In one of our Presentation Skills workshop, one participant exclaimed that his material was so dry. He taught hotel managers and others in hospitality services how to use new software that would maximize the pricing they could get for each available room, thereby increasing their overall revenue.
Once he had told us what he did for a living, I was struck by the paradox—this man thought his content was dry, and yet his bottom line—what’s in it for me—meant more sales and increased revenue—every manager’s dream! He had a built-in hook for his content. And yet his perspective was that his content was “dry.”
A recent memory my mother shared about her work experience reveals how easy it is to show your trainees the personal value to them in what they’re learning. In other words, the “what’s in it for me” transcends just the on-the-job value—it spills over into the personal realm, which, for me, has always provided additional motivation to pay attention.
My mother grew up in Chicago and one of its second-tier suburbs, the village of Wonder Lake, home to the largest private man-made lake in Illinois.
My mother, Patricia, lived with her German mother, Elizabeth, and Swedish father, Robert. They lived in a house on a hill with many, many stairs in the backyard, perfect for games of chase and skinned knees. The house was just down the street from the lake. Even my children have memories of swimming there.
My grandmother, Elizabeth, did factory work. “I do remember as a child her working in a chenille factory and bringing home skeins of chenille yarn,” my mother shared, “and Mom and Dad both crocheting pot holders and rugs.” Chenille had become a very popular yarn process back in the 1920s and 1930s and even helped those making the popular bedspreads into millionaires.
“My Dad was very handy, not only a superb carpenter but very handy with cooking, and he is the one who taught me to sew on the sewing machine, as Mom worked nights,” Patricia said. For many years, my mom supplemented her income with her incredible artistry using fabric as her medium.
Like her mother before her, my mother did factory work in the 1950s and 60s. “Working in a factory was not all that bad as long as one is young enough to have the energy for what is required,” she said. “I have worked in several factories. I worked for Redmond Industries putting up paneling in mobile homes, and then they trained me to be an electrician in the same mobile homes. [It’s] very hard but very interesting and useful later in life.”
Her reminiscing reminded me of how fortunate I am to have a job I love and also opened a window into how easy it can be to help others catch the enthusiasm for what they are learning in our sessions.
If we take a different perspective on what we are teaching, I think each of us will find new and perhaps previously hidden ways to motivate our participants just by tapping into their own intrinsic motivation on what value our material has to them both in the work world and personally, like the value in knowing how to sew, cook or do electrical work.
