What speakers would you look forward to hearing?

June 28th, 2010
By Phil Roybal

Once in a while, not very often, I have a chance to listen to a great presenter.

There are lots of fine speakers, probably millions of so-so ones, and those magnificently dreadful ones who raise on-stage train wrecks to a fine art. You’ve probably encountered representatives of each group. But are there speakers you look forward to?

I’d go out of my way to hear Steve Jobs talk. I’d look forward to it.

Why? It’s not for his command of volumes of facts, nor for because he never says “um”. What makes his speeches so compelling is the passion, the almost naive enthusiasm, which he displays in talking about his subjects. And those subjects aren’t his products. Products are just the hook he hangs the presentation on.

Steve focuses on the user experience. He paints a magnificent experience—one people not only want to have, but one they use to make a statement about themselves. The experience is the thing, and it’s “wonderful”, “cool”, and “amazing”. He provides just enough product detail to make the experience believable. Because that’s all it take to sell the idea. Once people are sold, they’ll go to a web site to get more details, and convince themselves that any missing elements aren’t really that important. In their hearts, they’ve bought the experience they could be having if only they had the ____ (fill in the product here). The rest is just detail.

So how about when you speak? Are you focused on something people can emotionally identify with? Are you telling them how they’ll rule the world if they have what you’re providing? Or is it death by PowerPoint—an endless parade of charts and bullet points—with the listener on his or her own to develop meaning from the words?

If you want listeners to look forward to your talks, and recommend them to friends, you’ve got to leave the cool features behind. Talk about what they mean in lives of your listeners, and let your passion for that meaning shine through your words. That’s what’ll get people looking forward to your presentations.

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People Crave Human Interaction

June 22nd, 2010

Going to a trade show is expensive! Airfare, hotel, cabs, meals, martinis, massages, it all adds up. And it’s time-consuming too. All that hurry-up-and-waiting when you’re traveling. Standing in lines, sitting in cabs and buses, waiting for room service, etc. But can’t I accomplish the same thing sitting at my own desk “attending” a virtual trade show? They’re great! I can get the info I want and not have to leave my office. So why go to Orlando? (Or as we call it in the trade show industry: Central-Florida-Not-Set-Up-For-Business-Airport-Too-Far-Away-Screaming-Kids-Tourist-Prices).

But we humans are pack animals, well, except for C++ programmers. We like to be around people. We like to get out and mingle and trade ideas with our colleagues. But is it worth the $600 airfare and all hassle of traveling? Can you get the same quality of information and interaction when your interacting face-to-face as you can half-listening to one of the virtual trade show sponsors wrapping a self-serving infomercial around some Wikipedia data? What? Biased? Me?

But virtual events and webinars allow the attendees to multi-task, or as we call it, “half-paying-attention.” And they also have that level of personal contact that you can only get from a disembodied voice. And studies have shown that you’re only missing out on 55% of the potential communication when you’re not face-to-face, that’s not too bad.

With everything that’s available to you on your computer, you really never have to leave it. All the information you need is just a search away. But you know what? People are starting to crave human interaction. Yes they are. They won’t put it into those words, but their desire to go to Orlando (ugh!), Las Vegas (ouch!) or Chicago in February (brrr!) is rooted in basic human needs: We like and need human interaction. We understand the value of it even though we can’t adequately communicate it to the bean counters when we’re trying to justify attending a conference or trade show. We know we need to have face-to-face conversations to test our ideas, to evaluate other’s ideas and to foment human relationships.

We like the spontaneity of real-time conversations. Texting or emailing just doesn’t do it. We like the witty banter and quick exchange of conversational tidbits that are impossible over the tubes of this Internet thing. We crave human interaction. And events and trade shows are focused on enabling human interaction.

