There is a moment in most big endeavors that separates Before and After. You hear someone introduce you, and then you step out onto the stage and in front of the microphone. The time counts down, then the starting gun fires and the race begins. The ball is thrown up in the air and the game starts. The door opens, and you are invited in for your interview.
You know this moment is coming, but it can still feel scary to approach that line, that marker, that boundary. To walk over the line means to begin, to risk something, to try. You know that line could be the demarcation between before and after.
So how should we prepare for this moment? By visualizing it when we practice. Practicing isn’t just going through the points we want to make, or running through our slides. Practicing is creating the experience as closely as possible, so we have already lived it, in a sense.
If you’re going to be speaking, find out what the space is like, where you’ll be seated before you speak, who will introduce you. Go through every element of this when you rehearse. Doin’t wait until that moment comes to figure out how you may meet it.
Want some help preparing to step across the line? Meet the Ignite coaches!
