Learning…
Alan Hoffler and I spend a lot of time talking about ideas and presentation skills. That is why I am so thankful that our paths crossed. I honestly don’t know where I would be without him. And I know he feels the same way about me.
We met for lunch at our usual place today and discussed what it means to learn. Today was about how to learn presentation skills. But it really applies to lots of areas.
As I walked back to my office, it hit me. Never in human history has it been so easy to learn. You can literally get on the Internet and find an expert in practically any field who will help you. Photography? Yep, I got help one time from a photographer at National Geographic. Have a question about a presentation? Speech coaches all over the world will help you. In general, people love to help others. You just have to ask.
I taught SAS courses over the web and it always amazed me that we could effectively teach people who are half a world a way. I was able to find hundreds of hours of videos to analyze. In short, I found the resources necessary to teach myself. Teaching yourself is not a bad thing. Learning how to learn is a great skill to have.
Back to presentations… To learn to deliver effective presentations you need an audience. Ideally this audience will be sophisticated, and honest, enough to provide you with feedback. Make that “GREAT FEEDBACK.” You don’t want the feedback to be superficial. “You said ‘um’ and ‘ah’ is not what I would call deeply profound.” You want the feedback to be meaningful. Although you can go improve by presenting to a video camera, adding an audience into the mix helps a lot.
A knowledgeable audience who won’t tell you the truth isn’t much use, either. You need honest feedback.
I am reasonably certain that this audience (group) I am describing does not exist as an organized club. It must be created. Fortunately, Keith Ferrazzi has provided a general blueprint for us. His most recent book, “Who’s Got Your Back,” describes accountability groups. He doesn’t talk about presentations, per se, but his concept applies.
If you are interested in something like I am describing. Let me know. If you live in the Triangle area of North Carolina that’s great. If you don’t, still contact me. With so much great technology at our disposal we can probably make the distance irrelevant.
Feel free to follow me on Twitter and we can discuss this.
Great feedback is great, but don’t over look your own inner critic. Often they are harsh, but often they are right too.
Cheers
Darren Fleming
Australia’s Corporate Speech Coach