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By Steve Flinders
Some men buy Ferraris in middle age. I took up the piano. (Actually, a Ferrari was not an option.) It has proved to be a bigger challenge than I expected. I was pleased to get a distinction in my first piano exam at grade 2, taken mainly by eight-year-olds. Then my teacher said that candidates with distinctions must play in the annual High Scorers Concert here in Malta. On the day, it felt like I was going to my own funeral. The audience numbered more than a hundred! My hands shook, I pressed the wrong pedals, my performance was awful, and I felt ashamed. Part of my embarrassment derived from failing to control my nerves after helping hundreds of people to handle exactly this in presentation skills courses over the years. Quite recently, I heard the collective sigh of relief from a group when I said I realised that fear is the biggest problem for most people giving a presentation. We discussed how practice builds confidence – well, I had done plenty of practice – and how breathing helps you relax. It did not stop my fingers feeling like soggy bananas. Participants practised imagining themselves giving brilliant 84 | Issue 108 | January 2018
talks. My attempts at modelling seemed like unconvincing fantasy.
much heart from this. Ed is now doing grade 5.
I realise now that the terror I once felt when presenting has dissipated mainly through doing it repeatedly. So, I changed my mind about never playing the piano in public again and, after doing well in the next exam (for nine-yearolds), have determined to inflict myself on next year’s concert audience.
However, Alan Rusbridger, former Guardian editor, took just months to improve from beginner level to playing a fiendish Chopin piece in public. I have a long way to go, both as a private and a public pianist.
Former UK Labour shadow minister, Ed Balls, said that he found his grade 1 piano exam far more stressful than making a major Commons speech. I take
Steve Flinders is a freelance trainer, writer and coach, based in Malta, who helps people develop their communication and leadership skills for working internationally: steveflind@aol.com.