Crafting Your Message. Tammy Heflebower
dining at a restaurant or shopping at a retail store. Listen carefully—there is music playing. For the masses, silence feels awkward and unnerving. In fact, there is a certain type of music, tempo, and volume level known to create an actual state of attention in the brain (Feinstein, 2006). A discussion of appropriate music use occurs in chapter 3 (page 27), but the point is, sound matters. Music and voices create energy in the room. You want, and need, them both—but how to best utilize them will depend on the size of your audience.
Use figure 2.1 to consider the similarities and differences among various audience sizes. In so doing, think about your group size preference. Does your topic work best when presented to a specific size of audience? If your topic lends itself better to a smaller audience, then suggest that (or even require it) in planning. Often, you may not have control over the audience size. In that case, reference the chart to help you tailor your topic and activities to the size of your audience. For instance, you simply cannot get large groups of over two hundred people up and moving a great deal without thoughtful planning and space. Rather, using a standing meeting conversation with those nearby may be a better option to increase engagement and encourage discussion but not create chaos in the room.
Figure 2.1: Audience size planner.
Visit go.SolutionTree.com/leadership for a free reproducible version of this figure.
Figure 2.2 is a completed audience size planner to reference for comparison. This figure details the features seasoned presenters might suggest.
Figure 2.2: Completed audience size planner.
Using this chart as you plan your presentation helps you acknowledge how group size dynamics play into the way you structure your delivery and processing activities. If you anticipate a very small group, you will want to add in more print or web resources to allow for the small group to explore the topic in depth, whereas with a larger audience you may use more direct instruction and fewer, if any, large group discussions.
Considering Your Presentation Role
Presentations occur in various formats. Sometimes an educational host (principal, district leader, or educational service unit provider) requests a short presentation to inspire and overview a topic—a keynote. Other times, more in-depth training is needed. Yet other times, facilitating a group toward a consensus is warranted. There may even be times to do small-group or personalized coaching. Whatever the role of the presenter, it is imperative to understand the differences between these presentation roles as well as your presenter tendencies. Here, I describe the variations among these roles and responsibilities.
Keynote Speakers
Keynotes are sessions that last typically from forty-five to ninety minutes. They are focused on a single topic and are primarily intended to overview the topic and entertain the audience. Keynotes are often delivered in large ballrooms where it is difficult to get much participant involvement. Thus, keynote speakers need to be engaging in their presence and with their content. A solid keynote speaker most often addresses one or two key ideas, builds an overview of the content, and amuses the audience a bit along the way. Keynote speakers rarely “get into the weeds” by practicing the topic information or providing time for application of the ideas; that is not their purpose. Rather, a keynote address is more of an executive summary regarding a focused subject.
Not everyone can keynote, nor does everyone want to. In many cases, excellent trainers and facilitators cannot effectively move into the keynoter position. Likewise, some keynoters are lousy trainers or facilitators. Diane DiResta (2018) suggests “the best speakers stay in their lane.” This means that presenters should be aware of who they are and capitalize on their strengths of being either more of an entertainer or a content speaker. DiResta (2018) recommends that entertainers opt for the modes of keynoter or emcee, whereas content experts may prefer the role of trainer.
Although certain types of presentations may feel more natural to certain presenters, it is possible to exchange lanes. Entertaining qualities will enhance trainings, and a topic focus will augment a keynote. However, the presenter must be very experienced and skilled. He or she must also know the strengths and limitations about each type of presentation, as well as how to adjust content and processes to fit the new lane appropriately. However, this takes considerable time, reflection, observation, and practice.
Trainers
Training sessions may range from a few hours to full or multiple days with the same audience. The goal of a training is for participants to acquire new information, techniques, or skills, or to transfer learning at a later time (Wild, 1999). Examples might include training about an instructional framework, standards-based grading practices, or behavior management techniques. Great trainers have specific content and processes to teach, and they must be able to communicate the message effectively as well as understand the audience’s specific needs. Trainers are versatile and must command an audience for longer periods of time than keynote speakers. They use a combination of direct instruction, practicing activities, practical examples, video components, and group discussions to maintain their audience’s attention for long periods of time. They must build relationships with audience members in order to obtain and maintain the respect and attentiveness of audience members. Often, trainers possess a deep content knowledge and have many practical experiences and examples to share. They really help audiences understand the topic in depth, and move them into application of key concepts. Trainers are also more in command of the time spent on each component, the types of activities used, the resources necessary, and how the learners will master or obtain the skills being taught. This is where the planning quadrant plays an important role. Thoughtfully applying the quadrant to each major training point ensures variation with intentionality.
Facilitators
Facilitators help groups accomplish a common goal or set of goals that they often could not accomplish alone. Unlike trainers, facilitators require less in-depth knowledge about a topic, but must have masterful people skills. A skilled facilitator helps groups accomplish common goals with synergy and success, helping others face difficult, sometimes less obvious issues with creativity and collaboration. Examples might include school board work sessions or leadership retreats, school- or district-led trainer or facilitator subcommittees, administrative team discussions, K—12 principal events, or even some professional learning communities. The end result is to achieve unanimous, win-win types of solutions. Facilitating an audience may last a few hours to one full day at the shortest, and multiple days or a series of intermittent days to accomplish longer-term goals.
Trainers are less concerned with collective thinking and common, collaboratively generated endpoints, and more about teaching specific content and processes to be used afterward. Trainers know the end result. Facilitators often do not. Instead, they help the group work cohesively toward an end goal. As Hunter (2007) said, “Facilitators are called upon to fill an impartial role in helping groups to become more effective. We act as process guides to create a balance between participation and results” (p. 150).
Facilitators must master the art of questioning—knowing what types of questions to ask and ways to elicit open-ended responses that enable stronger collective dialogue, perspective analysis, and inclusiveness of the group. Although the end result is to achieve unanimous, win-win types of solutions, it is truly the journey that is skillfully facilitated. They lead with phrases like, “Tell me about your thinking,” “Please give a rationale for that perspective,” “Who agrees with that train of thought?” and “I can hear that you are concerned