Some useful advice is offered on our public speaking courses to salespeople who form a sizable contingent of our students.
‘Never treat your audience as customers, always as partners.’ James Stewart
‘My colleague may be the firm’s eyes and legs, and I might be some other portion of its anatomy, but you, the audience, are its heart and conscience.’
The most important thing as a speaker/trainer is to know your audience. For example, my fear of public speaking course students have difficulties expressing themselves, so our first ice-breaking exercises proceed one-to-one, privately, and without observation. Think of it as athletes warming up in the dressing room. They’re not ready to hit the ground running in the first ten minutes, which most courses request, so I allow them to warm up in pairs with a structured exercise. That dreaded, ‘let’s all introduce ourselves request’ is like a red flag when you’re stone-cold, and there isn’t a familiar face in the room. Get them talking/chatting sooner rather than later. The longer they dread the moment, the more likely they’ll clam up.
Every student wants to make a difference. We all want to contribute and be valued, but it’s awkward when you can’t speak up for yourself, your work, or your team. It’s a terrible feeling, I know. But were it not for the empathy and guidance of some true friends, I wonder what I’d be doing these days. Empathy and patience are two of the critical tools in my toolbox, and we’ll dive into those on another day.
My train the trainer course audiences are different. These folks are either classroom newbies or veterans looking for a significant opportunity to strengthen their training credentials. So, when Stephen Covey used the metaphor, ‘sharpen the saw’, he knew what to expect as a response. The analogy in this context means to hone your training skills. To become more effective in your specialism and achieve faster and more substantial training outcomes because of a smooth transition to even greater consistency.
These folks are already high achievers, they don’t need empathy, so my first exercise is to make them feel valued, accepted, and respected.
Before an open class, I write to them and ask for a paragraph of biographical information. For example, what are their backgrounds, what do they love about the job, and what significant challenges do they face? Then, as they arrive, I quickly chat with them and find out more about what’s happening in their work and lives.
I recently delivered an on-site course, and I watched the male audience stroll in one by one. These men had never met as a group before as they work remotely across Europe. They looked like accomplished individuals. Their training manager suggested 150 years of training experience between them with an age range between 25-70. I had no intention of telling them about their job. Instead, I wondered why I was there. So, my first thought was to acknowledge the expertise and professionalism in the room. Next, I requested that all participate fully in the exercises and discussions so the younger members could glean their best wisdom. I pitched myself as a colleague/partner and not their instructor. The classroom discussions fell more into a coaching structure than training. These conversations were rich and insightful, and I can’t remember when I enjoyed myself quite so much.
What do we have here? A quotation from actor James Stewart. It’s a strong hook. It makes people curious and wants to read on. Whoever you are, if you accept the compliment as the heart and conscience of anything, you’d feel warm to the person who said it. You’re saying that we need neither a speaker nor a trainer without an audience. If you don’t respect your audience, you’re on thin ice. The metaphors are flowing: hook, hit the ground running, eyes and legs, clam up, flowing, heart, thin ice, stone-cold, red flag, sharpen the saw.
Use metaphors to hook your audience and make your material instantly relatable. If you pepper your stories with appropriate metaphors, the text becomes a visual feast for the audience. The next session will be on metaphors in IT, and we’ll observe metaphors hiding in plain sight.
Empathy and patience will be the subjects of future sessions.
If you're looking to enhance your professional skill set or want to help an employee on the road to success, enroll on our 2-day train the trainer courses The course is ideal for new trainers coming into the industry as well as experienced trainers looking for opportunities to improve their CV and career prospects. Book a place on this career-enhancing 2-day course for just £795 + VAT.
