What will your presentation do to help the audience take that next right step?

When presenting, why do we overdose on PowerPoint, stand away from the audience, speak quickly, act anxiously, or even read every single word from a written document?

Is it fear born from excessive perfectionism, or an inflated thought that every single slide and word is of vital importance…all the while forgetting that our audience will likely forget much of the detail. What audiences do remember is the experience. They will remember, fondly or not, what that time with you was like. Did you disperse wisdom or data, understanding or slides, expertise or…more data? Audiences come to us in Kindergarten, University, or professional meetings for probably only one thing: they want to emerge better able to solve their problem, to improve their condition, to truly know and to do more.

Our task then is not to build a PowerPoint deck as our security blanket but rather to really think about this audience as different in some way from the last one. Really consider what will help this particular audience, this particular class, this one person. How can your interaction help them to take that next right step?

This next week, as you present in any situation, consider first not the content, but rather the consumer of the content. They have a problem. What will your presentation do to help them take that next right step?

Your job is not to please the audience; your job is to engage the audience

My dental hygienist was telling me about her goal to finish her degree and enter a graduate program. I asked how it was going. “Well, I was going to enroll in one class…but I heard from other students that it was all lecture. All lecture doesn’t work for me.”

Does “all lecture” work for you…as the learner? How many times have all of us sat in a classroom, workshop, even a “lecture hall” (!) only to emerge wondering if we would ever get that hour back again in our life. Yet it continues to be the coin of the realm at professional meetings, classrooms, and even ‘motivational’ programs that we actually pay for!

The American philosopher, Alfred North Whitehead, cautioned that education ought to help us know more and do more… “this intimate union of theory and practice aids both” he concluded. That was years ago and yet for many professionals, the lecture, to know more, overshadows the do more, again and again.

When Nora Dunn of the early Saturday Night Live show attended one of my classes at Columbia College Chicago she advised our acting students, “Your job is not to please the audience; your job is to engage the audience” and then she added that it is in the engagement that we are pleased. Many teaching Kindergarten through University know very well how important it is to stop the lecture only method…our students don’t tolerate it very well…and they tell us so!

But at our professional meetings, how many times do you really get to meet those at your table? Or those at the next table? Or on Zoom how many emails are you able to get through when the lecture begins?

So I invite you to reflect on your experience of learning. Are you like my dental hygienist? Or are you like the tens of thousands this week who will sit and listen and then hear the common statement, “Looks like we don’t have time for Q&A.” Make this a key consideration next time you are the one doing the teaching!

Make a difference today!

My yoga teacher always begins our class by setting an intention for the practice. Inspired, I now set myself an intention at the beginning of every day. What a difference it's made! Ask yourself one of the questions below today and see if it makes a difference to your hour, your morning, your day, your time with patients/students/clients/colleagues/the C-Suite/family, and most importantly yourself.

If you're working today:

I’ve spent some time consulting in a cath lab…they save the sexiest outfits for the consultants! I noticed that when a particular physician used their scrub as a fellow professional, the atmosphere of the patient care changed. The scrub, the nurse, the rad tech, were no longer observers, they were collaborators. Who can you ask for what they notice today as you work with your team? Then notice what is different.

If you're spending time with family today:

Ever take a vacation with your kids to a place where they didn’t want to go? Yikes! What if planning involved them early and often, not just days or weeks before the trip, but an ongoing discussion, researching, collaborating. This even works for a trip to grandma’s…what else is near her home that we have not yet discovered?

If you're on your own today:

Many years ago as the self-help industry of books was just beginning, there was a book called “How To Be Your Own Best Friend”. If you were your best friend, what would your appreciate about yourself?

Today isn’t just the first day of the rest of your life: Today is THE day of your life. You are in my intentions today.

Share with Some Intended Hesitancy

Bob Powers, one of my now deceased professors from the Adler University in Chicago recommended to us aspiring counselors to play the “dumb nut” to get others to think more deeply.

As I reflect on this advice many years later, I notice that when others ask the obvious question it stimulates thinking on both parties. “Can you tell me more about that?” or “I’ve not heard it put that way before, tell me more about it.”

