Wouldn’t it be awesome to be completely free in front of any audience? There’s actually a trick to it and it’s best illustrated by the proginast of this story – Robin Williams.
Hopefully, you know who Robin Williams is – many would argue that he was the finest improvisational performer of the late 20th and early 21st century. During interviews, he was a beast – I distinctly remember watching him on Tour De France coverage during Lance Armstrong’s infamous tour win run, and the co-hosts had no control of the telecast. Mr. Williams was making quips a mile per minute, and the poor hosts never stood a chance. He was a genius of improvisation and lived fully and totally in the moment when the cameras rolled or the audience appeared.
But there was another Robin Williams – the Robin Williams who showed up 8 hours before his comedy shows to work the ticket booths where he would warm up his instrument – kind of like how professional athletes warm-up but for the actor – making wise cracks while folks picked up their tickets to see him! This Robin Williams planned every inch of his stand-up routine – he knew every word he would say, and where and when on stage he would say it. And then, then he threw it all away, and walked out on stage and lived fully in the moment, entertaining thousands in the process.
Most of us don’t have 8 hours to warm up our instruments (or may not even know how to do so!) as we’re not professional performers, but you can learn every word of your next presentation or speech and it will free you in front of the audience in ways you never could have imagined. But the trick is, you have to REALLY know it – like inside your entire body. What does that mean you ask? Well it means, you should be able to recite it, verbatim, while showering, driving, walking your dog, taking out the trash. It should flow from you like water – it takes a little work but all that effort pays serious dividends by preparing you for anything. Letting it all go? Well, there’s a trick to that too…