My wife is involved in organizing events for our church, and in this capacity, she arranges for teachers/speakers who present on a variety of topics.
We happen to have in our area some individuals who are academic "stars." They teach at high-profile institutions, publish many books, and are highly sought-after presenters for conferences and corporations.
You guessed it...she invited a star to come speak about building mission statements for individuals and organizations. His response was surprising in this era of public and private behavior being so paradoxical. I can paraphrase the response this way: "I would be honored--when can we visit about the specific needs of your group and how I can help?"
The presentation was unpaid, and the presentation/discussion was masterful and inspiring, with a unique feature that those in attendance came away not so impressed with the presenter, but by the learning experience itself.
He demonstrated a unique ability to use his presentation to deflect attention away from himself, and towards the ideas he was teaching as well as the others in the room. Some research has suggested that there is a Self/Others ratio that is ideal for contributing to productive group work. It turns out that when we invoke others in our speech and actions more often than ourselves, we tend to contribute to positive group outcomes.
There are many things about this experience that taught me, such as the generosity of being willing to serve, the humility to ask how to best serve, and the graciousness to treat it as an honor, but the biggest impression I have right now is of the capacity to direct attention away from the leader/teacher and to the work and people at hand.
Last thought: The end of such a meeting is often a good time for a speaker to receive individual congratulations and thanks.
He ducked out the back door, having had a huge impact, but leaving almost no footprint.
Ray,
ReplyDeleteI learned long ago as a professional sales account rep, as a trainer for my own training company, and in almost all presentation scenarios (including theatre) that it is a bidirectional proposition.
It wasn't always that way. As a young rep for WordPerfect Corporation in 1990, I was hired because of my persona and presentation skills. I found that this worked at trade shows and other expo-type situations, but as I got into corporate and government account management, not so much.
It was only when I started using what I call the Agenda/Objectives approach that I became a "winner" in almost all scenarios. This simple approach is to state your objectives, the agenda by which they are accomplished, and ask for feedback. "What have I left out? What would you like to see discussed tonight?"
The professor did this in your scenario, and look, it made all the difference. If you lined up 20 Ph.D.s in the room I guarantee you less than 10% get it.
Your Friend, Greg