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Pharma shows after the Pharma Code Part Two

June 15th, 2010

I just got back from another Pharma show and I have realized something: Food and beverages have replaced give-aways and tchotkes as the way to draw attendees into a Pharma booth. Of course you can’t have anything if you’re from Michigan, Vermont and a couple of other states with tight rules. I’m serious. All of the Pharma exhibitors serving coffee and cookies, or whatever, have to post a sign saying if you’re from those states you aren’t suppose to partake. But it is up to each doctor not the exhibitor to enforce the rules. Believe me, they all take the free food and drink.

But I think this food and beverage give-away thing is really taking hold. Instead of the booth-begging, trick-or-treating doctors and spouses grabbing squeeze balls or pens they just chow down on diuretic coffee at AUA (America Urological Association), sugar-laden cookies at ADA (American Diabetes Association) and high-fat cheeses at AHA (American Heart Association).

And don’t forget the other draw to stay in the booth once you’ve waited in line to get your coffee and cookie; comfortable seating. Oh yes, please have a cookie and a coffee and sit down in our booth for a while. That is what’s going on now at Pharma shows.

And the smarter exhibitors aren’t just giving away one item. Know why? You can drink a cup of coffee while walking around. You can eat a cookie while walking around. But give them both a coffee and a cookie and now they have to sit to enjoy them. And now they’re captive! They can’t escape when an in-booth detail is forced on them mid-cookie. Just kidding. I teach the staffs to be kind and gentle to the visitors as they know they’re captive and they’re are on their guard.

Most Pharma companies, however, miss the built-in opportunity for some conversations. By show rules, the convention food and beverage staff must dispense the items. And most Pharma companies leave it at that. These people are professional and polite but they don’t work for the exhibiting Pharma company. I encourage my clients to have some of their own staff at the food and beverage counter to greet and engage the doctors. It’s a touch point. It counts.

Giving away food and beverages does seem to be working. Even doctors who probably make half-a-million dollars a year still want free stuff. When they start to plan ahead better, they’ll be bringing in zip-lock bags to the booths so they can stock up on the cookies for their kids.

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Three steps to moving your audience

June 10th, 2010
By Phil Roybal

Back when I was a newly-minted computer salesman, I loved to talk about my products. They were just so cool! And ours had such wonderful features. If I could just tell prospects enough about the machines, I knew they’d buy.

One day my boss took me aside after a presentation and said, “You know, you’re selling the product in the first five minutes, then buying it back in the next 15. Don’t tell everything you know. Just talk about what they’re interested in, then shut up.”

Great advice.

I try to remember it as I prepare a talk., and follow these three steps to connect with my audience and get results.

FIRST

I decide what my audience should do as a result of listening to me. Do I want them to allow a sales call? Vote for a policy? Sell me their home? Effectiveness is measured by audience actions, and I can’t plan for results if I don’t know what I want. As Yogi Berra said, “You got to be careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there.”

SECOND

Knowing my goals, I look for why my audience would want to help me get there. My goals aren’t (necessarily) theirs. So what would they gain by helping me? I try to list their most important benefits, then focus on the two or three most powerful ones. In the end most decisions are emotional, rationalized by facts. And emotional decisions aren’t made on twenty factors. They’re often made on one or two.

That means I have to know enough about my audience to guess what’s important to them. That may vary by age, gender, occupation, company, race—a thousand things. I can never know enough, so I try to allow time to chat with individuals before a presentation, learning as much as I can about what’s important to them. Since I already know what I’m going to talk about, I’m looking for “hot buttons”—ways to make my content meaningful to them.

THIRD

I know my goals and the key benefits that might motivate listeners to help me achieve them. Now is the time to marshal just enough facts to back the claim that my approach will get listeners what they want.

Here’s where my old boss’s words ring in my ears. I want to talk about how my listeners benefit, and provide a few facts to make my claim credible. I don’t want to provide more than that for two reasons:

New facts raise issues people may not have considered before. What I see as a bonus may get someone else thinking, “Gee, I wonder if I should hold off while I investigate…”

Each new fact is one more thing for the listener to remember. If I pile on enough, they’ll forget the things that are most important for their decision. Cicero said, “Every unnecessary word pours over the side of a brimming mind.”

