The gift of failure

Last week I presented some new work to a group of colleagues and peers and, not to put too blunt a point on it, I stuffed up big time. My presentation was unrehearsed and not targeted at the group of people I was talking to - in fact I had started by saying, "This is an outline of what I will present overseas next month." So straight away I had alienated my audience.

At the time I felt awful - and my confidence about what I was presenting took a bit of a beating. But over the last week I've had several insights as a result of my reflection.

I was reminded of a time I did a comedy gig where I did all new material. I died a terrible death on stage and vowed always in future to sandwich new material between gags that were tried and true. That formula has served me well in the last ten years. I broke that rule with this presentation and have since reworked the presentation to include familiar content that actually strengthens the new work.

From the feedback I received about the complexity of the ideas I was presenting, I realised that, in essence, I was trying to sell a car by opening the bonnet and explaining how the engine worked. Selling cars has almost nothing to do with the engine - it's the look, the feel, the style of the car - and how that will benefit the buyer - that sells it. I had made the mistake of explaining in detail my thinking, rather than the effect of my thinking on others.

The final gem from my failure was the chance to get it wrong in front of people I respected and who were respectful enough of me to give me honest feedback. I would have hated to get it wrong in front of strangers who may not have felt comfortable to tell me it sucked and I kept on sucking!

The gift of failure - one of those things you get given that you don't really want but it grows on you over time!