Learn, Grow, Read
Don’t Hide Behind Technology
By: Bill Hellkamp, REACH Development Systems
Recently I had the opportunity to train a group of executives at their headquarters in Los Angeles. Our first step was to review one of their presentations in the company’s high-tech conference room. It was a beautiful place, equipped with comfortable swivel chairs at ergonomically designed tables. It was tastefully decorated in muted colors with even more muted lighting. On stage right was a walnut lectern concealing a state-of-the-art control system, including a computer and overhead projector. Finally, the piece-de-resistance, a 15 foot rear-projection screen that could show the full range of media and be controlled either at the lectern or from the control booth. It was awe-inspiring.
The first executive prepared his audiovisuals and consulted his notes. The house lights dimmed and on came the note lights at each of our desks. The slides started and from somewhere in the darkness on the right side of the stage a disembodied voice began to speak. The slides changed smoothly in concert with “the voice”. Soon a short, expertly produced video clip was shown. Then “the voice” and the slides started again. A few minutes later “the voice” stopped, the last picture faded and the house lights came back up. It was a slick presentation, it was a professional presentation and it was a tight presentation. But it was not a stirring presentation and it did not connect with the audience.
Why? Because the speaker gave up his opportunity to interact with the audience and tried to replace it with audiovisual technology. He gave up his greatest asset as a speaker -- relating to the group, and instead tried to compete with other forms of media such as television and movies. As such he was destined to fail.
Don’t take me wrong. The advances in A/V technology have given us the ability to enhance our presentations and make our messages clearer. But we presenters are still the primary messengers and much of our mission is to develop a personal relationship with the audience. Here are some suggestions for doing that more effectively:
1) Be yourself. All too often a speaker will try to develop a stage persona that is different from their real personality . Usually this persona is more somber, more serious, more professional and frequently more boring. Why give yourself something else to worry about while you’re up front? Be yourself and let the audience get to know you. Realize that you are giving this presentation because of your expertise in a particular subject. Give the audience information that they can use and they will appreciate it.
2) Have fun. While your audience may not have come primarily to be entertained they still want to enjoy themselves during your presentation. In order for this to happen you must be able to have fun as a speaker. Be flexible, roll with the punches, acknowledge mistakes and recognize opportunities to relate to your audience. Generally they are on your side and want you to do well, but they will reflect your attitude and comfort level. Have fun and your audience will relax and enjoy themselves as well.
3) Personalize your comments. Your listeners want to feel that you know who they are, if not personally, at least as a group. Some ways you can make this happen: a) Meet some people beforehand and use their names during the talk. b) Find out a few recent accomplishments of the company or organization and use them as examples. c) Play off of comments that were made by previous speakers.
4) Communicate with your face. Even in very large groups the participants get a great deal of information from watching our faces. Our eye contact tells them if we’re sincere; maintain eye contact with one person until you complete a thought (6 - 8 seconds) then move on. Our mouth communicates our feelings; smile more and people will think you are enjoying yourself, even if you are not. And our eyebrows show how excited we are; raise them once in a while and your audience will share your enthusiasm. So look them in the eye, raise your eyebrows and smile. Your listeners will want to hear what you have to say.
5) Speak their language. I gave a talk once to a group of physicians and made an unpardonable blunder. I referred to customers instead of patients! It doesn’t seem like a big mistake but it said to my audience that I didn’t know much about their profession. It put a barrier between us that I had to work hard to overcome. To keep from putting barriers between yourself and your audience you should: a) Use the right vocabulary by finding out some key terms used in that industry and incorporating them into your talk. b) Explain complex concepts through the use of stories and analogies. c) Avoid using obscure abbreviations and acronyms that can confuse those who are not in the know.
Incorporate these ideas into your next presentation and develop a better relationship with the audience. Then you can use A/V technology to enhance your message.
Involve Your Audience and Ease Your Work Load
By Bill Hellkamp, REACH Development SystemsDuring a conversation with a couple of clients Gwen asked me, "How can I get my team to participate more in my meetings? It seems that they don't have anything to say while we're all together but after the meeting I can hear them talking about how we could be doing things better. It's frustrating!"
