You’re a subject matter expert and you’re scheduled to speak to a new audience. You may get a few butterflies before entering the room but you’re confident in the material. Plot twist! You discover the audience is seasoned and some of them may know more than you.
This happened to me when I first started out. I was hired by a company to deliver their sales training class. A young man in the group had a successful seven year sales career and had more experience than I did. I decided to leverage his knowledge to benefit the group and called on him to weigh in on the principles and to share his experience. He felt validated and added valuable insights which the group appreciated and I maintained credibility as the facilitator.
Similarly, a well known management skills company contracted experts to facilitate their programs. At one point they decided to gather all the facilitators for a one day professional development session. They chose one of the senior facilitators to lead the session. It went without saying that she was anxious knowing we were all experts. She named the elephant in the room by saying “ I feel like I’m teaching Judy Garland to sing Somewhere Over The Rainbow.” We laughed, the group relaxed, and the day was a success.
Here are a few tips when speaking to a seasoned audience:
Research. Do a quick study of the audience’s experience and challenges. Create a presentation around what they want to accomplish rather than covering the fundamentals.
State a clear purpose or outcome of the presentation.
Acknowledge the situation. If they know they outrank you on a knowledge level, position the presentation as collaborative where audience insights are welcome.
Ask focused questions instead of expecting to have all the answers.
Leverage the content not your expertise. You can ride on the coattails of the researched program. Tell them your role is not to be the expert but to facilitate them through a process.
Smart, experienced experts don’t know it all. They appreciate being part of a group of peers where they can share their insights, challenges, and experience. Know your value and be confident in your ability to guide the group. Your job is not to be the expert but to navigate the experts through a valued experience.
Lesson Learned: You Don’t Have to Be the Smartest Person in the Room.
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