I never considered the idea of selling seats to a safety presentation but it changed the way I think about speaking to a group of people. This question reminded me once again that we must make our safety meetings worthy of our audience attending, paying attention and then taking action on what we have taught them. As I prepare a presentation for employees I now ask myself what is in this session that they would be willing to pay for?

The real tragedy is that while most safety meetings are teaching people life saving information very few really capture the minds of their audiences. For one of many reasons the safety meeting isn’t good enough to keep their attention. Let’s face it some people seem to have a talent for making any subject boring! Shortly after they open their mouth you are thinking, “Where is the door and how can I get out?” Sadly, the field of safety seems to have attracted many people with this talent.

First impressions can be a challenge to overcome. As safety professionals we are constantly faced with an audience that has the mistaken belief that safety is boring. Sadly, this belief is based upon their experience withother safety presenters. Hour after hour of presentations you would onlysit through if you were forced to. That is what most of America’s workforce
must endure week after week. The great news is that if you add just a small amount of creativity and fun to your meetings you will be known for your safety meetings. People will want to come just to see what you have for them next because you make it fun and interesting.

What makes a presentation great and another one boring? Certainly information or content isn’t the key, after all, for years, safety meetings have conveyed life-saving information to people who weren’t listening. The information was useful, yet they weren’t listening. They weren’t listening because the presentation was boring. This leads us to…

Too many people in and out of the safety field believe that safety is inherently a boring subject. Well, in my experience there is no such thing as a boring subject only boring presenters of which there seems to be a great abundance. The danger of this mistake is that if you begin with the premise that safety is boring you are not likely to look for ways to make it fun and interesting. Successful people tell us over and over again that belief precedes results. If we believe our meetings can be interesting and captivating our brain will begin to look for a way to make that happen.

What is your belief about safety being boring? I hope you find it exciting and are passionate about sharing that excitement with others. My guess is that since you are reading this newsletter you believe it is possible to make safety worthy of an audience’s attention. The good news is that it is possible and you can make it happen.

What if people didn’t have to attend your safety meetings? How many people would be in attendance? You probably have the vision of an empty room when you think of the answer to that question. That would be an accurate vision since even the person giving the presentation wouldn’t attend because they thought it was boring.

What would you need to add to your presentation to fill a room full of willing listeners? Well start with PASSION! Passion cures many ills when it comes to making presentations. I have seen and heard speakers who are passionate overcome errors they made or shortcomings in their speaking skills. Being passionate about safety and being willing to share that passion can make a huge difference.

If you find your passion fading take a break and do whatever it takes to remind yourself of the importance of what you do in the field of safety and the huge impact it is having on the lives of your employees and their families. One way to do this is to make a notebook where you keep your success stories. Make it a habit to write down when you know you have gotten through to someone. Write down what worked. This becomes a source of inspiration and a reminder of ideas that have worked in the past. It also will remind you that you are making a difference even when at the moment you might be experiencing frustration.

Next, ask yourself, “How could I make this subject or this meeting interesting to my audience?” Remember to keep your audience in mind. If it is interesting to you it doesn’t necessarily mean it will be interesting to them. Now I know you don’t know what would make it interesting to them but if you did what would it be? The secret to discovering new ideas is to ask a question that will come up with the results you need and then be ready for the results.

Try the following steps:

1. Believe you can come up with ideas that will make safety fun and interesting.
2. Ask yourself the question, “How can I make this meeting fun, interesting, and effective?”
3. If you get stuck say the following to yourself, “I know I don’t know how I can make this meeting fun, interesting, and effective, but if I did how would it be?
4. Write down any ideas that come to mind even if they seem strange or not perfect.
5. Refine the list of ideas and ask yourself how could you make them better.
6. Try the idea out and record the results in your notebook what worked and what didn’t.
7. Ask yourself how you could improve that idea and write down the results.

You may have noticed that writing things down is an important element to success in improving your safety meetings. It is crucial! Great ideas often come at the strangest times and if you don’t write them down immediately you will quickly forget them.

In addition to the previous ideas, how many great ideas do you think you could get by spending three days with other safety professionals and myself focused on just those solutions? Imagine just how many ideas you could come home with to help you make your safety meetings effective, fun, and entertaining? Well, since the entire three days will be recorded and provided to the participants it will be a wealth of information.

Don’t miss out on your chance to solve your major motivational problems. Join me for three days and experience my Dynamic Safety Meetings Institute October 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, 2002. Not only will you get all these great ideas in person and on CD’s you will have the opportunity to ask the questions you want answers to.

To find out more go to http://www.drebinger.com/page/page26.html

Or to sign up right now go to: http://www.drebinger.com/page/page26a.html

What if you can’t make it in October? You must be out of your mind! Well, we thought of that! Call our office prior to the Institute so you can get a great special price on the Home Study Version. Call toll free: 1-800-588-9419.

I hope you have found this ezine helpful. The next issue will cover the next Deadly Mistake of Boring Safety Meetings...

For more information call our Institute Director, Sandie Gilbert at 209-747-2770 or call our office at 800-745-9419.

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