URGENT CALL FOR A MEETING: HERE IS MY OPINION.
Managers and seniors give briefing and awareness presentations to staff at all level as part of their responsibilities. They present information and data in a way that they think it will be understandable to audiences and reflect a true message. But did they think; how attendees feel about the invitation they received to attend this meeting and its proposed topic. I put myself in an attendee shoe; active, busy, have tasks to complete and suddenly; receive invitation to attend IMPORTANT meeting. Surprisingly, it reflects amazing experience and real confrontation to identify how attendees feel towards such urgent call for a meeting. I found it really interesting to mention this in a letter format to express the emotional state and give true evaluation and here is the letter from attendee to presenter for an urgent call.
Dear respected presenter,
It was an honor to attend such informative presentation on the topic that you present. I truly appreciate the time you spend to prepare yourself and the presentation, two together, to deliver the message to your audiences. Likewise, I value the organization goal to have a culture of education and I know it is part of you and your team to achieve this goal. Meanwhile, I will be grateful if you can consider the following essential points in the next educational/awareness meeting.
I have been asked to attend the proposed meeting within a short notice that truly disturbed my working schedule. I will really appreciate it, if you can plan for the next meeting in advance. You did achieve your goal but I missed the time to complete my tasks, which is other part of the organizational goal.
You transferred to me the sense that you put your effort to present the data as you can. Nonetheless, I still did not get the full picture and in some parts the picture was hazy. Please "Do not tell it till you got it". I advise that you complete your search on the topic, present it in a clear understandable language, tell me more supportive as well as diverse opinions and finally mention your resources and references. You assumed I have a background on the topic, and you missed that as part of the organizational reform, I am newly assigned to my position.
The presentation included enormous number of slides and I felt you are in a harry turning one after one. So, I could not read some slides and some others were so detailed. When I went back to the office, my friend asked me about the presentation. Regrettably, I could not recall a single slide and I truly misled him. Please make it easy for me, put pictures or simple quotations, emphasis on a take home message and make sure I can recall one single information from the topic. It really works and prints a meaning in mind.
Although I took from MY time to attend your presentation, you did not tell ME "What is in it for ME". I want to be in your focus of attention, exactly the same as you want me to pay attention to your focus. I need to feel I will benefit from practicing the topic and I will gain Knowledge, skills and listen to true experience when attending that topic.
Talking about the FOCUS, please give me break in between presentations, I lost my attention, I am exhausted already. I read one day that the attention span is 18 to 22 minutes maximum; you can add this to your information.
One thing more, mercifully, do not bring me late in the working day and consider that close to the end of the day I am occupied by some personal commitment, this is a human nature not my own self nature alone. Even after the end of each presentation, you ask me to evaluate your performance, the topic and the place of presentation. But you never mention how my feedback changes any of them. I need to hear that "Dear fellows, based on your previous feedback we plan to do the next changes… ".
On the other hand, I know you read about and practiced the presentation skills. You dressed well, communicate nicely and enthusiastically, you changed your voice tone, you looked at me when you spoke and finally you did not close the topic abruptly. Although I do admire this, I request you to search more about the attendee expectation and I am looking forwards to feel it in the next meeting. Faithfully, Your Attendee.
