People may show up at your presentation or seminar, sign up for your course or book you to speak at a conference because of your reputation.
Once they show up however, you need to deliver. Your reputation will not make up for lack of preparation. In fact, it works the opposite. The greater the reputation the greater the expectations. If you show up unprepared, without updating your PowerPoint or Keynote slide deck, with too many slides or poor quality slides, you will piss people off. If you fail to stay on topic or talk about what you promised to talk about you will piss people off. If you are not passionate and engaged about the topic, you will piss people off.
Some of the people will let it slide because of your reputation. Most however, will not and should not. Some of the people will vote with their feet and either leave during the presentation or just not come back from the breaks. Many will unhappily sit through the presentation out of respect, because they are being paid to be there or out of hope that it will get better.
Training time is too valuable and training budgets are too tight for you to waste people’s time and money because you thought you could wing it and that your reputation would carry the day.
It heard it said once, “People don’t care what you have done or what you know, they care what you can teach them.”
Your reputation will put butts in the seat, then it is up to you to come through with valuable content delivered to the best of your ability. Show respect. Show them you care about them. Come prepared and come through.
If you have stopped caring about doing a great job – quit. If you no longer have the butterflies before the presentation because it is important to you to deliver great content in an engaging manner, then stop being a trainer. There is no shame in walking away from the world of training because you can no longer give the time and energy necessary to do a great job. There is shame in wasting people’s time and money.
Take care.
Brian Willis
Winning Mind Training – Dedicated to helping good trainers become great trainers and great trainers to deliver awesome training.
The Excellence in Training Academy – Where trainers come to grow. Committed to serving law enforcement trainers and leaders.
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