Best Practises for Presenting to Teenagers
I must have been asked a thousand times “what advice do you have if I’m speaking to a group of teenagers?”
Let me translate some questions on their mind.
1️⃣”What’s you favorite part of your job?”…
Really means “what do you like in your job and might I like it too?”
2️⃣ “What’s a typical day like?”
Really means “what do you actually do any day?”
3️⃣”Will you do this forever?”
Really means “how do you decide whether to stay or go?”
4️⃣ “What subjects do I need to study to do your job?”
Really means “what can I do right now, within my own influence, to pursue your path?”
5️⃣ “What’s the hardest part of your job?
Really means “how do you manage the hard parts and could I do it too?”
Now, for a start, I notice many very well-meaning people walk straight into making an ineffective impression by talking about their role from their own perspective and expecting young people to be interested.
From ten years of running
Savvy Teens , I assure you that you can do so much better!!
Meet them where they’re at and “play on their pitch”.
For example, bring them through the “Hedgehog” model where they zone in on the Venn diagram between:
😊what do I like to do?
👏 what am I good at?
💶 what employable skills do you have?
A tech tool to help is Mentimeter and a non-tech tool is paper and pen. Talk through their answers if the environment is conducive and certainly, talk through your own.
Another idea is to speak to their fears and how you’ve faced them. For example:
😩 what if I work really hard to get somewhere and then I don’t like it?
⚖️ how do I get work/life balance?
😧what if I don’t have enough…?
You can enthrall them with stories of your pivots and the decisions you made with big changes.
They can be intrigued with any international dimensions to your job (and there be more than you think!).
You can really strike a chord with young people in a short period of time. Go for it.
