Hi there. My name is Avil Beckford, and I'm the host of the One Problem podcast. There are tons of problems in the world, but we're tackling them one problem at a time. Why should we get overwhelmed? As has been the case, Most of the guests who come on this podcast, I have some prior relationship with them. I've known Meridith Grundei for more than six months. I think I met her last year. We're both in a group together. She talks a lot about presenting. She is a keynote speaker, and also what she calls a creative doer. She works with technology leaders so that when they present, they can do so with action and have more impact. Over to you, Meridith.
Meridith Grundei
Thank you. I am so delighted to be here. I'm going to dive into the problem that I would like to help your listeners solve. That problem is we have a fear of being vulnerable and bringing in stories into our presentations. And especially since, thank you for that beautiful introduction, your listeners heard I do work with many people in technology. And what happens is people get bogged down often with the technicalities and the logic and the details and the intricacies of the product that they're developing, and they forget about how they're solving a problem for a human being.
And that regardless of whatever you're doing in the world, it's usually to help somebody else do their job better and have a better life, really. And so what I offer into the solving of how to get out of the weeds, technically, is to think about it this way. In order to build trust with people, you need equal things, which is empathy, authenticity, and then the logic piece to know that you're credible and that the information you're sharing is sound. But oftentimes, what people do is they overlook the authenticity piece, which is really bringing your best self forward and that energy that you move through the world with.
The One Problem With Meridith Grundei
Or maybe you have that topic or that hobby that you have that's not work related. And if someone were to ask you about it, you would just light up because you're so passionate about it. We need to be bringing that same passion and authenticity into our workplaces, and through the presentations that we are giving in front of audiences and to colleagues. And then the empathy piece is that storytelling piece. When I learn something, a detail about you that I also relate to or that I can imagine seeing myself in, it helps me draw me into your presentation where I want to lean in. I want to listen more.
Meridith Grundei
Those little details really matter as an example, because I'm looking at my window right now. I live in Manhattan. I live in what I like to call the upper, upper, upper west side of Manhattan, over by the George Washington Bridge on 181. And I often will take the 181. I'll walk down that street so I can take the A that will get me to Times square. And so if you're listening and you happen to know where that is, then you know where the George Washington Bridge is, you can see yourself in the story.
But if we don't give those details, then it's very difficult to do so. So I'll just repeat back that authenticity, empathy, and logic are all so needed when it comes to presenting and that we need to be pretty equal in those three areas. So, if you do have something that is more technical that you're delivering, ask the question, how can I weave in that empathy and authenticity as much as possible? For example, that might mean that you're intentionally putting in places in your presentation where you're asking a question of the audience.
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And this is especially effective when we're doing virtual presentations or webinars, which is to ask that open-ended question at the very beginning. Get to know your audience. Ask them what their pain points are, have them share those in the chat so that you can then reflect that back to the entire group. And what happens there is that you get to know who's in your audience. They also get to see that they're not alone with their questions or their concerns. And so it's really helpful when we know that we're not the only one in the room with that thought.
Meridith Grundei
That brings the community together, even if we can't see each other. The second thing is to think about other places throughout your presentation where you can actively get people to engage. So maybe you insert a couple of things where you're calling people to enter something into the chat a few times. And then you want to set them up for that. Like, I'm going to be calling on you during this presentation. And so what it does is keeps people engaged because they know there's going to be more interaction if you set that stage for them appropriately. Then when you're in person, it's the same thing. And sometimes you're going to have an audience of 200 people maybe.
But how is it that you are doing your job, engaging them, getting them to perk up, thinking differently, being creative about your presentation style and how you're going to engage, and really asking the question often, how am I adding value and giving my audience value? If I'm not doing that enough, and if I feel like maybe I'm energetically losing them, what is it that I'm going to have in my back pocket to perk them back up again?
And a lot of this to me, feels like you need to get over the fear of presenting. It's about intentionality, and it's about having fun, and it's about finding a different way to do things. That's what I got. That's my nugget of gold for you. And I'm now going to pass it over to you, Avil.
Avil Beckford
Usually, I do presentations where I teach people how to read effectively. I gave one at the beginning of June. Based on what you're saying, I can adjust my presentation and add in a few of those steps, like asking the question at the beginning. I know that people are engaged because they're still talking about the presentation, but what you've just said to me can even make it better. So thank you so much.
Meridith Grundei
Oh, you're so welcome. And thank you for having me on your podcast.
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