Who sounds more stiff? The guy who tries to give a briefing or a speech for the first time? Or a guy who's done the briefing a ton and knows it down cold?

Want proof? Pick a Seinfeld joke, or a Ron White joke. Google it. Watch them deliver the joke on youtube at various venues….you will notice the timing is almost EXACTLY the same. It sounds so casual, so easy…but the fact is they WORKED over and over on that joke, nailing the timing, until it SOUNDED natural. But they WORKED on it first, and they worked it quite a bit.

Want to sound relaxed, or natural? Practice. Want to sound stiff? Hope you'll **** out a good story at the interview on one of the biggest days of your life….

Its counter-intuitive, but practice makes you sound LESS canned, not more canned. Communication is a skill, and like most skills it is improved with regular practice. A good coach (ahem) is also an option.

I am not trying to sound like an informercial here, but dammit when I hear guys pass around bad gouge its irksome. Very few people walk into an interview and kill it without a lot of time, effort, thought, and preparation. Maybe you are the guy who can pull it off without doing so, but I got a couple hundred Delta data points that say practice pays off….