Hey over there,
My father always told, tells, me that your reputation precedes you. This is a simple concept of how the good work that you do and the methods and techniques that you employ to reach your goals are known and apparent to others.
The way that you interact and the actions you take with others with a sphere of circumstances defines who you are to them. You words, your rhetoric is one area that can not only help you, but could also hurt you in support of your actions. Your demeanor, your word choice, your body language, your enthusiasm, all contribute to a perception of who you are as a person.
Often this initial impression is fraught with initial assumptions of a person, but this initial interpretation of a person may be difficult to overturn.
This ability to shape, without being deceitful, one’s persona and reputation is critical in our expanding and global world. To know your audience and react to the situation around you is a skill in communicating to others, regardless of the content, that cannot be overlooked. Over the course of this trip we have seen a number of presenters, and we should not only be taking away the content they delivered but also the style of presentation and authenticity in which it was presented to us.
If we can learn not only what, but also how to convey our thoughts to others, we might be more successful in the future as faculty when not only presenting to other colleagues, but to present more meaningful information in a more engaging manner to our students.
Ken