“But what about all my great facts?” Put ‘em in the handout. Make your stage presentation simple, powerful, and oriented around a few key benefits. If you connect with your audience, they can turn to the handout for the facts that help them rationalize the decision you’ve already helped them reach.

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Drive listeners to your view by starting with “Why”

June 3rd, 2010
By Phil Roybal

When I talk to audiences, I try to lead with the juice, the core value, the “why”. This is the way, really the only way, to bring them to my point of view. Tech seer Alan Kay says “Perspective is worth 80 IQ points.“ It’s the why that provides that perspective, allowing listeners to buy into a concept; a decision they then justify with the facts you give them. Simon Sinek, in his book Starting from Why, talks about why this approach works and how to apply it to your situation.

How often do we do something just to do it? Almost always, it’s to get some benefit related to an image or “brand” we’ve bought into. We hike not for the joy of putting one foot in front of the next, but because we see ourselves as nature lovers, reveling in the solitude and the views of high and lovely places. The hike is how we manifest that self-image. If a company wants to sell us hiking boots, they can connect best by showing us how they, too, believe in the experience found at the end of a trail—the why. Because they believe this, they think deeply about how to reach the end of the trail safely and comfortably. Out of their thinking comes boots that have this feature and that feature—the what. But they aren’t selling us the boots by their features. They’re selling us the why. If we buy their concept, we’ll trust their boots because we trust they built them the way we’d build them ourselves if we knew how. After all, they think like we do. So we’d be willing to buy other outdoor products from them as well.

But think of the talks you’ve heard. So many start and end with the what. “We make great appliances. They have wonderful features and will last a lifetime. Blah, blah, blah…” And so what? The talks overload us with information without giving us a concept to buy into. Garr Reynolds, in his book Presentation Zen, says, “What we want from people who stand before us and give a talk is to give us that which data and information alone cannot: meaning.”

So that’s our job as speakers—to present the why behind our offerings, to explain our approach to manifesting it (the how), and then to talk about some of the products that demonstrate our belief. At that point, we don’t have to say a lot about the products. Their two or three key benefits, and a couple features that let them deliver those benefits, are enough. If people identify with our why, they’ll pursue the rest info on their own. If they don’t identify, presenting more features won’t help.

That’s why lengthy lists of facts belong in handouts, not in speeches. People won’t absorb shovelfuls of information lobbed at them orally. They’ll pause to think about one fact and miss the next several. Or they’ll miss them all because they don’t understand why they should care. And even with all the facts in hand they may still be ambivalent, because they can’t translate those facts into an emotional response. They don’t buy into ideas because they don’t know what the ideas are. They just know the products and services, which are pretty much like competing products and services.

When I compose a talk, I want the why to shine through. it’s the “meaning” of my talk. Then I look at the meat of my subject—the facts that prove the whys. Those facts are only valuable as support. They are the reasons my product or idea can deliver the why promise.

Simon Sinek’s excellent TED presentation develops these ideas further in the video below. Just follow the link.

Phil Roybal

Starting presentations from Why

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It’s about the people

May 14th, 2010

The following information is from an article Exhibitor Magazine’s April, 2010 issue.

“According to Doug Ducate, President and CEO of the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR), exhibit staff training is often one of the first casualties when budgets are cut. But training your booth staff is one of the smartest investments you can make in your trade show success. And various studies conducted by CEIR, the International Association of Exhibitions and Events, and EXHIBITOR magazine uncovered the following statistics that underscore the importance of pre-show training.

52% of exhibit managers who conducted pre-show training reported lead increases of 20% or more. An additional 43% of respondents who implemented staff-training sessions saw leads increase by 10-20%.

68% of exhibit managers claim that a properly trained booth staff converts a higher percentage of booth visitors into qualified leads.

74% of exhibit managers believe that staff training is an important factor in assuring ROI and/or ROO at trade shows and events.

