How to Make High-Level Safety PresentationsRobert Pater, SSA/MoveSMART Director Let me tell you about the worst presentation I have ever heard; it was at a safety meeting. The safety director of a Stevedoring company was addressing longshoremen at a union hall.
Not all safety meetings are so weak. But, many safety professionals agree, much safety training is poorly done--ranging from one-foot-on-a-chair-clipboard-in-hand lectures to "you-can-do-it" motivational meetings without any practical content in sight. Training is an important part of many safety professionals' and supervisors' job, one that can have strong leverage. When done well, training has a lasting impact; many workers will be positively affected over a long period of time. But poor training gives safety a bad name and wastes many people's time all at once. On top of this, safety leaders often feel disapproval, or that no one is listening or changing for the better. Some safety directors have had employees strongly resist in meetings, doing things like putting tape over their mouths, making a show of 'going to sleep', refusing to participate. But it doesn't have to be this way. Experience shows that safety trainers--whether newly promoted supervisors or those who have years of frustrating meetings under their belt--can quickly learn to make effective presentations. When meetings are well-done, even difficult groups will perk up, listen and remember. Evaluations from staff will improve, they will work safer by carrying meeting content onto the job, morale improves, and safety professionals feel more confident and effective. The ProblemsStart by understanding some of the common problems of safety meetings. Surveying many organizations, I have heard employees say many of the same things:
Ever hear any of these complaints? Basically, the problems of safety training are:
Good training is an art, one that takes time and effort to master. Over a period of fifteen years, I've given thousands of presentations, from keynoting safety conferences, training trainers, to training line staff. Training is my career. And I'm still adjusting and learning. But there are some things you can quickly do to upgrade your presentations. The GoalsFirst, get clear on what makes a successful safety presentation. The how-to's, valid information and techniques, should be included. "Win one for the Gipper" types of motivational seminars rarely change employee behavior or help them work safer. These kinds of presentations are empty, like the proverbial meal where, although you are satisfied after eating, an hour later you're still hungry. While staff should understand why they need to change, work safer, and follow procedures, they should still receive some simple and practical things they can take out of the meeting onto the job. Second, any successful presentation operates on the idea that it's less what you tell them than what they take away; staff have to remember and use the points presented. So, it's better to give them three things they will remember than thirteen things they will forget. Better for them to learn three things well than half-learn thirteen points hastily covered. Third, make meetings enjoyable so they will listen, remember and have positive associations about safety. There are many ways of accomplishing this. In essence, your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to run meetings that include useful safety information and techniques that people will remember and use. Some safety directors plead they have to present on "boring" topics, referring to rules and procedures, hearing protection, seat belt safety, lockout procedures, other mandated or update topics. But you can make any meeting interesting, enjoyable, and memorable, even these "boring" ones. The Formula For Successful PresentationsAgain, there's a lot to this. I am condensing some of this information from a two-day program on "Making Successful Safety Presentations." But some pointers should help right away. 1. Preparation is the key. If you want powerful, focused meetings, put some time into planning them. And the shorter the meeting, the more important each minute is. Abraham Lincoln said, "If you want me to speak for a day, give me a day's notice. If you want me to speak for an hour, give me a week's notice. And if you want me to speak for ten minutes, give me a month's notice." And this is from a seasoned presenter. When you have the choice, set up the room to reinforce your message. U-shaped or circular room arrangements increase interaction (but can accomodate fewer people). Classroom style/row seating is better for lectures. There are other room arrangements that have different effects on communication. 2. Prepare yourself first. Know your objectives, what you want them to change or learn, for example, "To know and follow plant lockout procedures." Also decide what you want to encourage them to believe or feel. Examples of these "soft" objectives: "promote improved management and staff communications," "encourage co-worker support," "increase my authority as a supervisor," "empower participants to take responsibility for their own safety," etc. I would suggest writing down your goals and objectives. And writing a description of the training session can help you focus your presentation and be used in "advertising" the seminar to participants and their managers. Clearly knowing what you're really trying to affect allows you to do the subtle things that get you closer to your goals. Studies show an instructor's attitude plays a crucial role in determining how much participants learn. Set your attitude to one of helping others change for the better. If you want them to work safer, let go of past frustrations ("They'll never change" or "They're hopelessly negative"). Preparing for a strong meeting is a lot of work. But the results can be long-lasting and well worth the efforts. 