What do you do after you have delivered your speech or presentation? If you are like most, you might or might not receive evaluations from your audience or meeting planner. Most likely, you packed your belongings and began preparations for the next engagement. And if you received evaluations from your audience, you possibly tweaked your presentation based on the feedback.
What do you suppose would happen if you took some time to engage in self-reflection on your presentation? What went well? What did not go so well? And what will you do differently the next time you stand before an audience?
New research reported in a recently released working paper (March 2014) entitled, “Learning by Thinking: How Reflection Aids Performance” from researchers of Harvard Business School and the University of North Carolina showed that reflecting on what you’ve done teaches you to do it better next time. Throughout the series of studies they conducted, the researchers demonstrated that reflection on one’s work boosted an individual’s performance. The researchers concluded that reflection is a powerful tool for building self-confidence by learning from one’s experience.
I think the implications from this study could make a significant difference in improving one’s speaking skills. Based on the results from this study, developing a habitual practice of self-evaluation and reflection after every presentation will lead to improvements for an even better performance for your next audience.
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