94% of trade show attendees look for and appreciate booth staffers who are knowledgeable about the products displayed in their exhibits.

75% of booth staffers reported that they respond more favorably to professional trainers from outside their companies than to internal company representatives conducting training sessions.

73% of exhibit managers report their companies have no plans to invest in training efforts despite the potential benefits of pre-show training.

31% of exhibitors provide no form of pre-show training or preparation for their staffers whatsoever.”

My take on this is that it’s all about the people. The people staffing the booth and the people attending the trade show. Here are some issues and obstacles that keep most companies from focusing on the people:

Some think it’s all about their new product or service. They have a, “Build it and they will come” mentality. They figure their people are secondary to their products and services.

The entire trade show budget is spent before even thinking about the people. Booth space alone takes almost one-third of a typical trade show budget. And you have to have booth space. Then there’s the booth. You have to have an attractive booth or no one will visit you. Oh really. I would like to see an anchor exhibitor (a big important one) just have a piece of carpeting – no exhibit booth, and an hanging sign overhead so people can find it. That’s it. The carpeted area would be staffed by well-trained booth personnel. And until they become common, each staffer should have an iPad with all of the product information. I bet it would work. After all, it’s all about the people. What better message to send than to have only people in a booth space?

The people staffing the booth don’t want to be trained and they think they’re already experts at working trade shows. And how many shows a year to these people work? Two? Six? How good are they at it if they only do it a few times a year. The analogy I use is professional sports and performances. If you go to any pro sporting event before it starts you’ll see these athletes, who are among the best in the world, warming up. Preparing. Because they know they need to be good right when the game starts. And how about if you attend a concert, play, dance, or an opera (I hate opera). These world-class performers warm up and rehearse before each performance because they know it make a huge difference. But what do must trade show staffers do. Show up? Maybe. Some are late. And do they know there’s a distinct and separate skill set to work in an exhibit booth? Most think if they’re nice, they’ll be okay. Wrong. Being nice is a start but if the focus isn’t on the visitor’s experience and if the staffers aren’t ready for a trade show environment with their elevator answers, qualifying questions, dismissing ability, etc. it won’t be all about the people. It will be about missed opportunities and the same old trade show results.

Here’ something I hear a lot, “We done training before. Our VP of Sales used to do it. And then our trade show manager used to do it but the exhibit staff didn’t really change much.” The challenge is to train them in a way that keeps them interested and engaged so that they listen and realized that they forgot a lot of stuff that will help them in a trade show booth. And they always it hear it differently from the hired gun consultant-type from outside the company. But what about the cost of bringing someone like me in? My company, The Hill Group, is probably has the most expensive exhibit staff training. But think about this: It costs most companies I work with between $600 and $1,200 per hour, per person to have someone in their booth (for at least a 30×30 booth and include everything; booth space, booth property, travel, associated events, etc.). For this much money I don’t think you can afford to have staffers not knowing exactly what to do when the booth is slow or congested to make the most of their time. If your people are engaged, trained, entertained and motivated, what’s that worth? Remember it’s about people. If people visiting a booth don’t get treated with respect and treated like the guests they are, they’ll leave.

No budget for training. So how many more conversations produce the necessary amount of additional leads that result in incremental sales to pay for staff training? That’s what staff training offers: More conversations, more leads, more sales. There are more quality interactions in a trade show booth that happen in one hour than any salesperson can have in a month. But it’s not worth any training to produce more sales? If it’s all about the people, then where’s that investment? I’ve seen companies spend budget on hats or creative booth lighting instead of on their people by training them. It drives me crazy. It’s like having to force-feed a starving person some food.

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Handling the Emotional Unintelligent: The Dominator

May 4th, 2010

Emotional Intelligence as defined by Daniel Goleman has five domains:
1. Knowing your emotions.
2. Managing your own emotions.
3. Motivating yourself.
4. Recognizing and understanding other people’s emotions.
5. Managing relationships, ie., managing the emotions of others.

