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Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares reveals three consistent lessons to restaurant owners. Be passionate, be focused, and be disciplined.
Although the lessons are targeted towards restaurant management, they can be easily applied to public speaking and presentation development. If applied, these lessons will ensure that you give world-class presentations.
Must be passionate:
Usually, chef Ramsay yells and asks other restaurant owners on his show Kitchen Nightmares: “Where is the passion, chef?
I find myself wondering the same thing when I see a speaker who does not exude passion, interest or enthusiasm for her topic.
You can’t expect somebody else to be interested in your topic if you are not interested in it yourself.
Whether the topic is a new proposal to change the light bulbs at work or to explore biochemistry mechanisms in outer space, you must take pride, ownership and get excited about it.
I know that sometimes working in the same field for a long time can leave you feeling jaded.
But that’s not a good excuse.
“Cooking is about passion,” Gordon Ramsay said in an interview with Brett Moore. The same applies to public speaking. A presentation without passion is dead and doesn’t do the job.
The good news is that your passion can be cultivated.
Three ways to cultivate passion for your topic
1- Revisit what interested you in the topic in the first place. Why did you go into this field? Why did you select this job? What inspired you to start this project?
2- Explore all of the landscape. There is no such thing as a 100 % boring topic. You can always find an angle, perspective, or side of a topic that is still interesting to you – find it.
3- Project the possibilities. Look into the future and fantasize about interesting things that might come out of your topic. Notice I said fantasize, it means get creative and make-up something that gets’s your wheels turning if you have to.
4- Here is bonus one – connect the topic to something important. If people are important to you, then connect the topic to how it helps people. If money is important to you, then connect the topic to money. If knowledge is important to you then connect your topic to learning and experience.
Must be focused:
A restaurant that caters to everyone serves no one. The same applies to presentations; a presentation has to be focused and targeted to be useful to your audience.
Two ways to get focused on your presentation
1- Get clear about your target audience
You have to know whom you are communicating with, otherwise, you will try to cater to everyone and dilute your message.
2- Get clear about your goal
Good presentations have a purpose. Set some clear desired outcomes for your presentation by articulating what you want people to think, feel, or do at the end of your talk.
Must be Disciplined:
Passion and focus in a restaurant are not enough for success. Discipline to treat the restaurant as a business is the other key ingredient.
The professional presentation requires business discipline just like a restaurant. The presentation is an opportunity for you to brand yourself, highlight your accomplishments, attract clients and to represent your company. It’s a serious business and must be approached with the discipline to ensure success.
Two things you can do to become a disciplined speaker
1- Treat speaking as a craft
Work on improving and refining your skills continuously. This will ensure that you are prepared when an opportunity to speak comes your way.
2- Be disciplined about continuously seeking opportunities to speak.
Presentations are not just an obligation; they are an opportunity for you to showcase and build your personal and professional brand.
Conclusion
Be passionate, be focused, and be disciplined. These are the consistent lessons of Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. You can use them to succeed in the restaurant business and you can be easily applying when public speaking.
Hope you find it useful. Do you know of other ways to rekindle your passion for your presentation topic?
Please share below.