On a Los Angeles bound plane one day a man was telling me about his son who played on an east coast college football team. “My wife and I attend every game so we will be there when he gets hurt!” I asked, “You expect him to get hurt?” He replied, “Football is a very violent sport, Kevin.” I went on to ask what position he played knowing very, very little about football. “Quarterback” he said. Without thinking about my professor’s advice but perhaps following it I asked, “Is that they one who throws the ball?” He looked at me incredulously and said, “You have no idea about the game do you?” My response was “Nope!” He pulled out his iPhone and together for the next hour we watched his son’s game as he taught me more than I ever had known about the sport. It occurred to me later we were not watching a football game…he was showing me baby pictures…his baby all grown up!

Think Adjective, Noun, Adverb

A top tip for thought leadership from Business Speaker Mark LeBlanc, CSP: Divide a piece of paper into columns and simply brainstorm many (many!) words randomly. The columns can be labeled anything you want…I use adjective, noun, and adverb but you could use colors, towns, countries, etc. Then start circling combinations of those words. This could be used for a book title, a new concept, a vacation experience you never considered before…thought leadership doesn't have to be confined to the office! Try it and notice what is better or different about your thinking, your creativity, even that next vacation!

Comment when you see brilliance

My friend Derek Arden Negotiation Expert, AUTHOR, YouTuber, podcaster in the UK has a phrase that he uses on occasion: “That’s quite brilliant, isn’t it!” Whenever he says it, I feel a bit smarter...even when he's saying it about someone else! Perhaps he is on to something by commenting on ‘brilliance’, the illumined light that helps see into the shadows.

Recently I was speaking to a group of physician leaders and I commented on being a “responsive” leader. David Dull came up with a better word, “How about ‘responding’ leader?” His contribution made me think. 'Responsive' describes, whereas 'responding' is an action. Nice! Brilliant, actually! If we look for it perhaps, we too can see it. Quite brilliant, yes?

Collaborate Instead of Author

Although you may be the expert, the teacher, the author, the parent or the partner, work to be collaborative instead of authoritative. Yes, you and I have expertise, we all do at one level or another. Economists, physicians, historians, and philosophers know much more about their field than I will ever know. But so does the window washer at O’Hare Airport as she effortlessly glides the tools of her trade over an expansive window.

When I meet and talk to anyone, I try to ask a question that hits at the heart of the full understanding they have. “What insight from your study of economics (or medicine etc.) excites you the most?” or “What is the secret to getting this window so clean and so fast?” (Apparently wrist action and the secret formula in the bucket!)

Even if I knew the essence of any of these endeavors it is better to allow the other person to be my teacher than for me to “know it all.” And when you or I really are the expert in the room, refuse to act as if you are. Instead combine, collaborate, cooperate, and connect with their expertise. Imagine the result then!

Listen a bit more deeply!

A Catholic bishop friend of mine told me that he was with the Pope Benedict many years ago shortly after he was elected. I asked my friend what he was like. He said: "A few of us were sitting around asking him questions. One of the bishops asked him a question which he answered. Then, Kevin, he leaned forward looking at that same bishop and said, “But bishop I heard another question you didn’t ask me, would you like to ask me that question now?” I can only imagine the bishops looking at one another and saying, “That is so cool!” (Only in Latin!)

What is the question beneath the question that you hear…or want to ask?

Think Beyond the Normal

Think beyond the normal! Nido Qubein, President of High Point University is a master of the language that cuts through complexity to clarity. To help us focus he uses word pairing to teach. The difference between training and education for example. Or the difference between success and significance, fortune or fame. What are two words that have special meaning for you? Surviving or thriving? Work or career? Managing or leading? Self or other? Funeral or celebration of a life well lived?

One of my favorites comes from the famous Chicago psychiatrist, Dr. Rudolf Dreikurs (1897-1972): “I listen to the tongue in the shoe not the tongue in the mouth. Feet only point in one direction; words can go anywhere!”

The best word pairings don't from Nido or Dr. Drekurs or me…but from your own thoughts, which may lead to action. Be a thought leader in your community and encourage others to stop and think in a new way.

Ask extra-ordinary ‘ordinary’ people to be your guest, not just the big kids

Everyone has an expertise; some are not recognized as experts though. Look for interesting people that you are interested in, regardless of their credentials or tenure.

Be spontaneous; no rehearsed questions…never, ever

This allows you to be in conversation mode instead of presentation mode. One of my students recently said this made the biggest difference for her with the experts I invite to my classes at Loyola University of Chicago’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies. By asking personal and professional questions these experts come in with their whole self and not only a piece of their ‘expert-ness’! Keep it human.

