I recently had the pleasure of listening to an excellent speaker by the name of Simon Elvin. Simon was talking to myself and some fellow training professionals about engaging an audience during training sessions. After opening the session with a memory game ice-breaker which truly got our attention (and has left me researching memory techniques for days since!), Simon recalled some wisdom one of his theatre-writer friends had once given him. The wisdom in question was “Find your tinsel”.
From a stage perspective “finding your tinsel” means that in each scene, you need to find the one thing that is going to grab the audience’s attention. For example, in a particular scene the tinsel could be a costume, a song, a dance, a prop, a monologue and so on, you get the idea…
Simon explained that this was a vital lesson which transferred into his life as a trainer and learning and development advisor. I’m sure all the trainers or public speakers amongst you will agree, we are all continuously on the hunt for those things that are going to make our training more exciting, memorable and different to the norm. In other words, we are trying to find our tinsel. The tinsel is those things that our audiences remember from our sessions, long after the individual details from the have been lost in their minds forever. If we are doing our jobs properly and the messages are aligned with the tinsel they can help reinforce our messages and make them stick.
A group brainstorm on this idea led us to some of the following ideas, which as trainers, we all use as pieces of tinsel to engage our audiences:
• Group activities and participation
• Stories
• Demonstrations (see Marshmallows and Custard Creams)
• Props
• Humour
• Videos
• Powerpoint
(Note – that last one is rarely tinsel, but when used well can really liven up a training session)
“Finding your tinsel” can be taken further and used as an analogy for all kinds of business areas, from personal development or career progression, to a company’s core competencies or main selling points. The tinsel is that thing that makes something special.
In my professional life, my tinsel revolves around people skills such as being approachable, friendly and positive so that I am accessible to different course participants and everyone at various levels of the organisation. I sometimes choose to hang different tinsel though, depending on the situation, or what I am working on.
Companies that find and focus on their tinsel, such as Zappos with their “Powered by Service” ethos, or Apple with their incredible focus on innovation down to the tiny details that allow them to create the best products, are proving to be highly successful companies that attract the most loyal ‘tribes’ or followings.
I would love to hear about your tinsel, from a personal, professional or consumer perspective. Where do you find your tinsel? What tinsel do you wear to do your job well? What do you do to liven up your training courses? What makes your favourite companies special
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