3. Select a practical topic. Many leaders plead the difficulty of finding good topics. There are many sources available to you. Interview staff, as a group, or individually (if they don't respond in meetings); let them know you take requests. Ask managers for their areas of concern. Find nationally current topics from reading PROFESSIONAL SAFETY and other magazines, by scanning seminar brochures, and attending safety conferences. Plan meetings that address recent accidents or statistically indicated safety problems. Work in concert with other professionals in personnel, occupational health, industrial engineering, etc. to select and reinforce relevant topics. 4. Prepare and use visual aids. Contrary to what some safety presenters fear--"It was a short meeting and I didn't have time to use a visual aid"--visual aids are efficient. Good slides, overhead transparencies, and flipcharts enliven a meeting, provide participants another exposure at the information you're relating, and keep you on track. The overhead or flip chart actually becomes your presentation outline; when you put transparencies on frames (recommended for using simple color "billboarding" backgrounds), you can use the frame to write more detailed notes that only you will see. A key to helping people learn is to involve as many of their senses as possible--let them hear, touch, and see. You can quickly learn to make dynamic visual aids that will perk up a meeting. There is a lot just on this topic. But do think of using few words and lots of color. Have a sparky agenda that incites their curiosity as they walk in. For a meeting on hearing protection, one safety trainer at a paper mill had an agenda with the title, "Stick it in your ear!", followed by topics "Don't let my problem become yours," "How it works," and "Tips you can use." By the way, three seems to be a magic number in setting agenda and in anecdotes. People respond when there are three topics (not two or four), and three people or choices in anecdotes. Plan the opening, content and close of the session. A preacher renowned for his excellent sermons was asked the secret of his success. He said, "It's simple. First I tell them what I'm going to tell them. Then I tell them. Then I tell them what I've told them." People learn by getting multiple exposures. Studies indicate, for example, that students remember more from four study sessions of thirty minutes each than from one night-long block. Most presenters focus only on the meeting content. Yet, setting up the meeting with a strong opening can result in a more productive and enjoyable training. In the opening, tell them:
Don't only focus on what injuries they can prevent. Graphically gory stories often turn people off--they get overwhelmed, hardened or think, "That won't happen to me." Instead, sell benefits. Focus on what's in it for them to listen and practice the techniques you are about to teach. Offer them something positive to learn, not a negative circumstance to avoid. For example, in our fall prevention and back seminars, we tell people that the methods they learn can help them become stronger and more in control. That they can practice techniques on the job that will help them become more coordinated and more adept in their favorite sports and recreation, as well as keeping them safer. Think of positive benefits for any safety program, good reasons for them to be interested, and open with these. And any safety topic has benefits. For example, if you're doing a program on fire protection, ask how many people have families. Tell them what you will cover today will help them keep their children and guests safer. Or they will learn how to save money and protect themselves by selecting the right fire extinguisher for their kitchen, garage, car or boat. So, if you want their attention, remember to think of what's personally in it for them (besides averting injury). Then, let them know what you will cover this meeting. Refer to your agenda. For the middle, plan the safety skills, knowledge and methods you will teach, activities they will practice, questions you will ask. Participation is the key to people enjoying and remembering what you present. Get them involved. Take polls ("How many of you have ever been in a car crash?"), ask for questions, request their ideas, have them brainstorm solutions, get their opinions, have them pair up and do an activity, pass around a prop they can feel (cut-resistant glove, for example), do a demonstration they can get mentally involved in (for example, show the effectiveness of a steel-toed shoe by dropping a weight on it), tell an anecdote about yourself or someone they know (be careful not to make someone lose face). There are thousands of ways for raising interest and energy level through involvement. Go beyond lecture. Remember that someone humorously defined a lecture as "information that comes out of the mouth of one, onto the notebooks of many, without going throught the minds of anyone." Speak to them personally. Adjust your language, anecdotes, and examples to suit your audience. Address laboratory workers, millwrights, and maritime workers on their terms. By the questions you ask and the examples you show, you can even customize canned audiovisual programs to specific audiences. In the closing, review the main points of the presentation. Plan an upbeat ending; leave them with the right spirit, perhaps with an appropriate joke or story they will remember. Remind them of the benefits to them. This is a good time for a "you can do it" message. Let them know you expect them to carry this over to the job and to their lives. Tell them you'll further discuss this again. Thank them for attending and listening. 5. Other guidelines:
6. Evaluate your results three ways:
There are many other things you can do. As I have indicated, we could take two very full days to cover some of the basics. But just by using some of the methods in this article, you can upgrade your safety meetings. You will feel more confident and successful; staff will look forward to meetings. Most important, they will work safer with higher morale. Rate Your Safety Presentation Skills:
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