HOW TO MAKE PEOPLE LISTEN

Reading time: 4–5 minutes

Delivering training and talks that grip people is an art. Not many master it, and that makes it all the more valuable. Unfortunately, every one of us has sat through “Death by PowerPoint” at some point, otherwise known as “death by slides.“ Because when a talk drags, everyone tunes out sooner or later.

To make sure that never happens to you, here are the most important lessons from my time as an instructor in the Bundeswehr.

1. Proper Preparation

Yes, preparation is important. Everyone knows that. What matters here is the timing.

When I first had to run training as a young NCO, I sometimes “sacrificed” the whole weekend beforehand and spent the entire day polishing my material.

Despite all that preparation, I never looked at the material again on the day of the training itself. At most one sentence to get the wording right, nothing more.

First, you’re not going to close any gaps in your knowledge in the 10 minutes beforehand. Second, you only make yourself nervous for nothing, which is doubly counterproductive, because small gaps in your knowledge go unnoticed when you present with confidence in the first place.

And finally, you rob yourself of the ability to speak freely, because you keep reaching back into your short-term memory instead of simply delivering the knowledge that has actually stuck.

2. Handling Nerves

Unfortunately, we cannot simply tell our brain “Don’t be nervous now.” Nerves can’t be controlled the way you start walking and stop again, or pick something up and drop it.

So we have to trick the brain. A good trick is to act as if you were confident and then deliberately walk into the uncomfortable situations with that attitude. At some point the brain notices there is no reason to be nervous and switches the nerves off by itself.

To get there, don’t worry so much about the how, worry about the what. What is your goal? Take a breath, stand relaxed in front of the group and hold brief eye contact with a few people. Really enjoy being the center of attention. Not because you are arrogant, but because you get to give the people in front of you something of real value.

That attitude plus “fake it till you make it” works wonders.

3. The Voice as an Instrument

Let the participants feel your enthusiasm and your passion, and let your own presenting style come through. Someone who truly burns for the subject is far more likely to carry the room than someone who just reads off the slides and would rather be somewhere else.

Use your voice. Play with it. Go louder, then quieter. How you stress a sentence matters just as much. Hit the important passages harder: slow down a little and raise your volume. Put in pauses (!), especially just before or just after a key point. Most of us give ourselves far too little time when we speak, especially under pressure.

Be authentic in the words you choose, but don’t try to come across as extra cool, funny or hard. That usually has exactly the opposite effect.

4. Asking Questions the Right Way

Now comes a trick I picked up from one of my own instructors. It keeps the men and women in front of you 100% alert, guaranteed.

It comes down to this: asking questions the right way.

Instead of calling on someone with a hand up, you simply pick someone who isn’t raising one. If they say “But I didn’t put my hand up,” you simply answer “But I called on you.”

That usually catches people completely off guard, because they assumed everything would be spoon-fed to them instead of having to think for themselves. Of course it is awkward when you have no answer, but from then on everyone thinks: “Better think along myself and work out what I would say if I get called on.”

Daydreamers have no chance. Everyone learns more. And it is a hell of a lot of fun.

5. Owning Your Mistakes

I once watched an instructor who was supposed to be belaying comrades as they rappelled. Hundreds of times everything had gone fine, but at the exact moment a comrade slipped, the instructor fumbled the rope and the comrade fell about 2 meters, until the instructor’s safety rope caught him. Nobody doubted the instructor’s composure, but it had taken exactly that half second too long, and that half second put doubt in the room.
Everyone looked at the instructor. He looked back and said, with mild self-deprecation: “Well, this is my first time too.” Everyone there burst out laughing. The instructor carried on with complete confidence and nobody doubted his skill. There were no further incidents either.

People are not stupid. They notice very quickly when you make a mistake, contradict yourself or feel unsure. Confident delivery matters, of course, but not to the point where you stop being credible.

A good instructor rarely makes mistakes, and when he does, it is completely human. Like almost everything else, it is quickly balanced out with a solid dose of self-deprecation and humor. A human, honest reaction pulls the audience even further onto your side.

Summary

In the end, training sessions and presentations come down to three things: energetic preparation, confident delivery and never losing the fun or the human side. Take that to heart and you are already more than halfway there!

Good luck out there!

Shughart

Author’s note: if you like our articles, you can support us with a purchase in our shop (click here). We’re grateful for every bit of support!