How to Script Banter (Advice for Work)

[Foeofthelance]

So, I need a bit of advice on something. I've recently started a new position at work, where I'm working with the skill development team to produce and perform the weekly training meetings that each team gets. The presentations are usually a mix of refreshers on things that people are slipping on and new policies and tools that are being released. Up until recently each team handled this on their own, and usually just read the slides out of the PDF they were provided. The new management wants to make things more lively and more engaged, so that people are actually learning rather than just spending an hour off the phones.

Now the situation is as follows. There are two of us presenting, and one mentor/supervisor who is supposed to be providing us with feedback. My partner is, to put it politely, a very flat presenter. They typically just read off the outline I've written rather than asking the questions as they are written. So, "How do you spell CAT?" becomes, "You spell CAT, C-A-T" and so on. Which is very much the old way of doing things. By contrast, I write for a hobby so it is very easy for me to ad lib off the sheets. Admittedly, I recycle the same jokes for each presentation unless they flop horribly, but I actually create the characters for roleplays, act things out, etc. Our mentor/supervisor wants me to work those more into the outlines, so that my partner is a little more lively. What gets me stuck is...how? How can I get it across on a printed sheet so that they're not just reading the joke, but performing it? I've tried elaborating on characters, giving rough bios, that sort of thing, but they just read it off the same way you might read a billboard or the instruction manual for an IKEA set.

I'm not afraid that this is going to cost me the promotion, but as a situation it has already started to bog us down and force us to backtrack away from other opportunities. My partner managed to turn an hour long presentation into a half hour one, which meant we then had to spend two hours trying to "fix" the presentation when we could have been shadowing other people in the team who were conducting a major training presentation. And all I could sit there and do was think, "I can't fix bland." Which is exceptionally not helpful for either of us. So any advice? Please?

[kgato503]

First things first: Have you talked to your partner about this? If you want to make the presentation more lively, you might start by talking with your partner and getting them on board with the idea. Talking with them might also give you insight into why their delivery is currently so flat (shy, self conscious, don't feel the humor is necessary/don't understand the humor, ect.). You can't force someone to change, and you will have an easier time adjusting the presentations if you are both on board with making them a bit more lively. Another possible problem may be that your partner may not be completely aware of the policy change, and bringing it up with them could also help get them to liven it up ("Hey, management would like us to work this sort of stuff in"). If you have documentation about the policy change (even a short email from your superior), you might also want to have it on hand if you choose to talk about it.

Also, do you both practice together before giving the first presentation to your audience? If you only practice separately, your partner may have prepared differently, and may not be adjusting well to the differences you bring in (a.k.a.: lack of in-prov skills/experience may be the problem). You might also try mining them for ideas. If they are the ones to come up with or deliver a joke, they may respond better.

I would definitely suggest talking to them first, before try to implement any changes.

[Foeofthelance]

First things first: Have you talked to your partner about this? If you want to make the presentation more lively, you might start by talking with your partner and getting them on board with the idea. Talking with them might also give you insight into why their delivery is currently so flat (shy, self conscious, don't feel the humor is necessary/don't understand the humor, ect.). You can't force someone to change, and you will have an easier time adjusting the presentations if you are both on board with making them a bit more lively. Another possible problem may be that your partner may not be completely aware of the policy change, and bringing it up with them could also help get them to liven it up ("Hey, management would like us to work this sort of stuff in"). If you have documentation about the policy change (even a short email from your superior), you might also want to have it on hand if you choose to talk about it.

Also, do you both practice together before giving the first presentation to your audience? If you only practice separately, your partner may have prepared differently, and may not be adjusting well to the differences you bring in (a.k.a.: lack of in-prov skills/experience may be the problem). You might also try mining them for ideas. If they are the ones to come up with or deliver a joke, they may respond better.

I would definitely suggest talking to them first, before try to implement any changes.

Talking to them is sort of where I get stuck. I can't figure a good way to bring up the subject without making it look like an attack. I know they are aware of the change in policy, as it was made explicitly clear that the change in policy was why the position had opened up, both in the interview process and with our ongoing training.

We have practiced before, and that's sort of where I got blindsided on this. We did the practice rehearsal on Friday. I had written the outline, so I gave it to them to host to see if there would be any stumbling spots for them. On the run through they were asking the questions rather than stating them, and it took up fifty minutes. Figured with questions and answers, we had our hour used. Come Monday, and the run just went very differently.

[kgato503]

Hmmm. My Sages of Wisdom have given me the following idea: you could try bringing up the fact that you have noticed that their delivery during practice and their delivery during a presentation are noticeably different (do not say better/worse, as that can make it sound like an attack). Hopefully that will open up the discussion. My other Sage of Wisdom has also suggested working the presentation so that their flatter delivery is not a real problem...but that does not seem like it should be a first course of action.

The truth is, this has the potential to be a very touchy subject/discussion (as you seem to be aware). All advice offered with a grain of salt, and a disclaimer that I may not know what I am talking about (same goes for my Sages of Wisdom).

[Chen]

As mentioned talking to your partner first is key here. I mean if a time limit is a problem make that problem known to them. I'm not sure there's really a need to tiptoe around the issue. If they are doing something incorrectly let them know.

What I'm somewhat confused by is that how the company is getting upset that you managed to condense a presentation and take up less working time on the training. Of course it presumes the people attending understood the information and all. I'd question how much better elaborate roleplay or more in depth presentations work to get the final message out. We have a mix of those here at work and honestly the longer ones don't seem to make any noticeable impact on retention, they just take up more time.