Everything about the TV studio threw Jason off.  Nothing was familiar. It was a completely disorienting experience.

For two years, Jason had been in his home office, in front of a computer monitor not more than 2.5 feet from him. The camera was close up, and everything was within arm’s reach and easily under his direct control.

Over the last year, Jason’s ability to give interesting, enjoyable, engaging presentations had gotten so good, the Communications Department had asked him to come in to their TV studio and record a presentation that would be live-streamed to tens of thousands of employees worldwide.

This was new territory.

Today, Jason’s presentation was “direct to camera”.  The only live audience was the crew. And they weren’t paying attention.  They were running around, moving equipment, ignoring Jason.

The camera was no longer close, it stood on the other side of the room. There were multiple cameras.  They were all huge. And the lights were blinding.  They had Jason sit still in a high chair while they put makeup on him. It smelled funny. The studio was freezing cold.

Then they positioned Jason behind an overly large, unfamiliar desk.  Jason looked up.  The crew hiding behind the far away equipment made him feel he was stranded alone in the room.  Ahead in the distance was the camera.  A large black unblinking eye, coldly waiting.  He was supposed to do it all in one take, there is no “do over” in a live stream.

Jason scoped out the room one last time.  He located the main camera, boldly connected with it and told the crew, “Hit it.”   The red “On” light blinked.

Jason looked directly into the camera and smiled, an irrepressible, irresistible smile as the opening music played.

The music stopped.  Continuing to look straight into the camera, Jason brought forth all of his warm, eye-twinkling charm and charisma and said, “Hi.  Thank you for being here.  Let me tell you what I want to talk to you about today.”

Jason’s words flowed easily, spontaneously, naturally.  His message was authentic.  His message was meaningful.  His message was relevant.  His message was important.  He made you feel, “This guy is talking to me.”

The reviews of Jason’s talk from his worldwide audience were enthusiastically positive.  Employees felt drawn in, they were captivated, inspired, engaged and they really liked listening to him. The Communications Department is suddenly getting requests for “More Jason presentations please!”

I was reviewing the recording with Jason afterward. We were going through it in slow motion, assessing each part of it.  I said, “You really did amazing, especially considering how unfamiliar you were with the whole set up.”

And then Jason revealed the secret to his success. He explained it using two simple but powerful words:

“Muscle memory.”

Jason said, “All the work that we’ve been doing for the last year kicked into high gear. When I first got into the studio, I was thrown off by everything, completely disoriented.  But when I sat down, I realized that everything we’ve been drilling just clicked into place. I didn’t have to think about it, it was just there, it clicked into gear and I was on.”

There are about 25 essential skills that you need to master to be a great presenter. Each one of them adds a vital ingredient to great audience rapport and a successful outcome.

Think of each skill as a muscle. People give presentations all day long, just like many people go to the gym.  Some people in the gym can only lift 25 pounds, and then you see others who are truly buff and lift the big weights like they’re nothing.

Communication muscles work the same way. The first step is to isolate the important ones, just as if you were going to the gym. Once you know the exact name of it and how it functions, you work that one muscle.  And then you move on to the next and the next to build whole-body strength.

Muscles are what create your body’s motion and strength.  And communication “muscles” work the very same way.  They give you power and strength.

In communication, if you want to get this good, you have to identify each of the many (25 or so) communication muscles that will make your presentations great.  They include your camera presence, your ability to connect with the audience, your ability to make each person feel like you are speaking directly to them, your ability to captivate attention, your ability to be compelling, your ability to be interesting.  Each one of these depends on a communication skill, a communication muscle.

What you need to do is practice each one to the point where you do it without thinking. Here at ETS we call that drilling. And our motto is drill, drill, drill.  The expert Coaches here at ETS have mastered the art of custom-designing and supervising the drilling needed for our clients to attain a superior level of communication ability.

Jason was glowing as we watched his video. He now has a nice little happy swagger.

I remember the self-conscious “technical geek” who started working with me a while back.  I remember when Jason told me he’s an “introvert”, that he has “no natural ability.” 

Well, Jason can still be as introverted and geeky as he likes, truth to tell, that’s part of his charm.  As far as natural ability, much of it is completely natural now … after all that practice.  Self-consciousness is a thing of the past.

And, just so you don’t think you’re alone, when we first began this journey, Jason hated to practice.  Jason hated watching his own videos at first.

But Jason had a star-high goal.  And he worked with me the way a great gymnast works with a great personal trainer.  I kept shining the light on the path, showing him the next steps, giving him thousands of challenging skill-building exercises, breaking it down into small steps he could master, encouraging, celebrating the breakthroughs with him, leading him on to the next step, the next and the next.

The adjectives that you see in Jason’s feedback now are “Interesting, informative, valuable, enjoyable, inspiring, compelling, love listening to him.”   

No, Jason’s not perfect.  There’s more work to do, higher goals, and Jason’s not done, but it gets a heck of a lot easier as you go along.  Now he loves to see his videos. 

He is doing the work and he will reap the rewards forever because of it.

Is anyone a natural Olympic gold winner without practice? Not ever.  Since the first Olympic games in 776 BC, no one has ever won that medal without discipline or drilling. They all had to put the time in to practice to achieve superior perfection.

There’s a path to any goal that you dream up.  Whether it’s on your own or with a great Coach, choose the path that gets you there.

Be the cause!