I once practiced a 27-minute speech 89 times.

It was flawless. The audience hated it. After, someone said to me “I can't believe you memorized that whole thing.” Bingo. Being flawless is exactly why it was a dud. Turns out, science agrees. In 1966, psychologist Elliot Aronson ran an experiment at the University of Minnesota. Aronson had 48 people listen to recordings of a student interview. He split them into 4 groups. Each group heard a different recording. Two recordings featured an honor roll student. Two recordings featured a dud. The twist: In one version of each, the student spilled coffee all over his britches (yes britches, it was 1966). They then asked listeners who they liked most. 1st place? The honor roll student who spilled. Last place? The dud who spilled. Turns out, if you’re brilliant, mistakes make you more… human. If you’re a dud, you seem like... more of a dud. Psychology calls this the Pratfall Effect. So many speakers get flustered over a flaw. So they apologize, compensate, or avoid the stage. But if you’re competent and know your topic, flaws are an asset. Your audience wants to know you're human. So next time you present, spill coffee on your britches on purpose. (Kidding.) (Or am I?)