Do you hesitate to say something? Do you delay involving others?
Here are a few things to consider about your waiting habits when presenting and communicating:
The cost of waiting to prepare for your presentation: you may not do your best work; may not have enough time to develop a powerful message; and ultimately you don’t have the impact or influence on your audience.
The benefit of waiting to prepare for your presentation: if you are a perfectionist, waiting just the right amount of time may help avoid endless revisions and futile attempts to reach perfection.
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The cost of waiting to involve your audience: you are risking loosing their attention and struggling to gain it back which again leads to reduced impact and influence.
The benefit of waiting to involve your audience: if done well, you can build anticipation and excitement, making the eventual involvement more valuable and filled with emotion.
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The cost of waiting to collaborate in brainstorming: you struggle to find ideas; you end up with less diverse solutions and less creativity; you become committed to a solution and are unable to see the value of other ideas, or adapt.
The benefit of waiting to collaborate in brainstorming: you can come up with your own ideas without being influenced or stifled by others reactions; each member of the group can be themselves and then build on the ideas brought from others.
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There isn’t a perfect time for anything. But you do need to decide when to act and when to communicate. Consider the costs and benefits.
