Have you noticed that everywhere you turn these days you seem to be  surrounded by advice and tips as to how to have the perfect Christmas? 

We are told how to decorate the perfect Christmas tree, how to choose that perfect Christmas gift or how to cook the perfect Christmas dinner. 

But all of this perfection doesn't sit too well with me because I don't really do “perfect”.

 In fact, when it comes to Christmas decorations, I know that the most “perfect” decorations I have had were when my kids were small. They made decorations in school which took pride of place in the sitting room. 

They most definitely did not look perfect, but they were perfect for me. 

Take a moment and think about the most memorable Christmas day that  you have spent. What was it like? What memories come into your mind? 

I’ll hazard a guess you’re not thinking of a perfectly decorated Christmas tree. 

You’re probably not thinking of a gift or even the Christmas dinner. 

That memorable, perfect day came from the people that you spent the time with and the connection that you had with those  family and friends that you had around you. 

The Perfect Speech?

 I see the quest for perfection a lot in my clients. They set unrealistically high expectations for themselves. 

They're afraid that they're going to trip over what they say, make a mistake, that they're going to say the wrong thing and ruin their presentation. 

And that fear holds them back from  speaking. They want to make sure  that they have the slide deck right.

But think about it. The slide deck is like your Christmas tree or your decorations. It's nice to have but it is not going to be what people remember from your talk.

 They're going to remember the connection. How did you make them feel? Did it feel as if you were speaking directly to them, addressing their concerns? 

And how do you create that connection with the audience? Well, that is in the planning and the preparation that you do beforehand, when you are really audience focused. 

How can you add value? 

How can you make it worth their time to listen to what you have to say?

How are you going to connect with them by being your authentic self? You can’t practice being authentic. But it's evident in the way in which you are speaking to people. And when you are focussed on delivering the perfect speech or presentation, you lose the authenticity. 

 When you release yourself from the burden of wanting to be perfect and have everything right, of not making a mistake and not tripping over words, then you allow yourself to have an authentic conversation with your audience. 

When you give yourself permission to be imperfect, you're going to have your perfect talk, your perfect speech, your perfect presentation, because it's one that will connect with the people that are listening. 

Related Reading: 7 Steps to Making Your Audience Central to Your Presentation