One of the best things about writing a blog is the privilege of sharing great ideas from others—such as Nancy Duarte’s post “Like Yoda You Must Be,” which is all about presenter as mentor.
Drawing on the first Star Wars, Ms. Duarte talks about Yoda’s role as mentor, saying “Despite being the expert, his focus is not on himself but on helping young Luke Skywalker to become a better hero.” And over years of evaluating presentations, she thinks the major mistake most presenters make is thinking they are the star of the show. An interesting thought. She says, “The most important people in the room are your audience: make them the heroes of your story. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRj0Hmr30v4&feature=youtu.be&t=2m39s). Defer to them, because if they don’t engage and believe in your message, you are the one who loses.”
If you buy into this premise, which I do, there are several things you can do to get your message across, while shifting your role to mentor rather than hero.
One thing you can do is lose the “about us” slide, which is usually focused on how wonderful you and your organization are. Ms. Duarte notes that you can put this info into a handout. I say, good idea, though you want to make sure that your presentation is compelling enough that your audience is not shuffling through the handout while you are talking. Maybe it would be a good idea to collect business cards and send the handout after your presentation. Ms. Duarte says, “Acknowledge the struggles they are facing and make the solution about them. Become audience-centric and focus on your listeners to resonate at their frequency instead of yours.”
You can also offer a “magical gift,” as mentors do to help heroes with their quests. Ms. Duarte suggests “something useful, preferably out-of-the ordinary and memorable.” Her examples include sample budgets, industry stats and benchmarks, a good app, and checklists. You will likely think of others depending on your industry and audience.
Share an experience from your own hero’s journey. I think that if members of your audience know how you messed up and how you triumphed and what you learned, they will feel better about beginning the journey. Both practical and innovative examples apply here.
Help the hero overcome stuck-ness. That’s probably worth the price of admission to your presentation, because many heroes get stuck and don’t know how extricate ourselves. As mentor, you’ve got the knowledge to recommend better processes, offer up creative ideas, or give encouragement.
As a mentor, you can also help improve your hero’s perspective—how they view the world and themselves. You have access to the bigger picture that your audience can lose track of in the course of the daily struggle to get up the mountain without falling off the narrow path.
As Ms. Duarte says, “When you step up to give your presentation, you might be the most knowledgeable person in the room, but will you wield that knowledge with wisdom and humility?” To that I’d add: Will you be brief enough so audience has time to ask hero-in-training question?
Leave a Comment