“Rehearsed routines lack the flexibility to adapt.”

A simple quote, but it there is much we can learn from it. Some of you may recognize where this famous quote came from. Originally, this quote was meant for an entirely different purpose. I’m attempting to apply this quote to other situations.

Think about this quote for a second.

Let’s look at an example that everyone can relate to. Presentations. This is a very big problem with students that I work with. They have a presentation to give to their class and the first thing they do is memorize their powerpoint slides or their note cards. All of a sudden, some inconsiderate student interrupts and asks a question. The presenter is caught off guard because the question was either later in the presentation or not covered at all. The presenter’s train of thought, or flow, has been disrupted. The worst thing that I have seen happened is when the audience takes control of the presenter.

Often, I see very little need for students to spend hours practicing their presentations. To be prepared for the audience, they are better off without a rehearsed routine. They can have a structure of what they will say, which is more than enough. What is most important is actually knowing your own material. If you have no idea what you are presenting, it’s almost guaranteed that the presentation will be something like a reading session with your audience sending text messages.

We can even look at this quote in terms of dancing. It is much easier to follow the rhythm of the music when you are out dancing. A rehearsed routine when you go out to dance never works (choreographed dancing is different). The rhythm of the music is telling you to dip your partner, but because of routine that you memorized, you end up giving mixed signals that just throws off your dance.

Telemarketers have a bad case of rehearsed routines. Have you ever noticed what happens when you answer the phone? They literally read a speech to you once you pick up. When you try to say or ask something, they continue to read their speech. When they are finally done, that is when you are allowed to speak. Have you ever asked a telemarketer a question? Here is something interesting. The last time I asked a telemarketer a question, they said, “My sheet is telling me that…” Reading from a script tells me two things. (1) They don’t know what they are talking about and (2) they don’t care.

Here is the deal with rehearsed routines. They don’t prepare you for curve balls. In a perfect world where everything goes according to plan, rehearsed routines are great. We all know that this is often not the case. Let’s look at the example about presentations, again. A rehearsed routine can’t really teach you how to capture the audience. Most of the time, I notice that a memorized presentation lacks inspiration. Have you ever noticed that when some people give a presentation, you can tell who “wanted” to do it and who “had” to do it? Same thing with dancing. You don’t really know how to dance if all you can do is one particular dance done in a very specific way. Your one routine may not work for every song you dance to. You need variety in dancing. Rehearsing your routine with one partner will not work with another partner. In the case with telemarketers, rehearsed routines won’t work if they come across a customer that is very knowledgeable.

Where else can you apply this quote?