“Your job as a presenter is not to make them love you; it’s to inspire the audience to do something differently because the heard you.”
Darren LaCroix
It is easy to get caught up wanting the people in your training sessions to love you. Trainers generally want heartfelt applause at the end of the presentation followed by great evaluations. When you focus on getting people to love you often the presentation is entertaining, but with little or no learning or behavioural change taking place as a result of the experience. With this mindset it is also too easy to get sucked into picking on one or two people in the class (so the others will love you), or making ‘anti-management’ or other inappropriate comments.
They may keep bringing you back because your presentation is entertaining and the attendees love you as a speaker which is great but, does anything ever change as a result of your training?
Do you inspire people to do something differently as a result of hearing your message? Do you challenge the way people think? Do you challenge the status quo? Do you provide actionable strategies participants can use right away? Do you engage the audience during your presentation so they are part of the learning and part of the change?
When you ask difficult questions of the audience and challenge the status quo it will make people uncomfortable and it is guaranteed to piss some of them off. Remember the intent is to inspire action and change, not to piss people off. Change however, is going to make some people uncomfortable and your mission as a trainer is to be an agent of change.
Focus on inspiring change by challenging people to think, lead, train and live differently. If you inspire them to be better leaders, trainers, officers, parents, and spouses as a result of your presentation the love will look after itself.
Take care.
Brian Willis
Winning Mind Training – Dedicated to helping good trainers become great trainers and great trainers to deliver awesome training.
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