While reading the HBR (Harvard Business review) Guide to Persuasive Presentations by Nancy Duarte one of her ideas struck me as extremely profound. I often talk about the need to remember that the training you deliver is not about you; it is about the officers you have the privilege and responsibility to train. Duarte used a new analogy to make that same point.
Duarte reminds us the people in your audiences come to see what you can do for them and suggests you look at the audience as the hero of your idea and yourself as the mentor. She encourages trainers and presenters to, “Think of Yoda – a classic example of a wise, humble mentor.” (I highlighted the words wise and humble). She further goes on to say, “In the Star Wars movies, he gives the hero, Luke Skywalker, a special gift (a deeper understanding of the “Force”), trains him to use a magical tool (the lightsaber), and helps him in his fight against the Empire.” As a trainer and educator you are a mentor so lets look at how this analogy applies to you.
The Special Gift
As a mentor what special gift can you give the ‘heroes’ in your training class?
How about the gift of:
- A deeper understanding of what the law allows them to do.
- Knowledge regarding the application of science of human performance to the realities of the law enforcement profession.
- Practical skills, tactics and techniques that work based on their size and strength, what they do naturally and the resources available to them in the field.
- Competence and confidence.
Perhaps the greatest gift you can give your officers is to have them walk away from your training knowing what they can do, when they can do it and having the confidence to do it immediately.
The Magical Tool
You know from experience there is no ‘magic’ tool or technique that works 100% of the time on 100% of the people. So what about the magical tool?
I believe the ‘magical tool’ is the mind. You must go beyond paying lip service to mental preparation and conditioning. If you understand how the mind works, how to harness the power of words, use videos properly, conduct effective debriefings and incorporate Performance Enhancement Imagery into your programs you will give your officers access to that ‘magical tool’. This takes time, effort, training and commitment on your part, but the payoff is worth it. This ‘magical tool’ reinforces all the ‘gifts’ you give your officers in training and prepares your officers to ‘win the fight against the Empire’.
Note: While the HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations by Nancy Duarte is primarily written for business presentations there is a lot of solid information in the book. I would recommend you check out this book as well as Duarte’s other two books slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations and Resonate: Present Visual Stories That Transform Audiences.
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Take care.
Brian Willis,
Thought Leader, Speaker, Trainer, Author and president of Winning Mind Training Inc.
Training law enforcement professionals to W.I.N. through Life’s Most Powerful Question.
To book Brian to speak at your event contact him at winningmind@mac.com.
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