A few years ago I was hired to speak at a safety celebration. The company (which had an excellent safety record and safety program) had gone 30 years without a fatality even though construction and surface mining was part of their business. The celebration was split into two days because they didn’t want to close down the facility–a good idea.

The first day went well. I was there to entertain and give a bit of encouragement. We all had a fun time. However, before we started the second day the company’s corporate safety manager came to the front of the room and made an announcement that surprised me and changed some of my views on what safety leaders should focus on.

The safety manager solemnly announced that “Last night, on their way to dinner, one of our employees and his wife died in a car accident.” (Of course he announced the employee’s name.) He then asked us all to “give a moment of silence.”  Like everyone else, I bowed my head and contemplated the sadness of what happened. Then we lifted our heads and went on with our “no fatality for 30-year celebration.”

Now, I believe the company should have celebrated such a wonderful accomplishment. That’s not my point. It’s just that it felt odd to only celebrate a great safety record “on-the-job” and to ignore what happens when a person leaves work. I realize there is a big difference.

Making the workplace safe is a separate issue that includes regulations designed for the workplace and that encouraging employees to be safe at home is not a legal requirement. (And I don’t think it should be.)  But when the real numbers show that our employees are now way, way, way, way, way, more likely to die and be injured away from work, why do we still spend most of our resources on what we’ve already fixed; or at least to a point where our return on investment is minimal. (I’m presuming as a safety leader you realize that off-the-job injuries and death far exceed those at work in the U.S. and Canada.)  The real low-hanging safety fruit is on the road and at home. That includes widespread effects of mental duress that has made unipolar depression and accidental death from prescription drugs the top safety and health issues in our modern society.  That’s according to the World Health Organization and several other well-respected research groups.

I truly believe we’re wasting our time continuing to focus on a section of the carpet that is already clean when there are other areas that are dirty and need more attention!

Yes, your company may have some off-the-job safety initiatives. But I’d be very surprised if you spend as much resources on them as you do on your already-in-place and effective worksite safety program. However, if you do,  I would love to hear about them!

‘till next time.

Richard
www.makesafetyfun.com

I’m a motivational safety speaker who specializes in helping Safety Leaders around the world Make Safety Fun! I also give inspiring talks to employees on ways to improve their focus and  better control negative emotions. This helps them perform better and make less mistakes that lead to kerfuffules.

. . . that is a question I’ve been asked (and pondered over) many times during my career as a professional speaker. If you have to give presentations you’ve probably wrestled with this too. Even when I attended my first National Speaker’s Associations’ Annual Convention I noticed that there was a mix of excellent speakers who did and didn’t use PowerPoint. 

Well, for the past few years I’ve been studying the subject of human behavior; particularly what motivates us to remember and how emotions affect our decisions.  In the process, I’ve uncovered some recent and no so recent findings that have helped me decide when I should use PowerPoint and what the slides should include.

Vision is by far our most dominate sense, taking up half of our brain’s resources. So, if you had to choose a sense to stimulate to get and keep attention, seeing is the most powerful. (The scientific term for this dominance is called the pictorial superiority effect or PSE.) Our other senses play an important role in memory and attention of course but when it comes to noticing and remembering 3-D objects and 2-D pictures rake in the highest score.

The more visual the input becomes, the more likely it is to be recognized—and recalled, unless it is text. We process text differently and are way less likely to remember a slide full of text than one with a picture.  I often include PowerPoint slides in my presentations, I just make sure they don’t include much text but do include plenty of colorful objects and scenes. (Animation and video are also powerful provided they apply directly to the topic.)

I don’t let my slides or video dominate my message, but if done right, they are a fine way to stimulate your audiences’ sense of sight. A final tip: you can still have an intimate time with your audience while telling stories. Just include a blank black slide or get a remote with a blank-out button and “shut off” your slides when you want all the attention on you. Sometimes this adds contrast that will stir your audience to pay even more attention to what you’re saying.

Do you have any PPT tips or thoughts? I’d love to hear about them.

‘till next time.

