How to speak when you're not ready

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Have you ever received a piece of information that sends a chill down your spine and sinks your heart into the pit of your stomach? Well, that’s exactly what happened to me at 3 a.m. on a Friday morning.

I had been reached out to by a company to do a keynote for their annual event. It was a huge event with about 2,000 people in attendance.

The person who contacted me said they had received several offers and referrals for speakers.

But when he spoke to me, he said, "Yasir, I’ve gone through all of these people. They’re great. I know they’re going to crush it. They’re seasoned public speakers. But I saw your videos on Instagram, and I think you're the person we need for this event."

It was five months ahead, so I said, “Sure, no problem. I’ll do it.” And then I didn’t think about it again. I put it on my calendar, called it a day, and moved on.

Weeks went by. I had other speaking engagements, coaching clients, and responsibilities.

I was still early in my career, not fully aware of how to manage everything. Then one night, I thought, “Okay, I’ve got a week to prepare. I’ll sleep on it tonight, and on Monday, I’ll start prepping for the presentation I have on Friday.”

(By the way, you probably shouldn't wait until the last minute like this, but I thought I had four days left.)

So, Thursday night, I’m lying in bed. I have trouble sleeping, so I’m scrolling on my phone, going through emails. I figured, “Let me just check the details for this keynote coming up next week.”

I opened the document and started reading through it. I kept scrolling and scrolling until I got to the part where it mentioned the date and time of the event.

What I read …. sent chills down my spine.

It wasn’t next week.
It was in four hours.

I’m lying there in bed, and I start to sweat.

Cold sweats.
My heart drops into my stomach.

I had hired a videographer, told people it was next week, and had other things on my calendar for that morning.

And now, I had a keynote to open the biggest event of the year for this company—in four hours.

First of all, don’t be like me.

Don’t be as disorganized as I was back then. I ended up hiring a personal assistant to help me with my calendar because I was so bad at keeping track of things.

But in that moment, I knew I wasn’t going to sleep that night. I had to make some calls. I messaged my videographer, asking,

"Hey, can you show up right now?

Can you rearrange your schedule last minute? I have to be at the venue at 7 a.m.

The keynote starts at 8 a.m. and I need to get the mic check and rehearsal done."

I’m panicking. I have no idea what I’m going to talk about.

And I’m thinking, “Yasir, this might be where your career ends.

You might embarrass yourself in front of all these people.

The event organizer specifically chose you over so many others, and this is what you do?”

My internal chatter was relentless,

but I only had four hours.

I had to make the most of it.

So, I went to the kitchen, made myself a cup of coffee, and slapped cold water on my face—literally slapped my face, as if to wake myself up and punish myself for being so careless.

I looked in the mirror and started talking.

I don’t even know what I was saying at first. I was thinking, "Okay, this audience wants to learn how to be more memorable.

They want to make a good first impression.” (Which is ironic given the first impression I would make if I wasn’t prepared!)

I started recalling stories: “I remember working with this client, and I taught them this…” and “I remember another story where this happened…”

I was verbalizing the stories, figuring out if they flowed. Did this story lead to the next one? Should I open with this? Close with that?

After two and a half hours of doing this, I realized it was time to get ready and show up at the venue. So, I got dressed, jumped into an Uber, and headed to the event.

The whole ride there, my heart was beating out of my chest. I could hear my heartbeat louder than the pop songs playing on the radio.

When I arrived at the venue, there were people in suits everywhere. I hoped they couldn’t see the dark circles under my eyes because I was exhausted and completely unprepared for this opportunity.

The event organizer greeted me with excitement. "Oh my God, we’re so excited to have you! You’re going to open the keynote!" I met with the organizer, and he said, "Wow, you finally showed up! Great to see you in person. You’re going to kill it!"

Meanwhile, I was dealing with full-blown imposter syndrome. They were expecting something amazing, and I wasn’t sure I could deliver.

In that moment, I had to make a decision. “Yasir, you can either step on stage scared and ruin everyone’s day, or you can take this opportunity and somehow make something of it.”

They called my name. "Keynote speaker for today, Yasir Khan!"

Right before I stepped on stage, I remembered:

"Sometimes in life, you’ll be given opportunities for which you don’t have time to prepare.

You won’t have time to prepare for the most important things in your life, so you need to prepare today for the opportunities of tomorrow."

From there,

I talked about how we should always be ready to speak on the spot, how important impromptu speaking is, and why we need to be prepared before we even know we need to be ready.

And as I started speaking, I realized everything I was saying was something I had already said before. I had told these stories before. I had shared these messages in my membership, with my students, and in my coaching sessions.

The first story flowed naturally into the second, then the third. The audience was laughing and enjoying the stories, just as they had in my workshops.

By the end of the speech, the audience was engaged, they were into it, and when I finished, I was shocked to see them stand up for a standing ovation.

I was stunned for 30 seconds, unsure of what had just happened.

I went back to my seat, handed back the microphone, and people started shaking my hand, saying, “Amazing job, loved your energy, that talk really stood out to me.”

As they complimented me, I couldn’t even pay attention because I was still trying to figure out how I had pulled it off.

Then it hit me: I pulled it off because I was already prepared.

I had been prepared for this event without even realizing it because I had already told those stories. I had already delivered that message.

Even though I wasn’t conscious of it at the time, when the moment came, I could access that information from my subconscious memory.

It’s like when someone asks you to recite the alphabet. You don’t need to think about it; you just know it.

For you, the opportunities of tomorrow rely on how much you prepare today.

Look at examples like Jim Carrey, who took the risky role in Ace Ventura that skyrocketed his career.

Or Bill Gates, who promised IBM an operating system before Microsoft even had one.

Both were prepared when their moments arrived.

They didn’t wait to see the opportunity on the horizon before they started preparing.

The reason I’m sharing this with you is because you’ll have moments where you need to be prepared but don’t have time.

Someone might ask you to fill in for a presentation at the last minute. You might be asked to make a toast at a wedding.

Or maybe you’re meeting someone important for the first time at a networking event, and you need to be ready with your elevator pitch.

Don’t wait until the opportunity is right in front of you to start preparing.

Be the person who prepares today to be ready for tomorrow.

Prepare your social skills, your presentation skills—whatever it is, even if you don’t have an event lined up.

It’s inevitable that in life:

You will be asked to give an important presentation,
You will meet someone who could end up being your soulmate,
You could be given a chance to lead a team when you weren’t expecting to.

There will come a time when the spotlight is on you.

And when that time comes,

someone will throw you the ball, and you’d better be ready to catch it.

TLDR: Prepare today to be ready for tomorrow.

—Yasir Khan