Today I spent roughly four hours at the kitchen table with my 10 year old son, and varying combinations of the other 5 kids, putting together one of his birthday gifts - Techno Gears Marble Mania EXTREME - with over 330 pieces.
It's one of those gifts Grandparents buy to exact revenge on their kids - or in this case his son-in-law!
"Over 330 pieces" means they don't really know how many pieces, I suppose. Like every good father, we looked at the instruction book, and began to count out the pieces - and came up 3 short. But with "Over 330 pieces" all over the table, there was no going back.
Throughout the afternoon, the masterpiece was built - corkscrews, ramps, levers, gears, and so much more! Up and up it climbed, until we were almost done, almost perfect, and the piece we needed wasn't there. The final ramp, the coup de grace, cannot be installed. We can still put marbles on the next level down, and it works. It's still cool - just not as cool as it's designed to be!
When you speak, do you have all the pieces? Do all the stories fit together to drive your points home? Does your humor mesh with the audience, and not take away from your content? Is your close as strong as your opening?
Sometimes, like my son's Marble Mania EXTREME, it's the small pieces that can take away from the ultimate "coolness" of your presentation. Gestures, eye contact, movements on stage, poor outfit selection - even these 'small' things can take a great performance and knock it, and your image and profit potential, down a notch.
I've got to wait a few weeks for replacement pieces - but after a quick inventory, you can fix your speeches in seconds!
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