As with all of my presentations, I interview relevant industry personnel in order to customize the following content to the context of the audience:In safety critical industries we’ve been promoting the message for years of ‘speaking up’ when it comes to hazards, near misses, and incidents. However, in this presentation, based on my book "The Art of Persuasive Influence” I address how much safer we will be working in the next evolutionary stage of H&S- placing increased emphasis on the person being ‘spoken up’ to who needs to be ‘open to influence'.
As with all of my presentations, I interview relevant industry personnel in order to customize the following content to the context of the audience:
A little while ago I pulled into my local gas station very early one morning to fill up on the way to deliver leadership training. As I walked across the forecourt to go and pay for my gas I spotted, for the first time in my life, a customer smoking next to his vehicle. He was obviously with a crew of other guys and as I walked past him I said, “Mate - I really strongly want to suggest that you don’t smoke on the forecourt because it’s dangerous for yourself and everyone else!” He stared at me blankly as if I had spoken in a foreign language to him. And his response- with maximum contempt, just to blow smoke in my face! My “speaking up” had absolutely zero impact. I walked into the gas station and noticed what looked like his supervisor and said to him, “Hey, it would be a really good idea if you could suggest to your friend that he doesn’t smoke on the forecourt”, to which his colleague replied, “We’ve tried numerous times before to tell him not to smoke at gas stations- but he refuses to listen to us!”
You know I work with a lot of safety critical industries that have been promoting the message for years of “speaking up” when it comes to hazards, near misses, and incidents but no one is talking about the next evolutionary stage of how much safer we will be working with the kind of people that will be open to feedback and work more safely as a result. In this presentation I address:
In this presentation I share my own dramatic journey of my father being involved in a work-related incident that changed our family forever, and the difference that it would have made if he had workmates that were prepared to speak out, and if he was the kind of guy that was open to their message. At the heart of this presentation is the core concept of “Being Open to Influence” as Dr John Gottman puts it, which I strongly believe is the next chapter in the developmental journey of safety in the workplace.
And by the way, the story of the smoker does conclude with me getting him to put out his cigarette!
As with all of my presentations I customize this health and safety-related presentation to the specific industry or professional realm that I’m speaking to. I do this by initially consulting the client to understand the needs of the audience. I then solicit the names of senior leaders and those closest to the front line to conduct interviews to ascertain pain points and specific challenges. This provides invaluable information for me to customize my presentation specifically to the audience in question and in doing so I’ll make at least 25 references specifically to their world in any 60-minute presentation.
And one thing I can guarantee with all of my presentations that no coroner will ever provide a ruling of “Death by PowerPoint!” I have my audiences laughing, on their feet, interacting with each other, and have audience members on stage with me doing live demonstrations! And all of this mixed in with thought-provoking, and riveting stories that keep the audience engaged the entire time!
This presentation is also available as a Safety Leadership workshop (1-3 days).
Contact me now to talk further!
This free chapter from the book “The Art of Persuasive Influence” considers a number of critical elements in persuading people towards positive outcomes such as passion, values and convictions. It also features the story “Adding Fuel to the Fire” which outlines the positive conclusion to the ‘Smoker at the Petrol Station’ anecdote alluded to in the presentation video.
Download a free PDF chapter from The Art of Persuasive Influence
"Great energy on stage"
"We only wish we had more time on the day to hear more of what Glen"
"Energetic, humorous and very knowledgeable about the subject matter, he entertained and imparted valuable knowledge"
"Glen is an inspiring speaker that is able to engage his audience and use humour and storytelling to great effect"
"He had us engaged straight away"
"The main thing that has Glen standing above other presenters I have seen is that he is genuine"
"Glen’s hour-long presentation flew by (which I put down to we must have been enjoying ourselves)"
"We were thrilled with the quality and value of his presentations"
"Sharkey is a great presenter and teacher. He really does practice what he preaches in his use of stories, passion and humour to get his audience engaged"
"More importantly showed us first-hand, how to connect with an audience and bring any subject matter to life to have greater impact"
"Glen had the audience captivated from beginning to end with his incredible energy, engaging nature"
"He was the keynote presenter at our Industry Conference in 2019 and our delegates loved him"
"His delivery is very polished and authentic, and he is a pleasure to work with"
"Glen Sharkey would have to be one of the best speakers I have seen with regard to his keynote presentation"
"(At one point he had an) industry person up on stage to assist him with an exercise based on trust – which had the audience in stitches"
"He took the time to listen to responses from the audience and adapt them into his presentation on the fly"
"A complete professional"
"Glen is a true professional and one of the best presenters we have ever used. Highly recommend!"
"His presentation skills are above anything myself or my team had experienced"
"Fun, charismatic, smart and professional"
