We’ve all sat in presentations where we noted that the presenter really knew their stuff but didn’t know how to teach it.

Why is that?

Why is it when we pour our hearts and brains into our content - we miss?

We may get clues that we’ve missed the mark while presenting.

Confused faces.
Questions letting us know we didn’t connect some concepts.
Or no questions, but murmuring and whispers, "Why did she use that story? It didn't make sense."

Do you know when your material is going to hit the mark? Be compelling, meaningful or helpful?

Here’s the thing, content must be translated for use in your course and for participant understanding.

Simple yet powerful.

You are the translator.

But how do you translate your content? What’s your process?

You are a professional who cares about the individuals who attend your presentations.
You want to impact people in a meaningful way.
Inspire them to make changes in their lives.
Sharing your passion is important to you and presenting and giving webinars is a vehicle to deliver that passion.

I share that passion - I get it!

I always fuss over and rewrite my notes.
Working in different angles to meet the needs of my audience - whether they are high schoolers, doctoral students, attendees in continuing education courses or professionals in their workplace.

Here’s what I’ve learned about translating content for use in your course and for participant understanding.

The first question is what do you want them to learn, explain or do by the end of your presentation?

Asking this question is your desire for the participant and directs your every choice.

The second question to ask while writing content is…

What do I need to do to help them learn?

Here’s why that question can make a huge difference when creating your content. The difference between good content and great content.

We’ve all heard that stories are a great way to engage your audience. By the way, generally, there are two types of engagement.

I’m paying attention engagement
I’m mentally processing the content engagement (they are tracking with you, processing and integrating your content)

My guess is you’re aiming for the latter. You want to help people to take your message and use it in a meaningful way in their lives.

Let’s say...You want your participants to connect two concepts about managing money.

You know stories are a great way to elicit meaningful engagement.
You also have a personal experience, a story, demonstrating how the concepts impact each other.
How these concepts impact each other is what you want your participants to learn so they manage their money better and make better decisions (the meaningful impact you’re aiming for).

But - Stop. Does your story do just that? Will your story help them to learn how the concepts impact each other?

What do you need to do to help them learn?

Do you need to tweak your story?
Use another one?
Ditch the story altogether and use a diagram, image, or video clip?

Ask yourself these questions (first question here) while writing content.

Then analyze your content and make changes. Your participants will rave about you.

Once you know what you want your participants to learn.

Take a hard look at your content, your stories, your examples...and use them in a way that will help your participants learn in a compelling and meaningful way.

As professionals who are passionate educators it’s something we all want.

The Power of Impactful Engagement