a sad day

What do you do when you are ready to give a presentation and there is an overwhelmingly intense news story that weighs heavily on the minds of your audience – like 9/11 or the Hudson Bay airplane rescue or the luger from Georgia who died in a practice run? What do you do? What do you say?

It’s best to acknowledge the news story in the opening of your presentation. Everyone is thinking about it, and when you talk about it, you can almost hear a sigh of relief come over the audience. You also are allowing them the opportunity to think and care about the incident. Actually, the audience will be more willing to listen to the rest of your presentation, and they will appreciate your sincerity and heartfelt connection to the world.

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