. I remember exactly where I was when I first heard the phrase: proper preparation prevents poor performance. Just a cute tongue twister, I thought. I had no use for it whatsoever.
Why We Resist Preparation
Like the gambler who talks about their winnings but never mentions how much they lost at the blackjack table, I could easily rattle off the times I had succeeded without preparing. What I wasn't quick to admit were all the times my lack of preparation left me far short of where I wanted to be.
When it comes to speaking to a group, what exactly am I striving for? Maybe it's to inform them. To challenge them. To inspire or motivate them. That depends on the particular audience. But before I can decide on any of those purposes, I need to do some research — and that research is where preparation actually begins.
What Real Preparation Looks Like
Real preparation starts before a single slide is built or a single word of content is written. It means talking to the event organizers and, when possible, to some of the expected attendees. What do they want and need? What kind of presentation do they expect — more formal, or lighter? What would make our time together most beneficial for them? What are the demographics? What's the culture of the organization? How much is too little, and how much is too much?
Only after that research do I begin crafting the presentation. And crafting it isn't the end — not even close. Then I decide whether I'll use slides or props. And only after all of that do I get to rehearse, revise, and repeat.
Designing a presentation without the audience in mind is like writing a love letter and addressing it to "whom it may concern."
Yes, things have changed for me over the years. I now embrace preparation and have tremendous respect for it. If you're not yet sold on its value, Ken Hamer put it best: designing a presentation without the audience in mind is like writing a love letter and addressing it to "whom it may concern."
Thank you for listening to this episode of Public Speaking with Peter George. Are you ready to be calm, confident, and credible every time you speak in public? Then visit petergeorgepublicspeaking.com and let's make it happen. I'll see you next time.
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