Live events, parties, family gatherings, actually anywhere there are other people around offers opportunities to have a number of conversations. So let’s say you’re at a live event at the traditional first-evening networking social event. You end up next to someone in the bar line and begin chatting. And after you both get your drinks the conversation continues.

At least you thought this was going to be a conversation. But it’s turned into a monologue. They’re doing all of the talking and apparently without needing to take a breath. And you’re being nice; making eye contact, periodically nodding your head, etc. But you can’t get a word in. And what they’re talking about was marginally interesting for a minute or two, but not for five or ten or more. But they think you’re fascinated. They think you’re on your toes with anticipation of what they might say next. This is the first sign that this person in Emotional Unintelligent. This type of Emotionally Unintelligent conversationalist is known as The Dominator.

But you so desperately want to leave this conversation. So you step it up on notch non-verbally. You break direct eye contact and move your eyes to each side hoping to catch the eye of someone you know who might come and rescue you. And breaking eye contact should non-verbally communicate to this person that they don’t have your complete attention. But it doesn’t work. They’re oblivious. So you begin to tilt your head to one side instead of nodding as you try to communicate that you don’t understand or don’t agree with what they’re saying. Nothing. They are still somehow talking non-stop with no breathing breaks.

You next try the tried-and-true techniques of glancing at your watch. Nope. They keep talking. You then move next to the newer-generation technique of glancing at your cell phone (maybe that’s your watch too). But they still don’t get it. They forge ahead with their self-focused monologue. Yes, this person is definitely lacking some in the empathy and reading body language department. They are Dominating.

So you become even more bold. You deliberately interrupt them to offer some feedback or you interrupt them to change the subject. Now they’re shocked. They are taken aback by your interruption. They seem upset that you would dare try to participate. After all they are so self-absorbed that they can’t imagine any other topic to be of more interest to you. So they quickly answer your question or make a quick comment on your suggested topic but then they pick up their monologue right where they left off and you’re stuck again being dominated.

For this poor, dominated attendee, they think this will be their entire evening. And they see no way out. They don’t know what to do. If they’re polite, they really don’t want to just turn and walk away. And if they pride yourself on telling the truth, they don’t want to stoop to saying something like, “You’ll have to excuse me, I’ve got some powerful abdominal cramps right now and need to use the rest room.” That will work, but most people won’t try it (chickens!).

My advice: don’t try to change this person. Don’t try to point out that a conversation is an exchange of ideas, sentiments, observations, or opinions and not a monologue. This is not your job and chances are this person is doing the best they can being as emotionally unintelligent as they appear to be.

So what do you do? Be direct. Be honest. And take control away from this Dominator. Here’s what I do and it works. Because it’s so obvious that one of the goals of a networking event is to network, to mingle, to mix, it’s okay if you do that. I simply interrupt both non-verbally and verbally. I hold up my hand like a stop sign and then quickly drop it to shake their end, which is a universally accepted way of ending a conversation. Then I simultaneously say, “I want to go mingle around some more now, it’s been great listening to you (rather than “great talking with you”, it’s a little dig – I can’t help myself), enjoy the rest of the event.” Then I turn and leave.

Or I say this, it is a variation what I suggested earlier, “I need to interrupt you as I have to use the restroom.” If they follow you to the restroom (I’ve seen it happen), I hope you are of different genders. And I hope they don’t wait for you at the entrance to the restroom. If they do, use this tactic: “I am meeting my friend right now over there, it’s been great listening to you, enjoy the rest of the event.”

If you both go into the same restroom, only stay in the stall for a count of five. Then leave and move far away from your original conversation spot, head to another rest room, and/or get into another conversation ASAP.

The Emotionally Unintelligent Dominator cannot be dominated. Don’t try. But you can leave at any time. Do it non-verbally, verbally, and then walk somewhere else. It works.

