During my “Spice It Up!” seminar and talk I use cockroaches as a metaphor for things everyone dislikes during safety meetings and training. Well here are seven safety-meeting roaches safety presenters should squash:
#1 Pontificating
Nobody cares about the rules–not really. Pontificating means to spew out doctrine. “Do this, don’t do that” or “According to procedure TW42 section III you are required to . . . blah, blah, blah.” It’s a waste of time. (Of course you may have to explain a rule sometimes, even read it if it’s a company requirement, especially to new employees.) Instead, let your audience know what benefit they’ll get from following whatever it is you’re trying to get them to follow.
#2 Sterilizing the Topic
Yes, yes, we all know that “Safety Is Our Number One Priority.” Or that it’s always “Safety First.” These aren’t bad things to pronounce and follow. It’s just that in the real world there are times when “safety” is ignored– on the job and at home. There are times when production schedules cause supervisors to overlook precautions. There are times when all of us rush. Include discussions on these type of problems and use all the gray matter in the room to come up with solutions to these hazardous behaviors.
#3 Doing the Same Thing at Every Meeting
If you do this, please stop–starting all of your meetings with your safety statistics. Also, is the room set up the same way every time? Yes! Well start rearranging it now and again. Why not have a meeting outside or perhaps at a work site where you can use the site as a meeting prop to discuss safe behaviors. If you are a “Safety Stuff” subscriber there is no excuse for doing the same thing at every meeting! In each issue you get a new idea on how to spice up your safety meetings and promotion. Be sure to use them. (You can also purchase my book 250 Super Bright Safety Meeting and Promotion Ideas with five years worth of ideas from “Safety Stuff” subscribers.)
#4 Rambling
I like to call it vocal sauntering–speaking as if your voice is taking a slow meaningless walk in a park. Like the steady hum of a fan it puts people’s minds to sleep. Wake them up with your voice! Vary the power, pitch and speed of your words.
How do you react when you’re watching a sporting event and your team pulls off a spectacular play? Bring that kind of vocal excitement to your meetings. Don’t be fake. Act the way you act naturally when you are excited (don’t imitate somebody you admire as a presenter).
#5 Hollering or Chastising Your Audience
This is the best way to ruin your rapport with an audience. Even if the crew has a horrible safety record, work with them to find out ways to improve their performance. Give reproof in private.
#6 Regularly Stating the Obvious
I have a cartoon I display on occasions. It shows a man sitting below a Risk Management plaque, he’s obviously a risk management consultant and across from him sits another man who say’s “‘Be careful. All you can tell me is ‘Be Careful!'” I find it amusing and sometimes my audience does too. Unless you’re speaking to new employees, try not to repeat the same obvious “make sure you wear your goggles” statements. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t constantly remind employees to wear their PPE. I’m suggesting you vary the what, how and words when you do.
#7 Reading to Your Audience
This is the biggest fattest roach of them all. Everybody hates this one. Whenever I go to a meeting and the presenter displays a slide filled with text and starts to read it to me I can feel energy quickly leaving my body and mind. It’s especially painful when I have the material right in front of me. I can read! You don’t have to read things to me.
Unless you’re a story teller and you’re going to entertain me with some action and adventure don’t read to me please. Better: Pass out the information and have your audience read it over, than discuss what they’ve read. If you want to use PowerPoint simply include a word or two or a picture to keep you on track.
