“I’m better when I wing it.”
I want to unpack this whole sentence and give it a very close reading.
What does “I’m better” mean? Does it mean that you’re more dynamic, more engaging? Does it mean you’re more comfortable?
What does “better,” on its own, mean?
Is your audience having a better time because you’re winging it? Are you truly present, prepared, and in charge of the experience that you’re offering?
What does “wing it” mean? For some people who are confident and tuned in to the people and the room, “winging it” means dropping down into a place of deep intention and connection. They can do this because they trust themselves and their instincts, and they can trust themselves because they’ve been in this situation a lot. In that case, “winging it” may mean that the person has general overview of the message, and knows how to illustrate it with stories and examples and how to land it. Their version of winging it is based on lots and lots of experience. In other words, they have practiced.
More often, though, “I’m better when I wing it” means: “It’s uncomfortable for me to practice, so I avoid it. I have sufficient self-regard to show up with unformed ideas, open my mouth, and talk. I don’t pass out from nervousness and no one has ever told me I’m terrible, so this is how I do it.”
I don’t think this is a winning strategy. Just because no one has said “you know, next time you should actually prepare” doesn’t mean they haven’t been thinking it.
