Welcome message


Hey look at me...I'm a blogger! What the heck is a blog anyway? The simplest way to describe it is as my personal journal that’s not so personal because I share it with everyone in the world. This blog is called “According to Dan” and focuses on:
- helping you become a better communicator
- helping you elevate your career
- Current events and life issues that got my attention
- and my golf game - maybe you can send me some short game tips ;-]

My mission is that you to will learn, enjoy, and be challenged by my posts. You may find yourself informed, amused, or even agitated, but I hope it will improve some aspect of your life.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

What's Your Responsibility as a Presenter

I recently attended a brutal three-day continuing education seminar. It was brutal for me and many others because it included a great deal of calculating math, statistics, and probability. I don't know about you, but triangulation, standard deviation, and the coefficient of determination have NOT been a part of my vocabulary in a LONG time! Actually, probably never.

Two of the presenters were excellent. They used humor (really), stories, and class interaction to explain very complicated material that the bulk of the class would be testing on. The first presenter, unfortunately, really struggled to connect with the audience. She was very knowledgeable but not very well trained in presenting. I overheard many notes of dissatisfaction during her sessions and I know she didn't receive high marks on her evaluation.

More importantly however is who her responsibility was to. As a presenter, our duty is to our audience. In this case, there were many exam takers who didn't get the value they should have and that could hurt them when taking the test. This blog is not the place to go detail by detail, but suffice it to say, there were many missteps. If you are a presenter of anything, you have an obligation to your audience to send a clear message. Make sure you are constantly improving this very important skill so your audience will benefit and find value.

Dan

P.S. Need to sharpen your skills? I have several resources available in my online store, including from some World Champion presenters. Improve your value to your audience today. Click here to check out my store.

No comments: