Bruce Lee once said, “To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.”
When you can punch through brick walls, you might not have a down-to-earth understanding of what it means for an ordinary individual to “create opportunities”. But the real trick to opportunity is as much learning to recognize the opportunities already out there as it is creating them from scratch. In fact, the two are closely linked: once we learn to spot the opportunities that are all around us, we begin to develop a mindset that, in turn, allows us to create more opportunities.
One thing is for certain, though: circumstances aren’t anything other than a hurdle to jump. A career (or a life) that dwells on circumstances is the epitome of uninspiring. It’s not like you’re being asked to punch a brick wall with Lee-like results. But if we focus on the challenges with intent to break through the way Lee or any martial arts master would focus on a chopping block, we’ll enjoy the same results.
Any martial arts expert will tell you that follow through is the essential detail that generates the force of impact. The same goes for your presentation opportunities. Nearly every presentation outlines the topics of discussion to one degree or another. Content can always be better or worse, but it’s always there (without it, your “presentation” is actually miming). But a call to action, or a roadmap for the audience once the content has been delivered, is often skipped. We get sheepish about closing too hard, but therein lies the bulk of the opportunity your presentation provided.
The next time you address an audience, pretend you’re immersed in the video game Mortal Kombat: Finish them. It doesn’t have to be violent, but follow through provides the power. Make your own opportunity today!
Question: How do you close out your presentations? How could you do it better?
