Professional golfers, when putting, aim six inches beyond the cup. After all, what percentage of putts that are short go in?
A man’s reach should exceed his grasp, right? “If your goal doesn’t scare you, it’s not big enough,” said Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the President of Liberia.
And of course we all get better when we set goals for ourselves, goals that seem out of reach, but in fact can often be realized.
You may not think the practice of breaking a piece of wood with your bare hands has anything to do with presentation.
But in fact the exercise teaches two important concepts: Focus and Intention.
To put your hand through a horizontal piece of wood, you have to visualize as your target, not the top of the board, but a point below it.
In fact, you have to focus on a point two feet below the board, with the intention of going right through it.
You can’t hold back. You have to know exactly where you are going and believe that you will get there.
And you don’t strike the board with the entire ridge of your hand. You use the heavy bone just above your wrist. Why? Because you focus on one small area to get the most force from the energy you expend.
If you succeed you feel no pain and the wood breaks neatly in two. If you don’t follow these rules, you don’t break the board and your hand hurts.
Delivering a strong presentation is similar to breaking a board. To succeed you must make an impact. To make an impact you must have a clear intention.
Commit all your resources to one target. Don’t drag any other intentions into your talk. You’ll confuse the audience.
Once you clarify your intention, line up your content, rehearse, and speak to achieve your desired results.