the hidden danger of rewatching your presentations
Ronja Hübscher- Apr 29
- 5 min read
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Coming off the Women Thrive Summit, I found myself reflecting on a common piece of advice that many speakers receive: “Rewatch your talk to find ways to improve.” Every presentation at the summit was recorded, and one of my fellow speakers encouraged all of us to individually review our own talks to get better. While that approach can be valuable for experienced presenters and seasoned speakers, I believe it this advice isn't suitable for everyone, especially beginners and non-native English speakers. In this post, I’m going to explore why replaying your full presentation too soon can slow your progress—and what you can do instead to accelerate your growth.
why replaying can backfire
Have you ever recorded yourself and immediately hit “play,” only to cringe at the sound of your own voice? It’s a universal reaction that happens because we perceive our voice through the echo of our bodies, while recordings strip away that familiar resonance. Without warning, your brain thinks, “Is that really how I sound?!? That's not my voice!!" That moment of shock can derail your focus and leave you obsessing over the sound of your voice instead of the content of your message. If you can't listen to your own voice for 60 seconds, then you shouldn't listen to it for 60 minutes. When you replay an entire hour-long talk before you’re used to hearing your recorded voice, you risk fixating on a 'distorted' playback rather than on genuine communication. Listen to your recorded voice a few times until you’re familiar with the recorded version of your voice. Gradual exposure helps your brain merge the way you hear yourself internally with the way your audience hears you externally. Give your brain enough time to know that this voice is just as much yours as the one you've been hearing through your body all your life.
The second trap is aiming for perfection instead of connection. When you watch yourself too closely, it feels natural to start judging every gesture, every “uhm,” every rise in intonation. Suddenly, you’re less concerned with making a heartfelt connection with your listeners and more concerned with perfecting your performance. Real influence hinges on authenticity, energy, and clarity, not on flawlessly polished delivery. Audiences remember how you make them feel far more than whether your pronunciation was textbook-perfect, your word choice flawless or your gestures on point. If you drill down on minute details without context, you may wind up putting on a show that feels off. Instead, focus on authenticity rather than perfection.
Another danger lies in feeding your inner critic. Even if you approach your review with good intentions, it’s easy for self-criticism to spiral into a negative feedback loop. You might catch yourself thinking, “Why did I move my arm like that?” or “My accent sounded too thick there.” Before you know it, you’re cataloging dozens of perceived flaws—and that only chips away at your motivation. If you walk away from a replay session feeling worse about yourself, you’re unlikely to speak again with the courage and conviction you need to grow.
Fourth, replay sessions often encourage a laser focus on mistakes at the expense of strengths. Imagine watching yourself miss one cue while completely forgetting a powerful story that moved your audience. Those moments of genuine connection and clarity get buried under a pile of “errors,” and you lose sight of what you did right. Confidence grows when you celebrate wins, no matter how small. If you only ever spotlight mistakes, you reinforce a belief that you’re not good enough—and that belief is the fastest way to stall your progress.
Finally, replaying your talk can magnify insecurities about your accent. As non-native English speakers, many of us carry shame about our accents. Listening back to our own recordings can amplify those feelings, making us believe that our audience judged every vowel or consonant as harshly as we judge ourselves. In truth, listeners rarely notice the degree of accent variation you focus on. What they value most is clarity and sincerity. Obsessing over accent perfection can prevent you from stepping on stage at all, because you feel you have to sound “just right.”
a more strategic approach
All this is not to say that self-review can't be helpful. On the contrary, thoughtful reflection can be a powerful tool—when done strategically. Keynote speaker and communication coach Vinh Giang has a great practice whereby he suggests to record yourself (before your presentation!) and then first listen to it without watching it, second to watch yourself without audio, and third to read a transcript of what you said. While I think the third might be a bit excessive, I can see how separating the auditory and visual feedback is beneficial in preparation for your presentation, certainly for beginners.
If that sounds like too much work for you—here's what I do myself and recommend to others, regardless of how seasoned of a speaker you are, to make your speaking feedback constructive rather than crippling:
the 3+3 debrief:
After every public speaking gig, no matter how big or small, long or short, write down 3 things you did great at and that went really well, and 3 things that did not go well and that you could pay more attention to improve on for next time. For every critique, identify at least one win. Did you convey your main point clearly? Did your story land? Did you talk with warmth and authenticity? Celebrating strengths reinforces your confidence muscles.
What this does is it keeps the balance between what went well and what didn't so you don't focus on the bad only (if you've got an inner critic like I do, this is especially for you!), and it's actually sustainable to improve over time. If you choose three things to work on next time you present, rather than tackling everything at once, you set yourself up for success instead of failure. This keeps you from overwhelming your mind and maintains your momentum.
One more thing—do your debrief on the same day as your speaking gig or at the latest the day after. You'll be surprised at how fast your brain forgets about the little things. These are the things you should focus on for next time, so take five minutes to debrief. Your future self will thank you for it.
moving forward with confidence
If you’re ready to refine your speaking without falling into the replay trap, start by embracing your progress. Recognize that your voice—accent and all—has power. Be intentional when you hit “play,” and frame your review around growth, not correction. Remember that every great speaker started by stepping into discomfort, not by perfecting every detail before their first talk.
You are already doing better than you think. Your audience doesn’t need a flawless performer; they need you—clear, real, and alive. If you’re looking for more guidance, download my free Stress-Free Speech Checklist in the resource vault. It includes a debrief template to help you review each presentation strategically, so you build on your strengths and tackle improvements one step at a time.
If any of these insights resonated with you, send me a DM on Instagram or drop me an email—I’d love to hear your story. And if you have an upcoming presentation you want to polish, click here to work with me. Let’s keep growing together.
This balanced debrief gives you clear, actionable steps—without drowning you in a flood of self-criticism:
Always remember why you speak in the first place: to share a message that resonates. Let connection, not perfection, be your guiding star.
