Back in 1992 I was speaking at a Realtors Conference at a Casino in Las Vegas and I went into our conference room. It was set up for an audience of 500 and onstage a crew was testing the audio system. I went onstage and checked out the mike I would be using and then I remained onstage alone for a while rehearsing a new bit of material I had created just for this meeting. I was talking about firing arrows, had a hand mike in my hand and as I simulated firing an arrow I realized that I was pulling the microphone back away from my mouth. I kept trying things and then realized that if I held the mike in place with my right hand and simulated pulling the bow forward with my left hand I could get the same result. And then I would go POW! It was a simple little movement but it made the entire story work. The president of that training organization saw me doing this and several months later when I visited him in Detroit he told me how he had seen me out there rehearsing and it had a real impact on him. “Art,” he explained. “I really worked on my skills as a speaker and year after year I got better and better and then a couple of years ago I began to realize that I wasn’t getting any better. I remained pretty good,” he explained, “I just quit getting better.” Then he looked me right in the eye and said, ”Watching you made me realize that I had quit rehearsing.”
He thanked me and said, “I’m back rehearsing again and, you know, I’m getting better.”
Today, If you see me walking down the street talking to myself, don’t be alarmed. I’m still rehearing too.
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