I Had To Laugh

Recently I noticed the new Qantas advertisement. Have you seen it?

A trainer is at the front of a room claiming there are 3 things his group needs to know. "Where are you now?, Where are you heading?, & How are you going to get there?". He delivers these questions in a thought provoking, I've got you thinking, kind of tone and he seems quite chuffed with himself.

What's happening in the back of the room?

A participant is on his laptop, which is still connected to the data projector and is being projected on the screen, booking his flight from Sydney, to Melbourne on Qantas.

I think this advertisement is a laugh but then it got me thinking.

This advertisement is an obvious spoof on trainers and presenters. There are ad agencies and their clients who have this perspective of trainers and presenters. I think you would agree it's not very flattering. So what does this mean for us?

3 things:

1. Engage your audience. Is your content relevant to your audience? Is it pitched at the right level? Is it something they can take away and apply to their world?
2. Don't put on a show. As much I believe you have to be energetic and passionate about your message you also need to be congruent. Don't be somebody your not.
3. Do things differently. People attending training programs and presentations are conditioned to the 'tricks', the "icebreakers', and the "PowerPoint" slides.

Remember the key question to ask yourself is: "What is my objective?". What do you want them to learn from their time with you? What do you want them to take away?
Your challenge this month is to achieve your objectives by being engaging, congruent and different.