Richard
www.makesafetyfun.com

I’m a motivational safety speaker who specializes in helping Safety Leaders around the world Make Safety Fun! I also give inspiring talks to employees on ways to improve their focus and  better control negative emotions. This helps them perform better and make less mistakes that lead to kerfuffules.

There are two wonderful trends that are growing among many organizations with excellent safety programs.  At the same time scientists and researchers are uncovering amazing details about our brains and why we behave the way we do. Not surprisingly, the trends and science are matching up.

What are these trends? Well the first one is the rise in companies who include emotions as a key factor in stimulating safe and healthy behavior instead of just a “do this, don’t do that” approach. Example: I spoke to a group of sales folks at ExxonMobil a few weeks ago and one of the parts of their safety program is about “Actively Caring.”

The second trend, which has been growing for a bit longer than the first one is using a more holistic approach to safety. When I say holistic, I mean where all aspects of an employee’s health and safety are addressed (including the person’s family and mental health).

Sure, for years many progressive companies have included health screening, fitness centers,  off-the-job driving training etc. as part of their safety program but I’m seeing this trend grow to include more family and mental health issues. That’s cool.

Think about it, is it wise to ignore the leading cause of disability in the United States (unipolar depression according to the World Health and World Bank Organizations) and the leading cause of accidental death–overdose from prescription drugs (according to a study published in the May, 2010 issue of the American Journal of Preventative Medicine).  Both are related to “brain and mind problems” topics we’ve tended to avoid because they seem to personal (and even embarassing). As for families we all know that what goes on at home has an impact on a person’s entire life, including his or her work life.

By the way, the two trends are related. In the last two decades it’s become clear from the field of neurobiology and human behavior that emotions dominate our decisions, actions, and overall physical and mental health. This isn’t “touchy feely” stuff.  It’s hard science with plenty of empirical data to back it up.

So, if you are a safety and health leader at your organization I hope you are working on ways to include these two vital issues into your program.   (See my January 31st post: “Six Habits to Help You Focus Better.”) If you are, I’d love to hear about it.

‘till next time.

Richard
www.makesafetyfun.com

I’m a motivational safety speaker who specializes in helping Safety Leaders around the world Make Safety Fun! I also give inspiring talks to employees on ways to improve their focus and  better control negative emotions. This helps them perform better and make less mistakes that lead to kerfuffules.

As you can imagine, I’ve spoken at dozens of “Safety & Health Days.” Even though I believe every one of them was a good idea and were worth doing, some safety days were better days than others. It wasn’t the size of the company that mattered as much as the creativity and openness to new ideas of the planners—many of whom didn’t have much experience at planning events.

There are some common elements which most safety day’s include  like booths for smoke detectors, and other typical safety devices that I won’t include in my list of “How to Host a Fun and Memorable Safety & Health Day,” instead I’m going to share a few common elements that help make a safety and health day successful.

Create and Market a Theme
Don’t just call your event Acme’s Annual Safety & Health Day. Put some pizzazz in the title and go with a theme.  If there is a sport or hobby that is common in your area then use that. I’ve seen company’s successfully use a carnival theme, a horse racing theme and a football theme.  (When I’m hired to help companies with any of the safety & health campaigns including safety days, creating a catchy theme is one of the first things we tackle.)

If You Have a “Family” Safety Day
These are my favorites. Because, now you can do so many cool things if children will be attending. Have plenty of games and entertainment, (i.e. puppet shows, story telling, face painting).  If you have a theme, then you can give out a toy or prize related to the topic that children can take home. Even if you don’t have a large budget, there are still things you can do that will add excitement to the day without costing a lot of money like getting some parents to dress up in different costumes (not just safety equipment).

Pictures
Take plenty of pictures and video that you can post later on bulletin boards, intranet, FaceBook, video monitors, etc.

Unusual Prizes
Give out yodeling pickles, or finger puppets (yes, they are my favorites) or some other fun and unusual prize.  Key chains, coffee cups, and T-shirts are fine but they are overused. (I don’t want any more key chains!) If the prize is something a child would like, so will the parents and grandparents that attend because they will want one to take home. That’s a great way to make the event more memorable. (Check out www.accoutrements.com it’s one of my favorite sites for unusual gifts and prizes.)

