How professionals make it look easy

How professionals make it look easyHow professionals make it look easyI recently gave a keynote speech to a crowd of roughly 3,000 people. I had to catch a flight back home right after it ended, so I bolted out of the conference center to take a Lyft to the airport. As I was leaving the building, someone in the audience caught up to me.Im dying to know, he said. How does public speaking come so naturally to you?I set my bag down and repliedGloss reflects more than it reveals.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreI then walked off. (Just kidding). I spent a minute unpacking what I meant, and Ill do the same here.When I first started public speaking- which was about nine years ago- I was spectacularly awkward. I would write everything I planned to say and deliver it, word by word, in a monotonous fashion. The only change in my tone was the result of palpable tensions in my voice. As I r ead from my mental teleprompter, I could sense the boredom wafting from the audience. There waszeroconnection between my listeners and me.The same was true in the classroom. The first time I ever taught a class as a law hochschulprofessor, I was so nervous that I tripped over some computer wires, nearly producing an unhappy meeting between face and floor.But I showed up again, and again, and again, marching to the decisive beat of effort-result, effort-result. Each class I taught, and each speech I gave, was a little bit better than the one that came before. Along the way, I discovered how to build a connection, how to tell a good story, and how to conceal missed beats so the audience doesnt even notice.I practiced public speaking four times a week fornine years straightboth as a professor and a keynote speaker. Even with that experience, Im still a work-in-progress. I get tangled up from time to time and stumble over my words. I still get nervous before every speech. But its a cont rolled nervousness- the type that doesnt paralyze you but keeps you on your toes, makes you over-prepare, and convinces you that if you dont put out your best every time, the stage can be whisked away from you at any moment.Heres the thing Nothing springs to existence perfectly formed. Lionel Messi, whos as perfect as soccer players come (sorry, Ronaldo fans), said it took him 17 years and 114 days to become an overnight success. Steve Martin echoes the same point I did stand-up comedy for eighteen years, he says. Ten of those years were spent learning, four years were spent refining, and four were spent in wild success.This is why comparison is the ultimate joy killer- and why its so dangerous. When you compare yourself to a seasoned professional, the comparison isnt apples-to-apples. Youre the beta version, and theyre the finished product. Theyve been doing this for years- if not decades- and youre just starting.When we engage in this comparison, we assume were not good enough or talented enough, so we dont even bother trying.But gloss reflects more than it reveals.The next time youre tempted to put a role model on a pedestal, keep in mind the messy history behind the glamour. Youre not seeing the earlier versions of that stand-up routine that elicited boos from the audience, the earlier drafts of that book chapter that would make any self-respecting writer cringe, or the early versions of blockbuster animation films likeToy Storythat Pixars own President Ed Catmull called their ugly babies.Its like learning how to walk. The early attempts are ugly. At first, its a struggle to even stand up. And even when you start walking, you repeatedly fall over. But with each fall, your body learns what to do and what not to do. By learning not to fall, you learn how to walk. You become the envy of all those still toddling their way to their first steps.The idea is the same whether youre learning to walk, do stand-up, or score the perfect goal. Theres no magical spell, n o pixie dust- no silver bullet.The professionals make it look easy by repeatedly doing whats hard.Ozan Varol is a rocket scientist turned law professor and bestselling author.Click hereto download a free copy of his e-book, The Contrarian Handbook 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, youll get the Weekly Contrarian - a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).This article originally appeared on Ozan Varol.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people