Have you ever gone to a technical talk or presentation excited about the topic, only to be frustrated by the speaker’s technical jargon and stiff delivery?
If you’re a tax professional, you’ve likely been to more of these presentations than you care to remember (perhaps even reluctantly if you have waited until the eleventh hour to earn your CPE credit).
Let’s face it. Tax is not one of the most enthralling topics to listen to. It does not captivate the senses or draw an audience to the edge of their seats like an actor who is crying his eyes out on stage. And when the speaker drones on and on in a monotone voice for what feels like an eternity, you might sooner be stuck on the tarmac of JFK with ten planes ahead of you, squished in Coach between two toddlers who are “sibling rivals,” with the seat in front of you reclined all the way down.
Like science and technology, tax is technical. Taking abstract ideas and simplifying them so that they can easily be understood by a lay audience is no small feat.
As one tax professional was brave enough to admit, “When I looked out into the audience and saw people’s heads bobbing and weaving, I realized that I had become a human tranquilizer.” Even those who are experts in the field – having published scholarly articles in prestigious academic journals – have failed miserably at this pursuit.
Monica Metzler, my guest in Episode three, is on a mission to change this way of thinking. She rejects the notion that complicated ideas cannot be translated and simplified in such a way as to make them accessible for everyone. She even goes one step further — arguing that not only can technical topics be presented in such a way as to be easily understood by a lay audience, but that they can also be made to be exciting and intellectually stimulating. In fact, she has the support of a famous physicist with the initials A.E. who once said: “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”
Monica has spent the last several years training scientists and engineers to communicate more clearly and effectively with lay audiences. And the results have been nothing short of amazing. In episode three, she shares the same wisdom and insight with tax professionals that have helped her clients in the scientific community deliver captivating presentations – every place and every time.
Leaving no stone unturned, she also delves into the number one obstacle facing public speakers today: the fear of speaking in public.
Join us for the episode that you will not want to miss!
Question: Have you ever had to give a high-stakes presentation? I’d love to hear from you. Tell me how it went in the comments and what you found most challenging.