Knowing Your Audience
Next week and the week after I'll be speaking to the senior managers of two government-related, heavily-military, top-secret agencies. I'm experiencing a little anxiety about these presentations because I want them, as I do with all of my presentations, to be optimally-effective, and I'm not as culturally-competent as I'd like to be on the military. So, I'm working very hard to become more familiar and therefore more confident. I'm reading books such as The Puzzle Palace, talking at length on the phone with employees of the agencies, researching on the Internet to better understand not only them but also their competitors, and asking for as much help as I can get from anyone who knows more than me.
Knowing my audience is essential for my success. The perspective of a wealth management executive in Singapore on gay and transgender issues is going to be different from that of a retired Marine colonel. The retired Marine colonel needs to know that I understand his different perspective and different needs. While the Wall Street manager in Singapore may want my help in marketing to wealthy gay people in his or her district, the colonel may need guidance on how to effectively establish a safe workplace for gay employees in a "Don't Ask/Don't Tell" environment.
And yet, both the Wall Street wealth management executive and the retired Marine colonel are ultimatley seeking the same thing from me -- help in better knowing their audience. "Who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and how do I effectively work with them?" "What do they want from me?" "What words should I be using?" "What language and behavior is considered supportive, and what is considered hostile or unwelcoming?"
Diversity training is like a dance between the presenter and the members of the audience. They each need to become familiar with the other's style in order not to inadvertently step on the other's toes. Trust has to be established. Each of us is looking to see if the other has made, or is making, any effort to make this a win/win for both sides, rather than a solo act where one scores points at the expense of the other.
As the presenter, I take the lead. Knowing my audience means I don't ask them to do the limbo when they are incapable of bending that low to the ground. If I haven't figured out in advance what music to play, what steps to take, what pace to set prior to reaching out my hand, the event will be a disaster. We'll simply never find a rhythm together and we'll each leave feeling frustrated and bruised, and mumbling that we'll never take on that particular partner again.
If you're successful as a diversity trainer, you can eventually feel the audience move with you in perfect sync. If you can coax them out of their chairs by securing their trust, you can gradually step together as a team through the most challenging moves, laughing and sighing in unison and losing all sense of time. When it's over, you both want to keep dancing.
I've joyfully had that experience with partners across the globe. It underscores for me the basic goodness and connection of the human experience. But it doesn't happen without a lot of hard word. Preparing to speak to a particular audience is the most challenging part of my job, but it's also the most rewarding. What makes it fun for me is that my dance partner keeps changing.
That's what I'm up to right now. I'm preparing to invite a retired Marine colonel and several other current and former members of the Armed Forces to dance with me. I'm still a little anxious, so I have some more practicing to do. I'll let you know how it goes.
Knowing my audience is essential for my success. The perspective of a wealth management executive in Singapore on gay and transgender issues is going to be different from that of a retired Marine colonel. The retired Marine colonel needs to know that I understand his different perspective and different needs. While the Wall Street manager in Singapore may want my help in marketing to wealthy gay people in his or her district, the colonel may need guidance on how to effectively establish a safe workplace for gay employees in a "Don't Ask/Don't Tell" environment.
And yet, both the Wall Street wealth management executive and the retired Marine colonel are ultimatley seeking the same thing from me -- help in better knowing their audience. "Who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and how do I effectively work with them?" "What do they want from me?" "What words should I be using?" "What language and behavior is considered supportive, and what is considered hostile or unwelcoming?"
Diversity training is like a dance between the presenter and the members of the audience. They each need to become familiar with the other's style in order not to inadvertently step on the other's toes. Trust has to be established. Each of us is looking to see if the other has made, or is making, any effort to make this a win/win for both sides, rather than a solo act where one scores points at the expense of the other.
As the presenter, I take the lead. Knowing my audience means I don't ask them to do the limbo when they are incapable of bending that low to the ground. If I haven't figured out in advance what music to play, what steps to take, what pace to set prior to reaching out my hand, the event will be a disaster. We'll simply never find a rhythm together and we'll each leave feeling frustrated and bruised, and mumbling that we'll never take on that particular partner again.
If you're successful as a diversity trainer, you can eventually feel the audience move with you in perfect sync. If you can coax them out of their chairs by securing their trust, you can gradually step together as a team through the most challenging moves, laughing and sighing in unison and losing all sense of time. When it's over, you both want to keep dancing.
I've joyfully had that experience with partners across the globe. It underscores for me the basic goodness and connection of the human experience. But it doesn't happen without a lot of hard word. Preparing to speak to a particular audience is the most challenging part of my job, but it's also the most rewarding. What makes it fun for me is that my dance partner keeps changing.
That's what I'm up to right now. I'm preparing to invite a retired Marine colonel and several other current and former members of the Armed Forces to dance with me. I'm still a little anxious, so I have some more practicing to do. I'll let you know how it goes.
