Reminds me of something I read and saved, almost six years ago today, from Dan Holohan. He’s a master of steam heat, with a couple books and a great reputation.
I would love to hear his " A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Sale " presentation.
Here’s a C&P of the article I saved:
Some tips on teaching
A friend told me that he was thinking of putting a training session together for his apprentices. He was also hoping he could work with the local trade association to see if they might like to help him expand this program. He thought their combined efforts would raise the level of professionalism in the industry.
He asked me for some advice on training. He wasn’t a teacher and he wanted his lessons to be as interesting as possible. “I don’t want them falling asleep on me,” he said. “They never fall asleep on you. I’ve seen you work. How do you do it?”
Here’s what I told him.
Never **give people something to read while you’re talking to them.**Even professional trainers sometimes make this mistake. If you hand something in writing to a student, I can guarantee you the student will start reading it right away. Now here’s the problem. You’re trying to talk to these people but you just split their attention between your words and the words on the paper you just handed them. They’re “hearing” two people speak at the same time. Have you ever tried to listen to two people at the same time?
You know who also makes this mistake? People in sales. They hand the customer a proposal and then start talking about it. The customer starts reading while the sales person is talking. Next thing you know, the customer is interrupting, asking questions about the proposal and throwing the sales person off course. The sales person loses control. So does the trainer who makes this mistake.
If you have a handout, tell them they’ll get it when they leave. Describe the handout in glowing terms and make them yearn for it. Think of it as training foreplay. When they dive into it later on, it will be like hearing you all over again. You’ll have reached them twice.
Use simple graphics with few words.“I know you can’t see this slide, but . . .”
Don’t you hate it when someone says that? If the bozo knows you can’t see it, why the heck is he showing it to you? He might as well say, “I was too lazy to make a good slide, so this one will have to do.”
Makes a great impression, doesn’t it?
If you’re going to use visual aids in your training program (and you should), make sure the images are large enough so that everyone in the room can see them. Remove as many words as possible from the slides and then describe them in your own words. Again, you want your students to listen to you, not the “voice” on the slide.
**Remember that adults learn in different ways.**Some people can learn how to play golf by picking up a set of clubs and hitting the links. Others need the help of a pro. Still others can read a book or watch a video and know what to do. The thing to keep in mind is that we all have different ways of learning so your training effort should mix sights and sounds. Come at your subject from a lot of different angles and you’ll get through to more people.
**Choose low tech over high tech.**I use overhead slides because they’re easy to make and easy to use. I know trainers who love to use laptop computers and PowerPoint software and video projectors and all sorts of high-tech gear. But when the computer freezes or the bulbs blow, they’re in big trouble. I’ve trained over 50,000 people, and under just about every horrible circumstance you can imagine. Believe me, the simpler you keep things, the better off you’ll be.
**Convey technical things through stories.**There are no boring subjects. You can talk about anything and make it fascinating if you explain the technical aspects through people stories. This is easy to do if you pay close attention to life. Just gather stories from day to day and use your imagination. Your students will give you their full attention.
Add colors and flavors and smells to your speech. Talk about the way the place smelled, what it looked like and the sounds you were hearing while you were looking around. Describe the people in detail. Imitate their voices. Walk like they walked. Mimic their gestures. Create a dialogue where you repeat the questions they asked you and the way you answered them. Your students will hang on your every word.
**Don’t talk too long at a stretch.**Long ago, I learned this truth: The mind can only retain what the butt can withstand. Never go longer than two hours without a 20-minute break. Tell them up front how long you’re going to talk, and when you’ll be giving them that break. When the break time arrives, shut up.
**Consider where you’ll be at a particular time.**This applies more to long sessions than it does to short ones. When I’m putting a full-day seminar together, I pay very close attention to what I’ll be talking about right after lunch, for instance. My students’ bellies will be full then and I don’t want them falling asleep so I save some of my fastest-moving and funniest material for that time. Be sensitive to the time just before the breaks as well. Try to roll up to the break with a great story that will send them away smiling and talking to each other about how much they’re enjoying your lecture.
**Prepare, prepare, prepare.**When I’m putting a new seminar together I always keep track of how much time it takes me to get ready. It takes me 20 hours of preparation to get ready for each hour in every new seminar I put together. I’ll spend 100 hours getting ready for a 5-hour presentation. And this is for a subject I already know inside and out. You can’t be too prepared.
Ask yourself the tough questions while you’re preparing the lesson. I will always stop to take a question from someone in the audience, but I’ve learned that if I prepare properly, I won’t have to because I will have already answered that question.
When I’m preparing, I spend most of my time thinking of every question my students might ask. Some of the questions I come up are ridiculous, but I want to be prepared. Once I answer my own questions, I work them into the program. I find this keeps the students from asking many questions during my lecture. They don’t have to ask because I just gave them the answer! By thinking it all through beforehand, you can stay on track during your lecture.
**Organize your material in small bites.**I work with five-, ten-, and 15-minute segments, and then tie these together into bigger portions. If I see I’m running long or short, I can add or subtract these little bites and no one ever knows I did it.
The beauty of this training technique is that it allows you to trim your talk to fit the time you’re allowed. If you’re 20 minutes away from the coffee break you don’t want to start a segment that’s going to take a half-hour to complete. Your students will resent your taking up “their” time, no matter how interesting you are. By working in small bites, you can fit your material into the time you have available. And again, no one will ever know what you did.
**Anticipate disasters.**I once did a seminar for a wholesaler, but that wasn’t the disaster. It was a hot day and the air-conditioning in the hotel meeting room wasn’t working. That wasn’t the disaster either. They left the doors open to the parking lot and right in the middle of my talk a very big, very nasty dog strutted in and started barking and growling at the students. He took a snap at one guy before we were able to chase him back outside.
Then a crow flew in.
**Visualize success.**I always go into the meeting room the night before I’m to speak and spend about a half-hour there just looking around. I’ll sit in all the chairs and check out the sight lines. I’ll get familiar with where the lighting and heating/cooling controls are. I’ll listen to the way the room “sounds.” But most of all, I’ll stand in front and visualize the room filled with students. I’ll smile and imagine that I’m already up there talking to them. I’ll imagine them smiling back at me, hanging on my every word, thanking me afterward for a great seminar.
I do every seminar in my mind at least a dozen times before I do it in reality. I visualize success, and so should you. Close your eyes. Think positive.
Can’t you just hear the applause?
