“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language that goes to his heart.” – Nelson Mandela
He wasn’t just talking about French or Zulu. He meant the language of relevance; words, examples, and stories that matter to the listener.
What is important to them?
If you’re explaining a new shift pattern in a factory, skip the company’s financial logic. Instead, talk about what it means for people’s lives; the time they clock off, when they can pick up their kids, or whether they’ll get their weekends back. That’s their language.
What we focus on gets magnified. So, magnify what matters to your audience.
Talk about what they care about, which might not be what you care about.
If they know that you know what they care about, they know that you care.
Read that last sentence again carefully.
When they feel understood, they’re far more open to learning and change.
Review a current training course; list three things relevant to the course that your audience truly cares about.
Then make sure the training content connects to every one of those things.
Note: If you can’t think of at least three things, why should your delegates care about the course?
