we’re not all born communicators
For the past couple of months, I’ve been thinking about presentations almost non-stop as I’ve been preparing (with Michelle and Chris White, a great client of mine from the California Fuel Cell Partnership) to give a talk at a conference down in California. I’ve posted about planning for opportunities, preparing content, and why it’s important to practice for the performance. I’ve visited Garr Reynold’s blog and read my well-thumbed copy of Presentation Zen, daily. And I’ve become intimately familiar with David Peoples, Cliff Atkinson, and Chip and Dan Heath (they’re great fun in the bath, by the way).
Why the almost-obsessive preoccupation with storyboards, scripts and slide decks?
We were speaking about giving more effective presentations and, needless to say, none of us were interested in standing up and giving a bad presentation on that topic.
Our venue was the expo show floor of an energy and technology conference and we figured our audience would comprise mostly marketing and sales types, given the location of our talk and how it was marketed to conference attendees. I’d be lying to say we weren’t secretly hoping for some hardcore techies to join us too but, given we were presenting at the same time as sessions covering “The Potential of Using a-SiC:H as the Photoelectrode for Water Splitting” and “Fabrication of Dual Layer Ni/Ni-YSZ Hollow Fibers for Anode Support via Phase Inversion and Sintering Method,” we knew we’d be lucky to attract even one PhD with a pocket protector.*
We got the lovely audience we anticipated: people interested in learning how to develop their own communication skill set, and those hoping to find ways to influence what is going on in their own organizations when it comes to communication. The best bit was the great discussion afterwards with a number of people facing some really tough communication challenges in their workplaces.
When it comes to employees going out to give external presentations, why do so many corporate communicators face such resistance when they try to improve the way things are done? Most companies won’t put just anybody in front of a journalist, especially if they’re unprepared and not media-trained. So why would organizations send employees out to give presentations at conferences without giving them support and training, and adequate time to plan, prepare and practice for their speaking opportunities?
A lot of times, people think we’re all born communicators because we can read, speak and write. It’s an attitude I’ve come up against time and time again, and one that a couple of the people we met last week seem to be enduring.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it’s as easy as ‘you’re a scientist and you can’t communicate; and you work in marketing and, therefore, it’s a given you can.’ I’ve worked with amazing technical people who are brilliant at explaining really complex things in compelling and easy-to-understand ways; and people in marketing and sales who couldn’t talk their way into or out of a p**s-up in a brewery.
Here’s the thing: I don’t presume to tell people about sintering methods or photoelectrodes for water splitting, or even how to run a business (remembering a particularly communication-challenged CEO I once worked with). So, please… when a communication professional is trying to talk to you about how to persuade and inform an audience more effectively, listen to what they have to say.
One of the most important things a good communicator can do is understand how to tailor and deliver messages in ways that resonate with audiences. Why does that matter? Doing this can help you – that’s right, YOU – achieve what you want to out of the speaking opportunity. And this is just one of many things we communicators can help you with. So, next time someone is offering a hand, take it. Please.
* I love all my engineering and science-geek friends, ink-stained shirts or not. The reference to the water splitting and sintering method presentations is for light comic relief only, and in no way is meant to disparage the content or the presenters of these sessions.
Good article–as a corporate communicator your article resonates with me. What gives with organizations hiring pros only to disregard their advice? In general, this is one of my pet peeves!
I’ve also found that over the last year I’ve been pressured to find speaking engagements and tailor presentations WITHOUT any thought or consideration given to WHY we are going out to engage with these audiences.
In terms of best practices for the future, I would append your call for biz people to listen to their communication people and add that they should set us up for success by first considering the strategy behind each presentation. Why do you want to speak? What are the desired outcomes? What will success look like? We can handle the “how”–but senior leaders need to be sure of the “why” first.
Tracy … here’s another reason you and I are becoming pals! You’re spot on with your comment about being strategic about the why behind the where, when, with whom, and how you communicate. If companies don’t have a clear objective (i.e. a desired outcome) before they send people off to speak somewhere, they’re wasting their time and money.
I think people get so caught up in outputs, they forget to think about outcomes first. That’s why the minute we’re asked to find opportunities for speaking, or to create presentations, it has to be up to us to help people find the strategic rationale for the activity. While people won’t necessarily be receptive to our approach at first, they’ll get used to us always asking the same things, and they might even start thinking the same way themselves!