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Some research about face-to-face communication at live events

April 8th, 2010

Some research about face-to-face communication at live events
Why is that magical things happen at trade shows? Or at conferences, user group meetings, and live corporate events? Is it just passé that we who are older than 40 still like to see and talk to people in person? Are we just refusing to admit the inevitable; that some combination of email, webinars, texting, conference calls, video conferencing, and twitter are all we really need to do to meet people, establish relationships and do some business?

I don’t think we’re kidding ourselves about the value of looking someone in the eye when they’re standing three feet away from you, and talking with them. We in the face-to-face marketing and sales business may not be able to quantify it, but we intuitively know that face-to-to face interaction and communication is better. We may not be able to tell you exactly why this is the case, but there is some research to support our own feelings.

The following is from an article in the NY Times on April 5th, 2010 by Benedict Carey (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/06/health/06mind.html?ref=science): In a series of studies, psychologists have found that social bonding between conversation partners is highly dependent on a rhythmic and usually subconscious give and take of gestures and expressions that creates a kind of shared good will. “Part of that could be the buying in on the interaction itself,” Dr. Chartrand said.
And I have often cited the research done by Professor Albert Mehrabian at UCLA regarding how much is communicated face-to-face, with just your voice, and with just your words. Here’s what Professor Mehrabian found:
7% of message pertaining to feelings and attitudes is in the words that are spoken.
38% of message pertaining to feelings and attitudes is paralinguistic (the way that the words are said).
55% of message pertaining to feelings and attitudes is in facial expression.

And simplified:
7% of meaning in the words that are spoken.
38% of meaning is paralinguistic (the way that the words are said).
55% of meaning is in facial expression.

So this means that when you’re talking with someone live, face-to-face, you’ve got all the potential communication working for you. And 55% of what’s being communicated is non-verbal. This means trust, rapport, and getting to know the other person happens faster and actually happens at all.

If you’re on the phone you drop down to less than half of the potential communication: 45%. This means you have to be a lot more precise with what you say, as the person you’re talking to can’t see your facial expressions and body language.

And if you only have email or texting, only words, you’ve got about 7% working for you. Maybe 9% with some emoticons :) . Precision is really key when it’s only words that are being communicated as some words have slightly different meanings to different people. And you sometimes have no idea what kind of mood or state-of-mind the other party is in and misinterpretations a lot more likely.

That’s why live events work. If you want people to have meaningful, human experiences, live events are it all happens in business. People still do business with people.

If you’re in a commodity business, where price and delivery are really the key differentiators, then personal relationships between the supplier and the buyer probably don’t matter much, if there’s a relationship at all. I don’t think anybody at OfficeMax knows me because I order office supplies through their website.

But if, like me, you’re in a business that requires some marketing and selling, then establishing relationships, rapport, and trust still count. In fact, they are required. No one is going to do business with a training company like mine without at least talking to someone over the phone. Or at least they shouldn’t. When your product is a service, it’s harder to sell and how well the service fits the client and well the service is delivered makes a huge difference.

The research backs up what most of us have already known: even though all the information about your company and its products and services are on your website, it’s just different when you’re standing face-to-face with someone saying the same thing. It’s personal and most people still like to do business with other people, not just with websites.

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Referral fees and sales commissions

April 1st, 2010

My business is a service business. And often my clients and contacts look to me for recommendations for other services that are related to mine but that I do not provide. If I know a good resource or two for my clients, I am happy to introduce them to each other. And since I started my own business over 20 years ago, my policy is that I do not accept nor give referral fees.

There are plenty of opportunities to ask for referral fees and they are often offered to me. But I always refuse. I believe in putting the best resource in front of my clients, not the resource that pays me the most money. The hardest part of my business, and most businesses, is getting the business. But my clients pay my fee and I’m happy with that. I’m not greedy and I don’t try to make even more money because of my relationship with my clients.

And I truly believe that what comes around goes around. And I count on incremental, referral business finding its way back to me. And it has. It’s a long-term approach to doing business, and I think it’s the right way to do business. It’s the business equivalent of the golden rule; it’s how I would want to be treated if I were the client. As the client, I am trusting my vendor to put their choice of the best vendor they know in front of me, not the one that’s going to kick-back the most money.

