Safety Motivational Speaker Tip – Tailgate Talks – Do You Have Their Attention?

 Safety Motivational Speaker Tip – Get their attention first

As a safety motivational speaker I was flying home, my connecting flight was through Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. As I went to my gate, I noticed a small group of TSA employees being briefed. There were ten to eighteen people in the group. The leader was talking to them. I found it disturbing the people in the back weren’t paying attention. Two of them were reacting to the passenger cart going by. Another person was looking at their phone. Even if what they were looking at was related they weren’t listening. Several others were watching other people around them.

The leader was clearly not aware of their lack of attention. As a safety motivational speaker, I know how important it is to pay attention to your audience and this person wasn’t. This was troubling because I would think a TSA briefing would be dealing with airport security issues. I sure don’t want anyone on their team to miss out on an important bit of information. They, like safety people, have a message which impacts the safety of many people. When safety speakers don’t keep an audience’s attention their message is lost and people could get hurt.

The scene reminded me of a tailgate or tool box safety talk. Most on the job safety briefings have distractions similar or greater than the ones I observed at the airport.

What’s the Solution?

Well, you can’t change the location and I’m not sure you would want to even if you could. There is something special about a safety briefing done right on the job site.

The lessons you teach are going right into their minds exactly where they will be putting that knowledge to work. The key is to make a significant effort to keep their attention.

With a small group one great way of doing this is to form them into a half-circle. No one is behind someone else. This makes them realize you can see them. This by itself will keep them more alert. Also, you can pay attention to them more effectively. If you notice someone is distracted you can do something to bring them back. You might finish a point and say, “Isn’t that right, Bob?” Using people’s names is very effective in communication.

Be aware of your surroundings. If a major distraction occurs around you, stop, wait until it’s over and then continue. You might even want to go back a few seconds to regain the flow.

Watch How John Keeps Your Attention

Enjoy John’s Demo Video Above

Solutions For Your Safety Challenges
When you need solutions for your safety challenges give Diane Weiss a call at 209-745-9419 and bring safety motivational speaker John Drebinger to your site to discover injury-preventing solutions. You can email her at diane@drebinger.com
Until next week,
I’ll be, “Watching Out For Everyone’s Safety™”
John
© 2017 John Drebinger Presentations
Permission to use granted when credited and contact information included. www.drebinger.com +1 209.745.9419