Polished?
(A draft of the 30th speech for my speaking club.)
At the time of the cold war, American spies got hold of the blueprints of the top secret Soviet Army Fighter Jet. The American Engineers made all the parts according to the blueprints. They assembled the parts according to the instructions, but instead of a fighter jet the result looked a lot like a big tractor. They fired all the Engineers, brought the blueprints to a different facility, built everything again - just to see another Tractor. Many years later, after the cold war was over, they asked the Soviet Engineers: what did we do wrong? And Soviet Engineers answered: You forgot to polish. you missed this little note on the bottom of the blueprint: Make sure you polish the parts with sandpaper prior to assembly.
Ladies and Gentlemen, you are such a great audience! You listen, you cheer, you empathize, you even write notes after the speech is done. What is the most popular improvement you suggest for me? Preparation. Take time to prepare your speech. More practice. More polish.
We all could use more practice. We all wish we would be more polished speakers. That's why we're here. Every time a person finishes a speech, an evaluation, a table topic there is the same question in their eyes:
Am I there yet? Am I polished now?
In a very Jewish fashion I want to ask the question on this question: Are you asking the right question? What makes you think that being polished is the right goal?
- But that's why I'm here! I have seen Steve Jobs presenting the iPhone, and he was polished, I watched some TED talks on YouTube, those guys and girls were polished, now I want to be the Top Secret Soviet Army Fighter Jet of Public Speaking, and I'll polish my parts until I become one.
But let me ask you: Is it being polished that what got them where you've seen them or was it something else? Is it Steven J's presentation skills that blew people minds or the fact that he built an Empire that in turn built the iPod, then the iPhone and then the iPad? Yes, the presentation was pretty good, but the iPhone was awesome! Did the first TED speakers got their spots on the conference by paying $162 yearly membership fees and coming to meetings once a week? Of course not! They got there by proving that THEY had the Idea Worth Spreading. Can you build the Tractor parts into a Fighter Jet by a lot of polishing? No way.
You want the Fighter Jet? Then don't polish . Refine. Refine your design. Refine your blueprint. Refine your process. Refine your product-market-fit. Refine your character. Refine your ideas. Refine. And once you refined them - assemble again.
Does it still look like a Tractor? Back to the drawing board!
Does it look like a Fighter Jet? Go fight!
Getting a triple CC or a DTM double diamond with sugar on top does not make you a Fighter Jet. It makes you a very polished Tractor. You plowed through some manuals, and you're ready to plow some more. And when you plow you shine, because you're polished. But why aren't you speaking in Madison Square Garden? Why aren't you arriving to the meeting in a helicopter? Why there are no groupies in the lobby?
Because knowing how to say it is not enough. You actually have to say something. Not everything, not anything, not whatever. Something. A nice, polished, well rounded speech can get you a few laughs, a few claps, a few pats on the back. But it won't give you the big bucks, the big impact. You want to be a Fighter Jet? Pick a Fight! Choose a side! Rock the boat!
Polished is hard, but not hard enough. There's a manual for polished. So anyone can do it.
Refined is very hard.There is no manual for refined. But that's the only way to fly.
And - Refined looks Polished. Not just on the outside, not just after weeks of rehearsals, not just on a sunny day.
So Refine. Don't Polish.
How do you refine then? How do know you're getting somewhere? Look at the audience. If the audience stays polite, supportive and encouraging - you are a polished Tractor , Plow and Shine! If you see that some people can't get enough of your Kool Aid and some are spitting it on the floor with disgust - you are on to something. Do you know your stuff? Are you passionate about your topic? Are you annoyingly opinionated? Keep flapping your Baby Fighter Jet wings. You are getting there.
Let me illustrate.
When I unboxed my first iPhone, it was beautiful. It was cool. It was polished. It came with a special piece of cloth, to keep it polished. I wanted to call my friend and brag. But I couldn't , because AT&T did not have reception in my building. I tried to polish my phone, but it didn't help.
And that's when I remembered the Verizon Guy from commercials.
Geeky. Not polished. No smartphone. Just a dumb phone.But he went places with his dumb phone. And people followed him. Because whenever he went he kept asking the same question. He didn't ask: "Am I there yet?" He didn't ask: "Am I polished?" What did he ask?... That's right...
"Can you hear me now?"
