HOW TO HAVE AN INTERESTING AND
EFFECTIVE SAFETY MEETING . . .
By Involving Your Audience - Part I
Every audience wants you to send them the following
7 signals during the first few moments of any presentation you give:
1. You are glad to be speaking WITH them.
2. They are more important than your presentation.
3. You are not going to waste their time.
4. You are human.
5. You’re prepared.
6. This will be interesting.
7. They will benefit from you.
An extremely effective way to send all these signals
is by having your audience participate at a safety meeting or presentation
right from the get-go. This doesn’t mean asking them do something
silly like stand up and hug their neighbor. Most people don’t
like that sort of gimmick and it can ruin your credibility. No,
I’m talking about getting them involved in discussing the topic
or in doing something that will improve their understanding and
retention of the material.
For example, one two-day seminar I regularly conduct
is entitled "Making Your Message Clear." It’s about
how to speak and write clearly. I begin the session by writing the
word "Alaska" on a flip chart. Then I ask each participant
to tell me what comes to their mind when I say the word. Of course
I get various answers such as "cold," "wilderness,"
"oil spill" or even "blubber." This leads right
into a discussion about why people misinterpret messages.
Certainly I could just give the facts straight-out
about why messages are misunderstood. But by having the audience
participate, I let them know that this session is for them, and
that I care very much about communicating with individuals. I want
attendees to realize I will not treat them like faceless forms who
are being forced to hear my voice.
There are many other reasons why you should involve
your audience as much as possible. For one thing, people are much
more likely to be supportive of something they’re made to feel
a part of and it shows your professionalism in spending the time
necessary to plan strategies to reach and involve that particular
group.
Audience participation also allows your audience to
experience learning. Edgar Dale, a researcher, developed what is
now known as "Dale’s Cone of Experience." He says
people will remember.
- 20 percent of what they hear
- 30 percent of what they see
- 50 percent of what they see and hear
- 80 percent of what they hear, see, and do
In I Can See You Naked, Ron Huff writes, "Most
presenters think that they’re just standing up there, in front
of the audience, building a case. Actually that’s half of it.
They should be building a relationship with every person in the
room. And the relationship isn’t just for ten minutes, or an
hour, or whatever the length of the presentation, it is a relationship
that has the potential to last because it is based on a genuine
need and an earnest desire to help."
That’s another reason why involving your audience
is one of the smartest things you can do as a speaker to make your
safety meeting a success: It helps build a relationship that is
based on more than your "presentation."
In Part II, I describe several specific ways you can
get an audience involved - Read
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