The Surprising Downside of Scripting Your Presentation

To script or not to script? That is the question.

You’re preparing a webinar or sales presentation, and you want to cover all the bases. You don’t want to leave out any of the important bits. You don’t want to stumble at critical points.

So do you memorize a script and deliver your lines? Or do you work from a looser outline?

I’ll answer with a story…

After introducing a New York-themed tasting menu at his restaurant Eleven Madison Park, Will Guidara wrote a script for his servers to promote and describe the menu to customers. He wrote exactly what he wanted them to say, made them memorize the script, and rehearsed repeatedly in the days before the menu debuted.

A few days after the debut, a New York Times critic visited the restaurant and tried the tasting menu. His article ripped Eleven Madison Park not for the food (“exceptionally well prepared,” he wrote), but for the presentation.

He called it “bloated” and “stilted” — heavy-handed, inauthentic “speeches” that undermined the quality food.

Guidara learned his lesson.

He shares what he learned in his book “Unreasonable Hospitality”:

“I’d wanted to make sure every idea we had was communicated properly, so I’d insisted the team learn a spiel. I’d made them performers, ruling out any possibility of a real, quality conversation between them and the guests. Of course the experience had felt inauthentic to (the critic); there had been no room for (the server) to connect with him. I had taken away her ability to be herself at the table.”

You are NOT a performer, dear business owner. You are a human being, trying to make an authentic, personal connection with a prospect.

Your prospects don’t want speeches and scripted spiels. They want authentic conversation. They want you to be yourself.

So ditch the script. Know the outline. Don’t forget the important points. But be flexible. Be authentic. Converse. Connect.

That’s great advice whether you run a 4-star restaurant or a coaching, consulting, or professional services business.

“Unreasonable Hospitality” is loaded with great advice for business owners.

That’s why Ted Prodromou and I chose it as this month’s selection for the Mastermind Book Club.

Each month, we choose a great book for Club members to read and discuss.

We meet — live on Zoom — on the fourth Thursday to discuss how we can apply the book’s lessons to make our businesses better.

You’re invited to join us. Club membership is free.

You don’t have to read the book to attend the meeting.

When: TODAY, Thursday, February 26, 2:30 p.m. ET

Where: Live on Zoom

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88660265350?pwd=RzwGBSzYTM2WbJk3jM3D2OxcieWIbS.

What: Discuss “Unreasonable Hospitality” and how to apply its lessons to elevate our businesses.

I hope you can join us.