"Yes." said Scott, "A couple of my key people will eventually add an idea or two, but they don't seem to do it willingly and none of the rest of the group joins in. Is there any advice that you can give us?"
Advice? Well of course I have some advice! I'm a consultant. Giving advice is what I do! As a matter of fact, not giving advice is more the challenge. That thought aside, here are four ideas that Scott, Gwen and you can use to get more participation from your audience.
Start Right Away.
Imagine that you have just entered an elevator with one other occupant. You hit the button for your floor and say, "Hi," to the other person or make some other pithy comment. They turn to you, respond and perhaps a conversation ensues. This might be a little uncomfortable but it is generally acceptable behavior. Now contrast that with a similar scenario, but one in which you wait until the elevator has gone ten or fifteen floors then try to get a conversation started. Not only does this feel more awkward, it's downright creepy! Why do we feel that way? Because within the first few moments everyone has decided what kind of elevator ride this is going to be. It is either going to be a "talking" elevator ride or a "silent, looking at the numbers" elevator ride. It is much the same for an audience. If participation is desired, then the presenter must get it started right away. Should the speaker begin with a 15 or 45 minute monologue, the audience settles in to their listening mode. And once they are in that mode the presenter will have considerable trouble getting them to speak up. In a very short span of time your audience will decide if this is an "I get to say something" presentation or one in which they should "shut up and listen."
Make It Easy.
Recently I was at a continuing education seminar for adult educators. The instructor was a professor from a big time university and after a lengthy introduction he finally asked us a question. Now I don't remember it exactly, but it went something like this. "Who can explain the difference between traditional and integration theories of education?" The reaction from this group of knowledgeable trainers was stone dead silence! It's not that on one knew the answer, it's just that no one was ready to deal with such a complex question. It could be that this instructor was more concerned with impressing us with his vast knowledge than he was in getting us to participate. But if he really did want us to respond, he should have started with an easier question. Perhaps he could have asked us what kind of subjects we teach or what unique training situations we had experienced. A more basic question would have gotten the participation started and helped us to relax.
Don't Use All of the Best Material.
When I was first learning to encourage participation during my presentations I found myself bringing up a subject for discussion. Then I would proceed to pontificate at length about the topic, telling them everything I knew about it. Eventually I would run out of gas and ask the group what they knew or thought. Invariably there was little or no feedback. Finally one of my class members raised her hand and said, "After you get done talking there's nothing left for us to say!" While my initial reaction was defensive, I eventually recognized the truth of what she said. Over time I was able to change my style and allow the audience to have first crack at the most obvious answers. Don't tell the audience information that they could tell you.
Positive Reactions Only.
Now we come to the final piece of advice. Please don't make the mistake of thinking that because of its placement it is the least important. How a presenter reacts to the early input from his or her audience is a major factor in the amount and quality of participation they receive. When a member of the audience responds to your question they are taking a personal risk. In almost every audience you will have a couple of brave souls that take the risk and raise their hands.
The rest of the group is watching to see how you deal with this input, right or wrong. And it won't take much negative on your part to shut the whole process down. For example:
-Saying, "That's not right!"
-Shaking your head.
-Heavy sighs.
-Rolling your eyes.
Your audience learns quickly and any indication that you are unhappy with their response will cause them to sit on their hands and put you on your own for the rest of the presentation.
Well, there's the advice Gwen and Scott paid for, and you got it practically for free. But like any advice it's worth nothing if you don't make use of it. I spoke to Gwen the other day and I asked her if she had experienced any better results in recent meetings. "Well," she said, "I mostly tried the idea of holding back on telling them everything I know before asking their opinion. I started by introducing an idea then getting their input right away. The group was hesitant at first but I was patient and eventually they started to offer some great ideas. But the best part was that there was a lot less griping after the meeting was over."
So think about the next meeting or presentation you have and commit to using one of these four ideas to get more participation.
-Saying, "That's not right!"
-Shaking your head.
-Heavy sighs.
-Rolling your eyes.