At the time of the cold war, American spies got hold of the blueprints of the top secret Soviet Army Fighter Jet. The American Engineers made all the parts according to the blueprints. They assembled the parts according to the instructions, but instead of a fighter jet the result looked a lot like a big tractor. They fired all the Engineers, brought the blueprints to a different facility, built everything again - just to see another Tractor. Many years later, after the cold war was over, they asked the Soviet Engineers: what did we do wrong? And Soviet Engineers answered: You forgot to polish. you missed this little note on the bottom of the blueprint: Make sure you polish the parts with sandpaper prior to assembly.
Ladies and Gentlemen, you are such a great audience! You listen, you cheer, you empathize, you even write notes after the speech is done. What is the most popular improvement you suggest for me? Preparation. Take time to prepare your speech. More practice. More polish.
We all could use more practice. We all wish we would be more polished speakers. That's why we're here. Every time a person finishes a speech, an evaluation, a table topic there is the same question in their eyes:
Am I there yet? Am I polished now?
In a very Jewish fashion I want to ask the question on this question: Are you asking the right question? What makes you think that being polished is the right goal?
- But that's why I'm here! I have seen Steve Jobs presenting the iPhone, and he was polished, I watched some TED talks on YouTube, those guys and girls were polished, now I want to be the Top Secret Soviet Army Fighter Jet of Public Speaking, and I'll polish my parts until I become one.
But let me ask you: Is it being polished that what got them where you've seen them or was it something else? Is it Steven J's presentation skills that blew people minds or the fact that he built an Empire that in turn built the iPod, then the iPhone and then the iPad? Yes, the presentation was pretty good, but the iPhone was awesome! Did the first TED speakers got their spots on the conference by paying $162 yearly membership fees and coming to meetings once a week? Of course not! They got there by proving that THEY had the Idea Worth Spreading. Can you build the Tractor parts into a Fighter Jet by a lot of polishing? No way.
You want the Fighter Jet? Then don't polish . Refine. Refine your design. Refine your blueprint. Refine your process. Refine your product-market-fit. Refine your character. Refine your ideas. Refine. And once you refined them - assemble again.
Does it still look like a Tractor? Back to the drawing board!
Does it look like a Fighter Jet? Go fight!
Getting a triple CC or a DTM double diamond with sugar on top does not make you a Fighter Jet. It makes you a very polished Tractor. You plowed through some manuals, and you're ready to plow some more. And when you plow you shine, because you're polished. But why aren't you speaking in Madison Square Garden? Why aren't you arriving to the meeting in a helicopter? Why there are no groupies in the lobby?
Because knowing how to say it is not enough. You actually have to say something. Not everything, not anything, not whatever. Something. A nice, polished, well rounded speech can get you a few laughs, a few claps, a few pats on the back. But it won't give you the big bucks, the big impact. You want to be a Fighter Jet? Pick a Fight! Choose a side! Rock the boat!
Polished is hard, but not hard enough. There's a manual for polished. So anyone can do it.
Refined is very hard.There is no manual for refined. But that's the only way to fly.
And - Refined looks Polished. Not just on the outside, not just after weeks of rehearsals, not just on a sunny day.
So Refine. Don't Polish.
How do you refine then? How do know you're getting somewhere? Look at the audience. If the audience stays polite, supportive and encouraging - you are a polished Tractor , Plow and Shine! If you see that some people can't get enough of your Kool Aid and some are spitting it on the floor with disgust - you are on to something. Do you know your stuff? Are you passionate about your topic? Are you annoyingly opinionated? Keep flapping your Baby Fighter Jet wings. You are getting there.
Let me illustrate.
When I unboxed my first iPhone, it was beautiful. It was cool. It was polished. It came with a special piece of cloth, to keep it polished. I wanted to call my friend and brag. But I couldn't , because AT&T did not have reception in my building. I tried to polish my phone, but it didn't help.
And that's when I remembered the Verizon Guy from commercials.
Geeky. Not polished. No smartphone. Just a dumb phone.But he went places with his dumb phone. And people followed him. Because whenever he went he kept asking the same question. He didn't ask: "Am I there yet?" He didn't ask: "Am I polished?" What did he ask?... That's right...
"Can you hear me now?"
"Can you hear me now?"
"Can you hear me now?"...