And almost without exception, the best resources I know of, and the people I refer in, feel the same way. These are very nice, comfortable relationships. We know, like and respect each other for who we are and the services we provide, not for the money we funnel back to each other.

Sales commissions are different. Someone selling my services to their client means that I get a call asking me if I am available on a certain date to provide training for their client – in other words they sold my services and all I have to do is show up – then I will typically offer them the sales commission that’s built into my fee structure. It rarely happens that a completely finished sale is put at my doorstep. I usually have to put in some time and effort to complete the deal. But I still offer the commission and about half the time is my offer of commission accepted. For the other half, as it is for me, this too falls into the “what comes around goes around” category.

Just this week a friend of mine did an email introduction between me and his client. To my friend he made a referral very early in the sales cycle. But when I got on the phone with his client, it was a done deal. The client was ready to go. But my friend refused my offer of a sales commission. Why? Because his intent was not to sell my services. Clearly without him it never would have happened but, to him, he simply made a referral.

My friend didn’t try to close the business for me. And I don’t try to close the business for other businesses. Like my friend, I make a point to make the referral early on in the sales cycle. Counting on selling other people’s services is not part of my revenue model. But having a well-earned reputation and loyal clients is part of my revenue model. By not accepting nor giving referral fees keeps every deal very clean and honorable.

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Webinars and Effectiveness

February 19th, 2010

I was thinking of tuning up my tennis game. My net game could use a little help. So naturally I looked for a Webinar. Why not? It would be more convenient and probably cheaper. And I could check my email at the same time! Multitasking be praised!

On second thought, maybe a Webinar-based tennis lesson wouldn’t work so well. Who would ever think that you can multi-task while trying to take a tennis lesson? It would be a waste of time and money. Some types of activities need a more focused, uninterrupted approach. Like reading or shoplifting.

So now the question is: When is it best for live, in-person instruction, less participatory instruction like a Webinar, or training that has no participation like watching a video, listening to a podcast or reading? It’s the balance between cost-effectiveness and effectiveness. Or maybe you just have so much to do that you can’t just do one thing at a time.

So back to the tennis lesson example: If you’re a tennis pro and can get 50 tennis players to sign-up for a tennis lesson Webinar, it’s great for you as you can do it in your home and you’d make more money, even if you charge less than a live lesson, which you should. And even though it’s tennis instruction via a Webinar, you are confident that these 50 people will become at least a little better at tennis. But you’ll never really know.

Rest assured your audience will be multitasking (or at least 44 of the 50 will be says the research) and the instruction won’t be as individualized, and you, as the tennis pro, won’t actually be able to see and evaluate anyone’s tennis game. So instead of charging $60 per hour for a live, on-the-court private tennis lesson, you’re charging maybe $15 for a tennis lesson Webinar. And if your audience gets 25% of the value, you’re okay with that.

But what if the stakes are really high for you to learn as much as possible? Do you want your surgeon to have learned how to remove your cancerous growth via a Webinar? How about the pilot on this very flight I’m on right now on my way to Chicago learning to fly this jet via Webinar? Or is it okay to learn to drive a car via a Webinar? Or you are the lead negotiator for arms reduction between two countries and you want to learn how to negotiate via a Webinar?

Or how about any other activity that requires well-developed face-to-face, interpersonal skills? Like how to introduce yourself and start a conversation or how to start and maintain a relationship.

It seems to me that if you’re trying to learn to do something and you need to interact with something (like a plane) or someone (like a customer), Webinars are not very effective. But since business Webinars appear to be so cost-effective, they have become the first choice for a lot of instruction and training. I just think having 12% of someone’s attention during any type of training isn’t good. But all of the attendees can say they went through the training.

If you’re actually in a room experiencing live, in-person, interactive, and well-thought training, you’re going to get far better results. But it’s going to cost more. Depending upon the stakes or the desired level of results, it’s usually worth it.

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