"There is no greater challenge than to have someone relying upon you; no greater satisfaction than to vindicate his expectation."
I gave two presentations last week. One audience had very high expectations (note the billboard in the photo - click to enlarge).
The other audience had so-so expectations. I much prefer the former. Now, don't get me wrong. Both audience's were wonderful. It's just that the first audience psychically pushed me to a new level of performance. From the very outset, the energy was flowing both ways.
Do you view your audience as integral to your improvement process? Do you relish their honest feedback? Do you respond to their high expectations with a higher level of performance? Do they even have high expectations? And if not, why not?
Posted May 2, 2005
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Tom,
To answer the questions.
Yes - for process improvement- Its an imperative that your audience particpants. all conversations are two way !!
Relish their feedback- at times not always. Why ?? At times, they are like kids. They throw thoughts around without thinking. which is good, and at the same time they jsut may upset the tempo of the group. It could lead to 'going astray' syndrom.
High expectations is always there. If one does not aspire to transcend the level that one is at , then dont do it !! PERIOD !! Every endevour is not just a matter of doing a job or making $$$. ITs more about raising the bar, primary for the audience, and by that viture alone, one permits the bar to be raised for themselves. Now the delima is simple. How high do they push the bar up for you. Can you jump up and reach it ?? Or do you 'under promise and over deliver' ?? or 'over promise and under deliver' ??
Bothways, it impacts everyone !!
The zen way is always 'learn to listen - listen to learn' !! and always tell the truth !!
Posted by: /pd | May 02, 2005 at 08:01 PM
I think it is human nature to live up or down to expectations. If you want to separate yourself from your peers in a position manner, you must always strive to exceed expectations whether they are high or low.
I prefer audiences with high expectations. I am energized by an engaged audience that challenges me to elevate my performance to new heights.
Audiences with low expectations can be deflating, but experienced presenters are able to recognize their audience's low energy level and make the necessary adjustments. Ultimately, the presenter is responsible for delivering their information whether the audience is engaged or not.
Good presenters feed off the energy of their audience. I try to gauge the energy level of my audience before I begin a presentation. It is a good strategy to level-set the audience's expectations at the onset of a presentation, as well.
If you are finding that your audiences tend to have low expectations of you, you may want to consider attending a public speaking course or surfing the Internet for some tips on how to amp up your audience.
Another strategy that I try to leverage is socializing the subject matter prior to a presentation. My presentations tend to have one of two objectives. I am either presenting information or data to be used for problem resolution or I am proposing a solution. In either case, I find it very beneficial to socialize my material with the stakeholders prior to the meeting to ensure that my information is accurate and will facilitate the problem resolution process or to ensure that my proposed solution will address all of the concerns of my audience.
Posted by: Troy Worman | May 02, 2005 at 09:51 PM
a bunch of interesting questions.
“Do they even have high expectations? And if not, why not?” is the one i want to comment on.
i always found it extremely hard to emotionally engage a larger audience in a management consultant / client -setting. (– and i always hated the fact.) this setting is quite different from speaking on a conference or giving a lecture at school, where emotions fly easily vice versa – especially when you have got an open concept of your speech, which partly allows improvisation / adjustment / co-creation. and – oh, how much fun it is, when you leave a presentation with more information than you brought in.
so, i always felt, i wanted more emotional engagement in the consultant / client -setting.
my rhetoric-coach told me, to work with something that he in switzerland called the “surprise – method” – iaw: open your speech unconventionally.
i think, i did this twice and the result was more or less disastrous… confrontation, confusion, polarisation. … if you are hired as a change agent… great!... if you are hired to bring solutions, not so great at all.
so, for practical reasons i ever since do as troy does “socializing the subject matter prior to a presentation” with as many stakeholders as possible. that eliminates the element of surprise a little bit and helps to create emotions in this warm and a little boring way of …hmm, yes, good point, fully agree…
but hey, …what the hell :)
Posted by: jens | May 03, 2005 at 07:25 AM
Great comments! Thanks. I agree with most of it. However, in this age of limitless choice, I believe that the *creation* of expectations is as equally important as the fulfillment of those expectations. Otherwise, you will have no audience to socialize your material to.
Posted by: Tom Asacker | May 03, 2005 at 09:12 AM