Save the Best for First

Save the Best for First 

In my book The Power of  Tenacity,  I shared that the American comedian Louis C.K. has a unique approach for developing his standup act.   He said he  takes his closing bit and open with it because then, he has to follow with his strongest bit.

I would say,   that’s good advice for anyone who wants to take their performance to a higher level.  If you’re making a presentation to a client,  start with your best ideas; if you’re interviewing for a job, zero in on your biggest strengths and highlight them; if you’re in a debate, open with your strongest argument.

By putting your best material out there first,  you set high expectations on the part of your audience for the rest of your presentation and therefore challenge yourself to make sure everything that follows lies up to your strong opening.  If the rest of your material doesn’t measure up,  you’ll need to bump it up a couple notches and rework it until it does.

Honing your material takes time,  practice and patience.  Standup comedians spend years paying their dues on the circuit and figuring out what works with different audiences; so do speakers like myself.
If you’re not sure about your material,  try it out on a few people ahead of time and get their reaction, then rework and revise as necessary until you know it’s the best it can be.