July 31, 2009

Intention vs. superstition



A client of mine is a consultant who teaches the fine art and science of card counting to his clients, to enable them to legally "beat the system" of blackjack.

The speaking topic he is passionate about is decision-making and rational thinking -- how people make decisions using irrational or superstitious thinking vs. planning, preparing and processing. And he likes to tie this in with entrepreneurial thinking -- controlling your own fate and living life intentionally.

To prepare for a presentation, we discussed how he could use analogies to help the audience grasp his concept of having an entrepreneurial spirit combined with a rational game plan.

The perfect analogy: Card counting represents intention, preparation and controlling the game vs. the typical way people gamble -- fueled by hope, wishful thinking and flying by the seat of their pants!

Counting the cards is controlling your own fate rather than having it control you. This analogy can apply both to life and to work, and it fits with my client's tutorial on card counting as well as his own story of being a professional blackjack player that he shares in his presentations.

I think you already know my favorite analogy to public speaking; if you've been reading my blog for any amount of time, you've seen plenty of athletic analogies.

What is your favorite analogy to enhance the message of your presentation?

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2 comments. Please add yours! :

Training Connection said...

I sometimes borrow from other good stories I've read- athletic achievements or even cooking. I gauge my audience/my class for their interests and come up with something that they can identify with. They seem to connect better that way! Great ideas here!

Lisa Braithwaite said...

Thanks for your comment, TC. As long as your stories haven't been heard and read all over the Internet, it's it's always a good idea to find relevant analogies for each particular audience. That's good preparation!

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