Competitions
The last safety day I spoke at had a bean bag competition (similar to horse shoes) that was a big hit. Physical competitions that aren’t strenuous are the best.  You can easily set up a rotation of teams and have the winning team members win a cool prize.

Health and Fitness
Don’t just have “safety booths.” In fact, most of them are not that much fun to visit. Yes, you can have blood pressure booths and other medical stops, but people like learning about how to better their lives more than they do how to prevent problems. Include topics that are more positive like fun ways to include more vegetables in your meals or how to make water taste better. The possibilities are huge.

Kids Stuff
You can’t go wrong with a kid’s booth—even if there are no kids around.  Get a backdrop and post several resources about kid’s health, safety, fun stuff, etc. and guaranteed some of the parents will be interested in what you’re displaying.

Music
Have music playing. This may sound like a minor issue but it makes a big difference. Why do you think restaurants and grocery stores play music constantly. It creates a mood and makes the experience more enjoyable. So, if you can, have some upbeat popular music playing throughout the day.

If You Hire a Professional Speaker(s)
Hire me. Well, sure I want that but no matter who you hire get someone who is upbeat and gives a positive message. There are times when a “serious safety speaker” is a good choice but I’ve found that during safety and health days the best one’s were more of a celebration than a serious training and warning day.
Here are four other important tips to give you the best results if you hire a speaker:
1) If you do have food, don’t put the speaker on during the meal. You’re wasting your money. Unless you hire an entertainer, such as a magician who will be going around to the tables you are splitting everyone’s attention. Best: have the speaker on right before lunch.

2) Have just enough seats. If there are a lot of empty seats it cuts down on the energy in the crowd. This is a common problem and it makes a huge difference.

3) Move compressors, and other noisy equipment as far away from the area where people will be sitting to listen to any talks. A few times I’ve had to compete with a running engine that made it difficult for the folks sitting next to it to hear anything I said.

4) If you rent a sound system get a good one.  Ask any professional speaker and they’ll tell you that this matters as much (sometimes more) than who you hire as a speaker.

Especially for those of you who haven’t planned a Safety & Health Day before, I hope these tips help and I wish you grand success on your next event!

‘till next time.

Richard
www.makesafetyfun.com

I’m a motivational safety speaker who specializes in helping Safety Leaders around the world Make Safety Fun! I also give inspiring talks to employees on ways to improve their focus and  better control negative emotions. This helps them perform better and make less mistakes that lead to kerfuffules.

In the last Safety Stuff issue I wrote about “distracted living,” which is driven by a hectic, over stimulating environment and some of the nasty effects such as prescription drug abuse and distracted driving accidents.  Two skills that can help overcome this pandemic are learning how to focus better (being more mindful) along with learning how to better handle negative emotions.

Well, this time I’m going to pass on six habits that will help you and your employees focus and better cope with our modern hectic world.  I know they’ve had a huge positive impact on me. For much of my adult life I suffered from anxiety attacks and problems with anger. It took some time, but by applying these six habits, anger and anxiety rarely visit me now.

This is a brief description. It comes from a card I handout during my Find Your Focus talk.  For now at least it will give you an idea of the type of behaviors us safety and health leaders may do well to concentrate on more.

Six Habits to Help You Focus Better

1)  Get Enough Sleep–Your body doesn’t need much sleep. But your mind does. All that happens to you each day is figured out when you sleep. Get enough sleep and your mind is ready for a new day of experiences, don’t get enough and it feels foggy.

2)  Stay Hydrated–You are mostly water. Mostly! If your urine isn’t a light yellow or nearly clear most of the time you are dehydrated. Your brain isn’t able to run smoothly without enough water. You’re sharper and livelier when you’re hydrated.

3)  Eat Colorful Foods–Red, green, orange, blue, pink and yellow. These are just of a few of the colors that will give you a sharper mind. Eating mostly white, pale, brown and yellow foods (i.e. bread, rice, spaghetti, meat) doesn’t give you the variety of vitamins, minerals and other ingredients needed for a healthy brain and mind.

