Today I received a newsletter from John Kinde. I look forward to his newsletters as they are always insightful. He is a master of observational humor. He is also a Toastmaster.
This particular newsletter, entitled “The Path From Good to Great” focuses on feedback. I am reproducing the entire article below as I couldn’t find it online. Emphasis is mine.
The Path From Good to Great
We don’t grow in giant leaps. We grow in baby steps. In fact the further along the growth curve we are, the smaller are the steps that take us to greatness.
This week, I attended a terrific Fripp Speaking School. I’ve been to several of them. There is so much to be learned from watching good speakers as they receive high-level coaching. They go from good to great. And from great to awesome.
Fripp emphasized that to grow as a good speaker you need to be open to nit-picking suggestions. By itself, a suggestion focusing on one of the fine points of delivery may be small and may seem insignificant, but added with other tiny suggestions, the end result can be huge.
The runner who wins by a nose receives the Gold Medal. The golfer who wins by just one putt, receives double the prize money. The sales person who wins the contract gets all the money. The speaker who is just a little bit better may be the only one who is offered the chance to speak. These common examples serve as reminders of how small things make a big difference when we’re considering competitive advantage.
The key for the speaker is to do more than thrive on feedback. The speaker must seek out feedback. And internalize feedback. Masters achieve the competitive advantage because they’re doing the small things better.
The enemy of growth is the flinch…the defensive response to a suggestion. The flinch is a natural reaction to feedback. We tend to fall in love with our own ideas and our own performance. We deliver a speech in the calculated way we thought was best. How dare someone attack our good judgment?
Feedback sometimes feels repetitive. Suggestions nag at us. That’s because old habits are hard to beat. We need to understand that feedback is our key to growth. The better we become, the more refined and “picky” that feedback needs to be.
The feedback is not the thorn, it’s the rose, a gift. It’s a building block to greatness. It prevents you from stagnating at the level of a good performer. It will put you a step ahead of your competition.
As a speaker, that tiny suggestion may be just the edge you need to make a difference in people’s lives. Or that minor tweak might be what makes your speech memorable. Or that tiny “criticism” may make a difference in your bank account.
Learn to ask for feedback on the tiny things that can sharpen your talk. Not only demand the nit-picky suggestions…expect them. Always be open to new perspectives. Then be ready to take your speaking to the next level.
2009 Copyright by John Kinde
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This post was written by admin on July 4, 2009
Great article. Thank you for sharing. I will enjoy the feedback received and never flinch!
It all comes down to receptivity and discipline. Practicing to address the “nit-picky” stuff is the most challenging, but truly yields the greatest rewards.
If you couple her advice with LaCroix’s famous “stage time, stage time, stage time,” you then translate those nit-picks into effective communications!