The holy grail of public speaking

My interview with Matthew J Dowden went online this morning (click on the link to read it). Matthew is a very successful magician, who combines formidable technical ability with enthusiastic and engaging delivery. In the interview, he emphasises the importance of building up the technical skill before concentrating on the presentation – and I completely agree with him. Being funny and entertaining is no substitute for being able to do the moves smoothly and invisibly.

However, once you’ve honed your magical skills, you need to turn your attention to how you’re going to present your tricks for maximum impact. Practising your patter is as important as practising your moves. Without the technical skill, you won’t be taken very seriously as a magician. Without engaging delivery, you won’t be hired very often as an entertainer.

In his own words, Matthew described what I consider to be the holy grail of public speaking: rehearsed spontaneity.

You can read about how to achieve this yourself on my website Public Speaking Skills.