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Last night, I was preparing a physics lesson for High School Juniors.
The topic will be series and parallel electric circuits; today I am the guest speaker. Now, if you recall your high school years, that particular physics class probably never made it to the yearbook, probably never nudged a neuron. Why?
It lacked two things – pertinence and impact.
If you want to persuade others, you must convince them that what you have to say is pertinent to them. Otherwise, they will cast it aside and soon have no recollection at all. No matter the size of the audience, every person must know that the information is gold for the taking.
And, if you really want them to receive gold, then you must deliver gold. Spend your time and your words promoting things of value. Make your words count. Persuasive people work on their delivery, what they say and how they say it. This is not “spin.” It is choosing topics of value that will make a real difference in the lives of individuals.
The second component is impact. You must do something that makes an impact. This usually means visual and personal. Photographs, PowerPoint, and videos are the mainstay of most teachers. Zzzzzzz. If you want to make an impact, it must be visual and personal.
For example, I was giving a safety class to beginning chemistry students. Would this not classify as booorrrrringggg? Other teachers showed a picture of the fire extinguisher or pointed it out in the back of the room. I took the extinguisher and the class out into the parking lot.
Did I demonstrate for them?
You must be kidding.
Have you ever squeezed the lever of a fire extinguisher?
Ours was almost as large as the girl I handed it to. That little daredevil (know your audience!) hammered down on the silver valve and yellow retardant spewed out like a fire hose, belching fine powder everywhere. Screams and giggles erupted. Those herding-cat students queued like flies on sugar. A boy tried it next. And so on until they all got a shot. The wind picked up the retardant, a mushroom cloud. and it powdered all their cars, like yellow pollen on great big flowers. (Sometimes, life can be oh, so sweet!)
(Of course, it was their cars.)
After school, they packed up and headed for the car wash.
I scheduled a refill on our extinguisher.
To this day, the only safety lesson they can remember from school was that one. They think of it every time they pass an extinguisher. They tell the story to their kids. It had impact and you can bet they know how to use a fire extinguisher. One day, it may save a life.
The lesson had pertinence and impact.
If you want to persuade, yours must possess both.