Most trainers and presenters will structure their material around their key points.
So a trainer might be thinking - 'I must remember to:
- explain the context for today's training
- let them know what the benefits are
- introduce myself to the room.'
And this may work well.
However, you can make life much easier for yourself and your students if, rather than structuring your thoughts around your prepared headings, like those above, you structure your presentation around the questions the students are likely to have.
So instead:
- Why am I here?
- What am I going to get out of today?
- Why am I listening to you?
These three questions cover the same material as the three purpose statements above them, but they have the double benefit of firstly;
viewing the presentation from the point of view of the listener (never a bad place to start)
and secondly;
creating an internal dialogue in the presenter's head, helping the mind to access the necessary information.
Sometimes, mainly when working with young people, they can quickly run out of things to say.
So I play a little game with them.
The game is 'But Why?'
One person is charged with a straightforward role;
to constantly respond with 'but why' to every statement the main speaker makes.
The main speaker is now required to 'answer' that question each time, forcing them to expand on their ideas, which keeps the presentation flowing.
The point of the game is to teach the students to keep an internal dialogue alive in their minds while they are speaking:
(Why is this important? When did this happen? Who was there? How does this relate to my point?)
On one of our Train the Trainer courses, a student took this technique to extremes - with great effect.
Instead of internalising the questions, the student spoke them aloud and answered them.
'Good morning, so why are we here today?...
The reason we are here is to...
Now you may wonder, 'What is in it for me?'
Well, what you will get out of today is...
And you may be thinking, why am I standing here?...
The reason is I have been involved in this.
From our perspective, listening to him, we sensed that he was speaking with our point of view in mind.
From a technical, rhetorical perspective, using any form of a question (whether you want an answer or not) will always engage the listener's mind more effectively than a straight statement.
And from the presenter's perspective, he had found a relaxed way of structuring his material, allowing his delivery to flow very naturally.
By using questions as the basis of your structure, you can:
put yourself more easily in your audience's shoes
create a more relaxed, informal, conversational atmosphere
and take some of the pressure off yourself by engaging your brain in dialogue.
Many presenters prefer a 'Question and Answer' session to the Presentation itself.
Maybe it is because responding to dialogue is easier than remembering a monologue.
We need to create that dialogue in our heads. Wouldn't you agree?
Our train the trainer courses have been delivered the length and breadth of the UK, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. If you're looking to jump ahead in your training career, our train the trainer courses will spur your development.