The secret sauce!

Give the audience an opportunity at the end to tell the interviewee what they liked, learned, and appreciated about them. I call this the ‘secret sauce’ since it allows the interviewee to understand their impact in a concrete way. If you are the interviewee all you need to say is “thank you!” Always have the audience tell them with you at the end wrapping it up. Even hardnosed experts get very soft hearing their impact in real time.

Give the audience a chance to ask questions

Larry King did this on every show and I’ve often found the audience questions are better! I’ve done this with every interview in every program for the past 30 years and I’m continually impressed by the questions that I had never even thought of. If you are the interviewee, be as honest as you can be. Start by asking their name (this makes it more personal) and then address their question with a ‘thank you’ and their name at the end. This is very useful on radio or live Podcast interviews…personal is always preferred over the anonymous voice.

When you find gold…dig!

Dr. Rudolf Dreikurs advised that a word, a phrase, a pause will often reveal even more below the surface. Ask that next deeper question. If you are the interviewee listen closely to that next question and go as deep as you wish. How would you respond to these?

-          A top administrator says, “I really got this job accidentally”

-          A successful CEO says, “I sleep pretty well except for the times I don’t”

-          A novelist says, “I do love my characters and sometimes to me they are even more real than real ones I meet.”

There’s gold to be found there…so dig!

Be a “dumb nut” …let them be the expert

I try to never assume about jobs, countries, culture, etc. Let the interviewee be the one in the know. If you are the interviewee, be ready to make plain what your country is like, what your job entails, etc. Never assume, even when you are in front of a professional audience that they all understand the same…some are distracted, some wondering when lunch is, and of course many are emailing, or thinking about emailing!

It’s even more fun when you teach the audience something. I was interviewing a professional and the topic of arranged marriages in parts of India came up. I registered some confusion and he said, “Kevin you marry the one you love; we love the one we marry…and you are going to have to do that anyway!” Boom, mic drop moment!

When it gets emotional for the interviewee, go expectantly quiet, and wait

Sometimes an interviewee will choke up discussing their parents, siblings, or an event with deep meaning for them. In this case as the interviewer, just wait. Allow the interviewee to get themselves together…usually only a moment or minute or two. If you are the interviewee, take a deep breath and allow yourself to say what you want. The audience will always, always be on your side. They’ve felt the same way!

Protect your interviewee from the audience member with an attitude

Paraphrasing and an empathic statement can help here to cut the tension. If it is abusive, you as the interviewer need to jump in and respond directly and assertively to the abusive one. Remind them of the purpose of your work today and the way everyone will conduct their work. If you are the interviewee, take a deep breath and paraphrase with some empathy also (this can help defuse and create some connection) and then provide your best answer without the fight and without an attitude. The audience will side with you. One method to diffuse the situation is to ask for the person’s name and then use it in your answer…this creates the human connection versus the hit-and-run experience. Work to understand their deeper question which is often built on fear or hurt.

Do you host a podcast?

Some hosts go on about how much they know the person they are about to interview, where they met, where they work, how great they are, etc. Even the hosts with great reputations do this. One recent well-known host took the first 9 minutes talking about the guest instead of talking to and with the guest. Don’t be that guy! If a host does this to you make your first comments about the audience and the topic instead of more chit-chat about your relationship with the host.

Get right to the good stuff…no need to warm them up

Ask the question your audience is wanting you to get to right away. “Many here wonder if this is a merger or a takeover?” is better than softer questions. Get right to business! If you are the interviewee decide for yourself what you think the audience wants to hear and get it out even if the interviewer is going soft. Address the issue whether it is the elephant in the room or the pesky mosquito in your ear!

Ask one question with one question mark

Even experienced newscasters make the mistake of asking multiple questions, especially on the radio. After their question they continue with “is it about xxx, or is it xxx etc.” Not only does this constrict the interviewee, it can confuse them. Instead ask the question, and then go quiet. It’s their turn, not yours. For example, “What are your thoughts on the situation in the Ukraine?” is a better question than “Do you think we will have to go to war, or engage, or do you think diplomacy will work? I mean is this a Cuban Missile Crisis kind of thing?”  Yikes!! If this happens to you when you are the interviewee you could:

-          Respond by ignoring their prompts (it’s best just not to listen to them)

-          Paraphrase the question again

-          Say “Well actually it is none of those…here is what might be more useful.”