Ask before Telling

We can get so caught up in sharing our knowledge and experience that we lose the chance to establish a real connection.  It is incredibly important to be prepared for a meeting.  However, we sometimes forget that appropriate preparation includes planning the questions to ask as well as the tell (information we will convey).

We View Things Differently

We rarely see the whole picture. A photo gives us the opportunity to view one aspect of a situation or event.   A wedding is the best example.  The bride and groom will choose their best photos.  The bride's family chooses different bests. The groom's family's selection is different. And, friends will select photos that might not make the other party's cuts. Only by viewing all the photos snapped by the official photographer and those captured by everyone else with an active camera do we have a comprehensive view.

Each presentation allows us to position our view.

Only when we comprehensively present facts, do we allow others to adopt, adapt or reject our view.

Varied Ways of Presenting

I recently spent 4 hours in a board retreat for a successful, respected non-profit organization.  Though I had heard the call to action presented in various meetings previously, photos, stories and comparative data were shared last week, that more vividly conveyed the necessity of the capital campaign. 

We can all fall victim to information paralysis, overload, mundane, difficult material or blah, blah, blah.  Just because we've said something doesn't necessarily mean that those we want to act on the information have understood what we want or why they need to do anything.

Repetition, illumination and confirmation help to ensure understanding.  Reminds me of so many classrooms of my youth.  I didn't know then the necessity of varied presentation to connect with so many listeners.

Presentation

Our daughter was presented at the second of her debutante balls this week.  It's a lovely time of tradition, friendship and excitement.  In honor of her presentation, she chose to cut her hair and donate the locks for a wig to assist someone undergoing medical treatment. 

What a beautiful transformative act!  She has a stylish new look, an unknown beneficiary will have one less worry in the struggle to get well and all of us who love Julia were once again touched by her generous spirit.

It's More than the Message

I've recently had the opportunity to hear two very different author speakers.  Each of these women is an accomplished presenter, has a terrific story to tell and has amassed many fabulous tips to share.  Though the audiences learned from each of these women, they both sabotaged their ultimate effectiveness.  They forgot that a presentation is more than just the message.  The delivery is also very important.

The first woman became so absorbed in her story that she disregarded 3 attempts by her host to end the presentation.  Because she spoke far longer than was expected, she lost the attention of many audience members who were initially absorbed in her story.  And because she failed to honor the event end time, she literally lost attendees who had to leave for other commitments. 

The second woman has an ego as large as her celebrity.  Many audience members overlooked her self-absorption because they were fascinated by the message and the messenger.  She was so focused on her success that she failed to grasp the importance of connecting with the audience. Though she wished success for everyone in attendance, she continued to tout her own superior success, leaving little room for widening her circle to include anyone in the room.

Any effective classroom teacher makes a connection with students and takes a whole semester to cover the material.  They are sensitive to message, audience, time and delivery.  Their executive summary on the first day, sets the stage for additional information spread throughout the semester. Speakers who are engaged to deliver a 20 - 50 minute keynote must deliver the executive summary and ideally, like the classroom teacher, leave the audience wanting more.