It was a romantic evening on the strip in Vegas. Well, at least it was while I was walking along the canal outside the Venetian. I stopped to watch the gondolas slowly skim over the water that was lit up with a variety of colors. Tomorrow I would be giving the closing keynote, “Find Your Focus” at the CGA Excavation Convention.
I was thinking about my opening–trying to figure out what I could say that would be unique to this audience and convention. I already had a humorous slide of two characters (Bernie and Earl) and me (See pic). They were walking around the vendor area and had their own booth. Everyone had seen them.
But now I wanted to find something that would be a segue into the “Focus” topic when I noticed two young couples in a gondola. They weren’t talking to each other or enjoying the romantic sights and sounds. No, the entire time, (about 15 minutes) all four of them were continually looking into their smart phones. One of the young men held up a selfie stick and never for a moment put it down.
What a shame. But now I knew what I would talk about to lead into the main topic on focusing.
Using your awareness to include information, stories and even activities that are unique to an audience is one of the best ways to get their buy-in. That includes safety meetings you conduct with folks you do or do not know well. Especially during the first few minutes when bonding with your audience is vital, say something that could only apply to this talk, this time.
