I was reminded of a simple if surprising trick for making a connection with an audience this week.
I was teaching students how to write a statement of purpose.
Or application for a PhD or Masters‘ degree, as it’s known without the academic pomp.
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I took them through all the usual elements for creating compelling content:
Striking starts, emphatic endings, the golden thread of a clear narrative, the beautiful art of less is more, the importance of the KISS, or keeping it simple, silly…
And everything was going well.
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Except!
The workshop was lacking a little something.
It was three hours long, so at the midpoint break I did some thinking about what was missing.
And so I realised:
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I had been absolutely fine at conveying the information.
But, what I hadn’t done… so very critically...
- Was to connect with the students.
Make myself memorable, someone they would think back on as a person who made an impact and taught them something important.
In other words, the emotion to go with the logic, the heart to go with the head.
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So, I fell back on a favourite trick.
It’s one which often surprises, but is hugely powerful.
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Most people think you have to be all-powerful, infallible, and completely in command when giving a presentation.
Wrong. Super wrong squared, in fact.
One of your most effective tricks is to be human and show humility.
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So, towards the end of the session, when it came to covering the importance of editing…
I changed the plan.
Instead of using the beginning of the classic novel 1984, by George Orwell, before and after he had edited the manuscript…
I shared the original opening of my new book, Compelling Communication, compared with the published version, after several edits.
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Here is the before:
- A mastery of good communication skills can be a great help in achieving your professional, as well as personal, goals in life.
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And here, after a good editing, the version which went into print:
- Communication is nothing less than a secret superpower for success.
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That certainly made the point about the power of editing.
As I hope you will agree, the second version is a vast improvement on the original.
But, more importantly, for our purposes here:
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That was the moment I connected with the group.
They stopped looking at me as just another lecturer…
Instead, I became human, a real person.
Fallible, sometimes full of doubt, uncertain of myself.
Just like them.
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Since that moment, we've all got along splendidly as we work to preen and polish their statements of purpose.
So, remember, to make a connection with an audience:
A touch of humility and humanity can go a very long way.
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By the way, my blog/vlog is now heading off on its usual summer break.
I may still scribble the odd thought, but otherwise, see you again in September, and thanks for reading!
