There’s a reason why public speaking is listed by broad swaths of the population as a top fear, higher ranking than heights, violence…clowns. Public speaking is daunting, it’s hard to get out on a big stage and stand in front of your peers to give your corporate presentation, even if you have something truly interesting to say.

As someone who’s gotten to be a fly on the wall on the production team, present before and after a presenter takes those first steps out onto the stage under the bright lights of the ballroom, I wanted to take a moment and write an ode to rehearsal.

Rehearsal is often the first thing that is overlooked once an event is in setup mode, whether because technical problems arise that need to be urgently addressed, or there are unavoidable last minute scheduling changes that shift things or erase them entirely. Of course, things happen, it’s entirely understandable.

However, I’d posit that it’s worth it to take a few minutes to rehearse onsite, and here are some reasons why:

1. You get to meet your backstage crew – Legend Productions’ top notch team is there not only to make your presentation run smoothly, but to make you look good while you’re on that stage. Everyone from the Deck Manager and A2 backstage, to the Graphics Operator and Stage Manager have all got your back, they are there to answer questions and help with any issues that should arise.
2. You get a sense of how things move through the event – You will do a dry run of going backstage, getting mic’d up, your entrance, and exit, which means you can spend more time thinking about content rather than logistics.
3. You get acquainted with the room – You can walk the stage, see how many people you’ll be talking to, see the screen, the monitors and hear your voice over the microphone, all things that you don’t want to catch you off guard when you’re in the middle of your presentation.
4. You can double check your content –  While we encourage presenters to look over their decks or remarks before submitting the final versions for the event, we understand that sometimes, edits are unavoidable. Rehearsal is essential for any last minute tweaks. It also gives our graphics and teleprompter operators a chance to bring up any discrepancies or questions they may have so they can make sure your presentation runs the way it’s intended. Remember, every setup is different, and just because something worked at the last event doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed to work in the same way this time.

After the ten or so minutes are over, you can walk away with an added layer of confidence–you know the lay of the land, you’ve run through your material and most importantly, you are in excellent hands. I can say from experience, this goes a long way towards alleviating that fear of public speaking. 

When Legend is on the job, you can be sure that you have the best of the best to support you, why not take the time to avail yourself of all we have to offer? It’s a no brainer!