Challenge your audience
Last night I witnessed intense audience interaction. (I wish I could take the credit for this marvel, but alas it was not I).
Dan Mezick presented to the Southern New England Chapter of Project Management Institute(SNEC-PMI). Just our name - Southern New England Chapter of Project Management Institute, indicates that we believe in structured approaches. Our group could be subtitled "Process, structure and no-surprises R Us"
Dan enlightened us to the current state of Agile methodologies and Scrum in the software development industry. Wow! Scrum-masters are not Project Managers, which is a radically different approach from the traditional Project Manager in Corporate America.
SNEC-PMI has many members from the insurance industries around Hartford, Connecticut. This means our members have matrix organizations, seldom have dedicated portions of time from team members, team members around the globe and work on many different projects concurrently. Subject Matter Experts (SME's) are assigned to projects as needed, and may not be part of a project for very long. This is daily reality for many of our members.
Dan explained that Scrum includes co-located teams, timeboxes, teams self-organize and team stay together for the duration of the time-box. The result is exponential increase in productivity and strong personal relationships between team members.
Srum methodology is controversial because it is so different from what this audience has been trained to do, and what this audience experiences every day. The result - audience asking many questions and many questions leading to more questions. The audience learned a tremendous amount from this presentation which is foreign to many of us. Audience Participation Extraordinaire.
I learned last night that one way to create memorable presentation is to bring topics to an audience which is contrary to their current way of thinking. Challenge the way that your audience does things today. This stimulates interaction which results in a truly memorable presentation.
And truly memorable presentations are your goal as a presenter.
Dan Mezick presented to the Southern New England Chapter of Project Management Institute(SNEC-PMI). Just our name - Southern New England Chapter of Project Management Institute, indicates that we believe in structured approaches. Our group could be subtitled "Process, structure and no-surprises R Us"
Dan enlightened us to the current state of Agile methodologies and Scrum in the software development industry. Wow! Scrum-masters are not Project Managers, which is a radically different approach from the traditional Project Manager in Corporate America.
SNEC-PMI has many members from the insurance industries around Hartford, Connecticut. This means our members have matrix organizations, seldom have dedicated portions of time from team members, team members around the globe and work on many different projects concurrently. Subject Matter Experts (SME's) are assigned to projects as needed, and may not be part of a project for very long. This is daily reality for many of our members.
Dan explained that Scrum includes co-located teams, timeboxes, teams self-organize and team stay together for the duration of the time-box. The result is exponential increase in productivity and strong personal relationships between team members.
Srum methodology is controversial because it is so different from what this audience has been trained to do, and what this audience experiences every day. The result - audience asking many questions and many questions leading to more questions. The audience learned a tremendous amount from this presentation which is foreign to many of us. Audience Participation Extraordinaire.
I learned last night that one way to create memorable presentation is to bring topics to an audience which is contrary to their current way of thinking. Challenge the way that your audience does things today. This stimulates interaction which results in a truly memorable presentation.
And truly memorable presentations are your goal as a presenter.
Labels: Presentation Styles
posted by Wayne Botha @ 6:43 AM
1 Comments:
At April 25, 2008 4:53 PM ,
Terry said...
Wayne,
This post reminds me of the power of asking questions of the audience: it leads to a stronger connection between the audience and the presenter.
Before this however, what does it mean to connect?
In computer terms, a "connection" occurs when we are joined with others through a communication link.
To connect with your customers and colleagues is to join with them in a shared experience. It involves sharing ideas and information by coming together with them. When we feel rapport with someone, a sense of trust and affinity begins to develop. There is a sense of two-way interchange based on common interests.
When we connect things, we bind them together. When we connect with another we also bind them to us. If we really connect with them they want to see and hear from us again -- the starting point of a relationship.
Why ask questions?
Questions demonstrate your willingness to let go of narcissistic monologue and involve another in participatory dialogue. You interrupt your own closed-loop mental process and bring in diversity of viewpoint.
Asking questions is a subtle tool of persuasion. By simply asking a question, you can often make your point more powerfully than by hammering home assertion after assertion. The listener opens to your ideas as they articulate answers to your questions.
Find out whether you've missed the mark before it's too late to rectify. Questions check another's understanding and retention, allowing you to more effectively communicate.
Would you like to demonstrate that you are interested in those with whom you interact? Ask questions, listen carefully to the answers, and consider follow-up questions to create a dialogue.
Overview Strategy for Asking Questions
Start with open-ended questions. This technique builds rapport, a key objective early in a dialogue.
As you move toward resolution, use specifically directed, closed-end questions. They are key in checking for comprehension and retention as well as narrowing options to a conclusion.
Practice ways in which to treat customers and colleagues so that they will trust us, feel rapport with us and perhaps even want to hear more about our ideas or products.
Anyway, thanks for the food for thought Wayne.
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