Once you leave the board you might as well flip
Because there’s no way you’re going to start the dive over
Those are verses from a song I wrote several years ago entitled “16 Positions.” It’s about being committed to something to the point where it is impossible to start over, similar to the situation you’re in once you leave the diving board. So, you might as well give it your all.
If you plan to try something new and unusual during one of your safety presentations and you realize it won’t work as well as you expected before you start the meeting for some reason. Then fine. It may be a good idea to give it up. But once you set up the activity and you’ve “dove off the board” then don’t hesitate. Holding back usually makes it worse and your audience will sense your reluctance which will likely make things worse.
I’ve seen many halfhearted safety presentations where it was obvious the presenter was not committed to or convinced of the value of what they were doing. It’s always painful for me to experience and I’m sure my fellow audience members feel the same way.
Go for it! Put your heart and all your energy into your presentations once you start.
Tomorrow I’m giving a new keynote “Bring It On Home” at the Wisconsin 77th Annual Conference. (Over 1,000 people will be in the audience.) My keynote includes a parody “I’m Just a Safety Pro/I Watch Everybody.” I have a few reservations about it but I’ve been practicing the song regularly for the past few weeks and still plan to include it. Once I start the song on stage I’m going to do a double gainer with a twist, not a hesitant head-first splash.
So, when you try new stuff be sure to be well prepared and once you start doing it go full force don’t hold back and be timid. Have fun too!
