{"id":911,"date":"2017-02-21T10:57:43","date_gmt":"2017-02-21T17:57:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/michaelspeaks.com\/blog\/?p=911"},"modified":"2023-06-11T18:21:01","modified_gmt":"2023-06-11T18:21:01","slug":"the-tedium-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michaelspeaks.com\/blog\/the-tedium-test\/","title":{"rendered":"The Tedium Test"},"content":{"rendered":"

Will your presentation put people to sleep? To find out, all you have to do is ask yourself one simple question. If the answer is yes, your communication is tedious.<\/p>\n

We’ve all been there–asleep with our eyes open.<\/p>\n

As bad as it feels to be stuck in a meeting that bores you to tears, it’s even worse to be the speaker that bores everyone else to tears. When you find out that you are a tranquilizer, it’s downright embarrassing. You simply do not want to be responsible for the I’d-rather-watch-my-toenails-grow trance.<\/p>\n

We all know what it\u00a0feels like too be boring. We all know what it’s like when people just aren’t listening. We know what it’s like when people find an excuse to leave. You\u00a0know what it feels like when someone’s cell phone notification is more interesting that you.<\/p>\n

You put all that effort in … for what? To be ignored?<\/p>\n

Introducing … the “Tedium test.”<\/p>\n

Why People Aren’t Listening<\/h2>\n


\n<\/a>There are lots of reasons people may not give you their undivided attention. Maybe they’re distracted. Maybe something else is a legitimate\u00a0priority.\u00a0Maybe they just don’t care.<\/p>\n

\"hand-982048_640\"But all of those things are exceptions. Most of your public speaking will happen to an audience that CHOOSES to be present. Either they want to listen, or it’s they’re job to listen, so they should<\/em> care.<\/p>\n

If you don’t want to listen to the preacher, you generally don’t go to the church.<\/p>\n

I’ve found that the vast majority of the time when the presentation feels tedious, it’s for one of two reasons–either:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The speaker is telling you something you don’t think you need to know<\/li>\n
  2. OR the speaker is telling you something you already know.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Need to Know Information<\/h2>\n

    Think about it, why are all those company meetings on policy and rules so tedious. Why? Because you don’t really need to know. They have to legally tell you a lot of things that\u00a0very few people ever actually need.<\/p>\n

    I used to work with financial advisers. Because of SEC and other government regulations they have to deal with a long process of compliance. Most of them have to get all of their presentations approved by a compliance process\u00a0before they are allowed to speak at all.<\/p>\n

    \"checklist-310092_640\"<\/a>It’s very similar in many industries. It’s not entirely the speaker’s fault. The speaker is often required to say a lot of things that the audience doesn’t actually NEED to know.<\/p>\n

    In fact, I’m willing to bet that if you’ve ever been “assigned” a presentation you were also assigned a lot of things you were “supposed” to say. Sometimes we have a topic to do list.<\/p>\n

    Isn’t that the high school students’ number one complaint: “When am I ever going to need to need\u00a0this?”<\/p>\n

    If the listener\u00a0doesn’t see an obvious answer to that question, you will sound tedious.<\/p>\n

    Already Known Information<\/h2>\n

    Perhaps the only thing worse than required information that you\u00a0probably don’t NEED to know is unnecessary time spent on information that you already know.<\/p>\n

    Would you enjoy attending an hour long class on learning the alphabet?<\/p>\n

    How about a presentation on “Tying your shoes for beginners?”<\/p>\n

    Traffic school anyone?<\/p>\n

    Why do people hate traffic school so much when they get a speeding ticket? Because you have to sit there all day, even when you already know 80% of everything they say.<\/p>\n

    IDK<\/span><\/div>\n

    Rehashing known<\/em> information is much worse than delivering unneeded<\/em> information. At least unneeded information can be new, or made relevant, or at least pass the time. At least unneeded information has potential to be useful if the speaker can demonstrate\u00a0the relevance.<\/p>\n

    On the other hand, being told what you already know is the very definition of tedious–and condescending to boot.<\/p>\n

    Tedious: Tiresome\u00a0because of length or dullness
    \nMerriam-Webster<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Did you see what I did there? I told you what tedious means–as if you didn’t already know.<\/p>\n

    Now, if you didn’t already know, that’s one thing, but if you do know what tedious means, then telling you what tedious means is tedious. Even worse, my telling you that telling you is tedious–is tedious–because you already know!<\/p>\n

    Get it?<\/p>\n

    Tedious Editing<\/h2>\n

    \"\"So here’s the part you’ve been waiting for–the solution. Whenever you have a presentation or a script to edit, sit down and ask yourself one question about everything you say:<\/p>\n

    Does the listener already know?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    How many times have you heard a speaker give a dictionary definition–that everyone already knows?<\/p>\n

    Definition: an explanation of the meaning of a word
    \nMerriam-Webster<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    How many times have you heard a speaker repeat the obvious:<\/p>\n

    The title of my talk is …<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    That speaker never considers the fact that it’s projected in big bold letters on the screen behind him–and everybody already knows!<\/p>\n

    How many times have you heard a speaker say the obvious:<\/p>\n

    In the year 2000 we didn’t all have cell phones.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    In the words of my entire junior high school: “No Duh!”<\/p>\n

    Yet you say things like that all the time. You do it. I do it. Everybody does it. Statements like that can<\/em><\/strong> be used to build commonality and rapport, but\u00a0I hear them WAAAAAY too often presented as if it’s new information.<\/p>\n

    The first step to editing out the tedium is to look\u00a0for those statements of the obvious–that every listener already knows (as if you need me to define “obvious”).<\/p>\n

    Obvious: Easily understood
    \nMerriam-Webster<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    I hope that I’m being obviously tedious.
    \nI hope you don’t.<\/p>\n

    Tweak the Tedium<\/h2>\n

    After you eliminate as much of the tedium as possible, you’ll probably find out you still have to say some of it. Sometimes you’re required to cover certain topics, and sometimes\u00a0articulating the obvious is necessary to establish some context.<\/p>\n

    So how do you remove the tedium from something you have to say even if everybody already knows it?<\/p>\n

    Or even if you know\u00a0that they know that they don’t really need to know, but you have to say it anyway?<\/p>\n

    \"\"How?<\/p>\n

    You have to tell them something they DON’T KNOW\u00a0FIRST. Transition into the known with something unknown, or less specific:<\/p>\n