5 Minutes vs 40 Years

I was fortunate enough to host the Opening Ceremony of the Global Speakers Summit in Auckland, New Zealand recently.

As a fun MC kickoff, I performed what I refer to as my Impro Slam Poetry. That is where I ask the audience a question (in this case, What do you want to get from the conference?) and then get about 10 words or statements from them.

Then, off the top of my head, I create a piece of poetry that I make fun, entertaining and relevant to the event. It’s got a lot of energy, I love to do it and the audience are always amazed at how it is done.

Afterward I am always asked, “do you have part of it pre-written?” And the answer is “NO.”

It is not a trick, it is a skill. Each time I do it, a poem is made up fresh using the words provided.

It’s not five minutes of trickery, it is 40 years of skill.

It’s the same with what you do. You can probably create or tweak a spreadsheet without thinking about it, or whip up a powerpoint slide deck without thinking about it. Maybe ride a unicycle or stitch up a dress or even speak a foreign language. These skills are something you build over time but look impressive when you only see the end result.

So what are your skills? What can you do that other people think is amazing but you know it is years of practice that builds the skill?

More importantly, what is it you WANT to be able to do? That is what you need to start working on today so that in 10 years it looks like magic!