The 10 Most Common Mistakes Instructors Make

Advice For Teachers & Speakers In The HVAC Industry

By Norm Christopherson  

1.     Polling the audience

You don’t work for the Gallup Poll Group.  One of the signs of an inexperienced speaker is frequently asking the audience questions such as;  How many of you know how a capacitor works?  How many of you work on Trane equipment?  How many of you …  There is no end to the potential number of polling questions and they are pointless.  They serve no function to the teaching or learning process.  Too many such questions tire the audience and it robs from the professionalism of the presentation.  When I hear a presenter keep polling the audience I know the speaker is immature as a presenter. 

2.     Don’t speak to the blackboard

Blackboard, whiteboard, projection screen or a projection on the wall, it makes no difference.  Speak facing the audience.  If you need to point something out on the screen or whiteboard do so.  But, when speaking turn you head towards the audience as much as is practical and raise your voice.  Don’t turn away from the audience for any time more than is absolutely necessary.

3.     No war stories

It is common practice for many teachers to tell stories about the job they once went on.  Usually these stories are told in such a way that they are either used to tell the audience how great the teacher was or how he saved the day.  Don’t do it.  Another form the war stories take is to tell the audience how stupid someone else was or is.  This technique is highly unprofessional and only serves to make the instructor look like a bragger.  There is no problem giving examples, illustrations or even stories provided they meet two conditions.

1)      The story, example or illustration does not make you the presenter look like the hero nor does it make someone else look bad.  It is permissible to make fun of yourself. That shows the audience that you recognize your are only human and not incapable of error.

2)      The story, example or illustration must serve the purpose of clarifying a point or concept that needs clarification.  If the point is already obvious let it stand on its own.

4.     Don’t try to impress the audience

There is only one acceptable method of impressing the audience.  Remember, no war stories about how good you are, no making yourself look good by beating up others or making fun of someone else.  If you want to impress your audience, simply do three things well.

1)      Have a highly organized presentation.  Know where you are going, how you are going to get there and all the little steps in between.  Be prepared with all of your overhead foils, slides or whatever else you will use and have it all in order.  No fumbling in front of the audience looking for what you need. 

2)      Have a great deal of content.  CONTENT, CONTENT, CONTENT.  If there is only one thing you do well this is it!  Prepare good solid content, enough of it and know it very, very well.  Even if your presentation skills are not exactly up to par your audience will appreciate that you taught them something they did not know before.  Some of the best information I have learned was from a poor communicator.  After I learned it, I reorganized it, polished it and turned that information into a great presentation.  Having solid content, useful information that your audience does not already know is a top priority.

3)      Presentation skills.  Impress your audience by learning the basics of making a good presentation.  Once you have a well-organized presentation with solid content and good visuals, you need to be able to present the material in a professional manner. 

Just do these three things (that’s enough to occupy you for awhile) and you will impress your audience.  You don’t have to tell war stories, deprecate others or talk about yourself.  In fact, those things will destroy all the work you did in gathering content, organizing it and working on your presentation.

5.     Stay with your content

No matter what happens, no matter what questions you are asked (unless they directly pertain to your presentation) don’t allow anyone to cause you to deviate from your planned presentation.  If a comment or question from the audience attempts to lead you astray simply deflect the question as one that better fits another topic to be covered by another speaker or at another time.  Then simply go right back to your presentation without giving it another thought.  Never, never let an audience member lead you off where you are not prepared to go.  If you just happen to be an absolute expert on that question as well, then and only then you may take the opportunity to quickly give a definitive, concise answer and then move on with your presentation.  But unless you are an expert don’t go there.

6.     Use visual aids

Well-developed visual aids that illustrate your content are nearly essential to an effective technical presentation.  They certainly make it easier for your audience to follow your topic and understand what you want them to learn.  The most common mistake here is to use visual aids that contain too much information on a single overhead foil, slide, or computer-projected presentation.  A second common mistake is to use a visual that cannot be read by the audience because it is too small or is a copy of something that was not easy to see in the first place.

7.     Don’t read to the audience

One of the worst things presenters do is read to the audience.  If they wanted to read they could stay home and do so for themselves.  It is ok to read a quote that fits the presentation and then comment on it.  And don’t read from your visual aids!  Your visual aids may contain script or a list of bulleted items that you will talk about and it is fine to use those to speak from.  In fact, that is an effective way to keep your outline in front of you and your audience.  Both you and your audience will know where you are going with the presentation.  But don’t read to your audience; refer to the items on the overhead foils or projected visual aid.

8.     Don’t fake it

One of the most powerful words in a speaker’s vocabulary is “I don’t know”.  Don’t be afraid to admit that you don’t know something.  You will gain credibility with your audience if you admit that you do not have the answer.  However, it is essential that you know your material so well that admitting you don’t know something about your topic is a rare event.  Offer to find the answer and get back to the individual who asked the question and then do so.

9.     Failing to check the room

We have all been in an audience where the speaker begins by having to check the microphone, get it adjusted, get it turned on, find his notes, shuffle his notes and organize them or locate an electrical outlet for the overhead projector.  Arrive early and take care of these tasks as well as others before you are to speak. 

10. Starting with an inappropriate joke

For some reason many speakers think it is a requirement that their speech begins with a joke.  Many times the joke is not appropriate or not even that funny.  The use of humor is an effective method of keeping the audience’s attention however; there is no requirement that the speaker tell a joke.  One effective way of making sure that a joke works is to make sure that it supports a point, concept or some content in your speech.  That way even if the joke fails it still illustrates something you wanted to share with the audience.  It is attached to something meaningful and is not left hanging there by itself.

There are many more common mistakes teachers make.  In fact there is no end to the mistakes anyone can make.  However, if an instructor simply gets these ten under control he or she is home free.

Norm is a technical writer, seminar speaker and test proctor for EPA, 410A and ESCO & NATE certifications.

He can be contacted at nchristo@juno.com

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