Why Faking It Until You Make It Doesn’t Work (and what to do instead)
Faking it won’t help you make it.
In a world of fake purses, fake smiles, fake news, who needs more faking? So allow me to be real for a second, there is not much I like about what the word “fake” represents, so therefore “faking it until you make it” is something I do not encourage my clients to do.
Do NOT fake it until you make it. There, I said it.
And before you click the x and close this blog out, consider this. What if there was one thing you could do INSTEAD that is way more effective instead?
Consider public speaking or presenting to a larger audience, this is one situation where you do not want to fake anything. Your audience will know that you’re putting on a pretend show and you won’t get the outcome you’d hoped for. Faking shatters trust. And without some level of trust and genuity, you can’t convince people of much of anything (like hire your for a job, buy your product or service, or take action after your presentation).
How about trying this phrase out for size, instead?
"Don't wait until you're confident to show up, show up until you're confident."
That has a better feeling doesn’t it? With this little reframe you program your mind to practice, practice, practice. To keep putting in the work of “showing up” until you’re finally comfortable. And showing up doesn’t mean showing up as a fake version of yourself.
Showing up means showing up as the highest version of your PREPARED self and allowing the chips fall where they may, the lessons be learned, and your approach be tweaked and refined over time. PREPARE. SHOW UP. RINSE AND REPEAT.
Make sense?
A couple weeks ago I was preparing to give a workshop at The Wing to a group of about 85. I was already confident with with the topic I was presenting, it was one which I even consider myself to be an expert on (learn more about How To Find Clients over on The Consultant Code!). While I can talk about how to find clients until the cows come home, I wasn’t feeling confident about speaking in front of 85 people.
This might have been a situation where it would have been easier to just “wing it” since I already know the topic so well, but it still made me nervous. What if I blanked out? No faking in the world can help me there. What if I forgot to drive my key points home? Faking would definitely ghost me there.
So what did I do?
There was no other alternative other than to prepare. Over prepare, even! And prepare again. It was only preparation (no faking here) that would get me feeling cool as a cucumber on presentation day.
There were several steps I took in order to prepare:
Setting my intention. How did I want the audience to feel as a result of attending and what specifically did I want them to take away? I started with a basic outline of the workshop and worked backwards from the end to the beginning.
Asked for feedback. I reviewed my presentation with a couple of close confidantes that I trust and respect to give me honest, actionable feedback.
Practice. I practiced my workshop to some of those friends to collect more feedback on my newly revised presentation based off of their feedback. I practiced to my cat, Scarlett, so many times in the comfort of my home. Though I’m pretty sure she couldn’t have cared less!
More practice, more refinements. Seriously though, the more practice the better! The more I said the words, the more comfortable the flow felt - and I adjusted and tweaked my message along the way.
Visualize success. A couple of days beforehand, I turned inward, shutting my eyes and visualizing success from the inside out. I visualized myself actually giving the presentation, engaging with the audience, and imagining the best outcome possible.
Take the time to visualize things going as best as they possibly can. The value you’ll bring, the words you’ll use, the incredible impact you’ll have upon someone else. You have powerful insights to provide, so be inspired by yourself for a second!
Ultimately being prepared is WAY better than just winging it. In order to feel confident you have to rehearse, practice, prepare. It is the KEY component to ensure success. Whether it’s an upcoming presentation, an interview, or a video you’re creating to promote your business or side hustle, preparation is everything.
Preparation will calm your jitters when your big moment arises. When you get up there, you’ll feel like a total pro. You’ve already completely memorized your key points and what you want to get across. AND you’ll actually have the room to ad-lib, get the crowd engaged and really drive things home.
Finally, after your big moment concludes take time to reflect upon it. What went well? What would you differently or improve upon next time?
In the end, I felt like I had truly done everything in my power to be successful for my presentation - but I forgot one thing. I didn’t capture a single photo or video of the workshop! HUGE miss for future content that I could have shared with you all.
You know I’ll be adding this to my list of preparations for my next workshop, so stay tuned.
I hope I didn’t rain on your fake-it-until-you-make-it parade, but hopefully we’ll see each other on the other side prepping-until-we’re-pros…? Can we make that a thing?
#PreppingUntilWe’rePros
Holly works with professionals to create services-based businesses using expertise and strengths they already have. Holly is the creator of The Consultant Code, a program will have you up, running, and profitable with your services-based business in 60 days or less! Want to learn more? Drop her a note at: holly@hollyknoll.com