were not being themselves in front of customers. They were playing a role that was not authentic. Now they are relieved to discover that all they need to do is just be themselves in front of the customer. Being yourself makes you a human being and not some data-dumping IT robot. And, when you reveal your humanity, the humanity in the audience will respond. Sharing yourself will differentiate you from other IT professionals who just make love to the data. The sharing and openness need to be deliberate and relevant to the conversation. It is a great way to hold the attention of the audience and establish your credibility.
Another benefit of reducing firewalls is an increase in your effectiveness. Effectiveness can be measured by the amount of information retained by the audience over time.
Being psychologically vulnerable, visible, and open is essential to becoming a powerful and effective speaker. We can draw an analogy from the television show Star Trek. The ship on Star Trek is called the Enterprise. When the Enterprise is attacked, Captain Kirk tells the weapons officer to raise the shields. The shields surround the Enterprise and prevent the enemy phasers and photon torpedoes from causing damage. But in public speaking, when your shields and firewalls are up the flow of communication between you and the audience is reduced. In order to maximize the flow you need to lower your shields, which psychologically make you vulnerable in the space.
Once again, it takes courage to disarm and open yourself in front of the audience in the beginning. It is so much safer to wrap yourself around your PowerPoint slides, concentrate on the data, and just be a data dumper like everybody else.
Why even risk it? Remember this business saying: Differentiate or Die. Do you want to spend your entire career playing the presentation game just like everybody else? Or do you want to be regarded by your customers as an outstanding presenter? Do you want to be of service, make a contribution, and have an impact on the well-being of your customers? If so, begin to explore the space that exists on the other side of the firewall. Each time you risk moving outside your firewall, a little voice sensing danger is going to tell you something terrible is about to happen.
If you are seduced by this message, you will remain trapped in the prison of your mind for the rest of your life. The little voice is not a risk taker and has no interest in you becoming a great presenter. The little voice is your constant companion that labels, judges, assesses, and evaluates every event that occurs in your field of now and even the events that occur in your dreams. As a presenter, you look out at the audience and the little voice will tell you what the audience thinks of you. For those of you who have never heard the little voice, sit down, close your eyes, stop speaking, and just listen for ten seconds. If you still don’t hear the little voice, then perhaps what you heard was: “What little voice? I don’t hear a little voice inside my head. What is he talking about?” That is the little voice I am talking about inside your head.
As you evolve as a public speaker, you will need to release the suppress button of inhibition and have the courage to step beyond the prison walls of your mind. You will need to have the courage to risk being a fool, to face annihilation, and to have your worst fears exposed in front of the audience.
The dismantling of the firewall is part of the responsibility you have as the manager of the conversation. You cannot and should not expect the audience to take the lead in this process. You have to take action. The following are some communication strategies you can use to create a safe space, lower your shields, and remove bricks from the firewalls in the space.
First, let’s start with asking a question: “When does the conversation, the search for common ground, and firewall brick pulling begin?”
Often, the presenter thinks the conversation/presentation starts when he or she is in front of the audience. I suggest starting the conversation as soon as possible. It could start before the day of the presentation or it could start when you walk into the room.
When you start the conversation, you are not only in the data delivery business but also in the building relationships, rapport, and common ground business.
Here are some suggestions of things to do before, during, and after the presentation.
Before the Day of the Presentation
The bricks start being pulled through communication before the audience enters the room. Be in communication with the audience—send them e-mails, regular mail, or give them a telephone call. Let them know the purpose and key points of the conversation and ask them what they would like to have addressed. Provide all the logistical information about start times, room locations, maps, breaks, lunch, contact people, and where to park. Make note of any common ground you have with the participants or they have among themselves.
For example, shared acquaintances, places you have visited, technology background, educational background, books read, movies seen, events attended, sports, vocation, religion, beliefs, history, hobbies, and television shows can all create common ground. Knowing this information ahead of time allows you to introduce it when you meet the people at the presentation. Communication before the presentation starts to shift the expectations of the audience from being unknown to becoming familiar. It gives the participants a greater sense of certainty about what to expect and therefore reduces the ego/mind need to maintain a firewall. Communicating in advance sends the message that you care and reflects the level of service your company will provide them in the future when they become a customer.
The Day of the Presentation
The conversation/presentation doesn’t start when you walk to the front of the room. It starts when you first walk through the door. The warm-up period is important because it is much easier to do the brick pulling during the informal gathering time than trying to do it from the front of the room.
Here are some possible communication strategies you can employ on the day of the presentation but before the presentation actually starts. Whether you are at your facility or the customer facility, you still are the Manager of the Conversation and the role you play is the one of host or hostess. The participants should be treated with hospitality and as honored guests.
Do you have greeters? Is there someone to welcome the participants and give them directions? Have you put any signage in place that gives clear directions?
When participants walk into the room, greet them. Introduce them to other participants. In this informal time, you have direct access into the other people’s private network.
Listen to what they say. The more you know about their world, the better you will be able to shape the conversation to meet their needs. As the leader, you need to take the initiative to meet people. Human beings often seem reluctant to walk up and introduce themselves to the leader.
For your own comfort, shake hands and meet as many people as possible before you go to the front of the room. Shaking hands symbolizes warmth and openness and communicates you have no weapon in your hand. The only time in most business cultures when you can actually touch a stranger physically, male or female, without giving offense is when you shake his or her hand.
Every culture seems to have its own greeting dance. For example, kissing once on one cheek, kissing twice on both cheeks, touching noses, hugging, touching foreheads all expose an intimate connection. For example, when I was in South Africa, the students taught me a local handshake that I used every time I met them. It always put a smile on their faces.
You especially want to meet the people you don’t know. Any attack/resistance will most likely come from the person with whom you have the least rapport. Most people’s tendency is to walk into the room and go toward someone they know because it feels comfortable. When you introduce yourself to another person, he or she is forced to come out from behind