4) Exercise– This is the only proven miracle drug. Give your body a workout and your brain must come along for the ride. Even a short walk has been shown to improve your ability to focus.

5)  Do Nothing at Least Once A Day–Yes this sounds easy to do and the idea can easily be made into a joke of some sort, but for thousands of years wise people have been encouraging us to take time each day to stop and pay attention to our surroundings and inner feelings.  Pick a time, maybe right after you turn your car off in your driveway after getting home from work. Stop and just pay attention to your breathing or what’s going on around you without thinking about anything particular. It works because it helps you focus better on what’s going on.

#6 Watch Yourself and Talk To Yourself on Purpose–Watching yourself and telling yourself what is going on can help you control your response to strong emotions like anger or fear. For example, if you notice you’re feeling angry, by simply saying to yourself,  “I’m starting to feel angry.” You’ll be surprised how much it will help you handle the situation.

If you have any of your own suggestions or ideas on how to “Focus Better” and overcome distracted living. I’d love to hear about them.

‘till next time.

Richard
www.makesafetyfun.com

I’m a motivational safety speaker who specializes in helping Safety Leaders around the world Make Safety Fun! I also give inspiring talks to employees on ways to improve their focus and  better control negative emotions. This helps them perform better and make less mistakes that lead to kerfuffules.

Back in 2007, I was a keynote speaker at a Tap Root Summit in San Antonio. There was an evening reception with food, drinks and a country band. I love receptions. Particularly because I get to hang out with the folks I’ll be speaking too.

About a half hour before the reception officially started I was walking around in the hallway outside the ballroom saying hi and getting a head start on my “smoozing,” when I saw something that was both cute and disturbing. It caused me to smile and then shake my head.  The sight has stayed with me and I still talk about it during my “The Future of Safety” keynote.  

A woman was pushing an adorable toddler in a stroller; I’m guessing the child was about a year old or so. To my surprise the child’s forward view was blocked by a computer screen designed into the stroller.  ‘Wow!’ I thought. There’s a person who is going to feel comfortable around machines. I also wondered what’s going on with the child’s ability to interact with humans and its ability to focus or calm its mind.

I own a Droid, computers, a Flip Video along with other electronic devices, so I’m not opposed to technology or its common use. This is about something else. It’s about the need for us safety and health leaders to realize that the employees at our companies are facing different “hazards” then they did 20 years ago (or a more intense version).

One of them is “distracted living,” which is driven by a hectic, over stimulating environment.  It is part of the cause for a huge host of physical and mental injuries and death (accidental death from drug overdose has risen 400% during the past 20 years and distracted driving is fast becoming a leading cause of accidents on the highway). And the overall health damages from stress are fantastically high.  (Just search for “stress and health problems” or something similar.)

We’ve come a long way.  Less than 100 years ago the workplace was often a very dangerous place. Safety programs had to focus on wearing PPE, having the right permits, making sure equipment is guarded, adequate ventilation and other important safety issues. We’ve done such a good job of it that most companies have made the workplace way safer for employees than their homes!

Now it’s time to spend more resources on what is really hurting and destroying people.

Stay tuned for tips and ideas on how to do this.

‘till next time.

Richard
www.makesafetyfun.com

I’m a motivational safety speaker who specializes in helping Safety Leaders around the world Make Safety Fun! I also give inspiring talks to employees on ways to improve their focus and  better control negative emotions. This helps them perform better and make less mistakes that lead to kerfuffules.

Yesterday while hanging out at a social club near my home I asked a buddy of mine, with the nickname Wild Red, what he was going to get me for Christmas this year. “The same thing I got you last year only with a different color bow,” he replied. Then, he told me that by asking I had just “ruined the surprise!” We laughed and I obviously won’t be holding a space open under the tree for Wild Red’s present.

But unlike Wild Red, if you would like to get me a Christmas present this year (it won’t cost you any money) it sure would make my heart glad.

As a speaker, author and publisher of Safety Stuff, I feel it’s part of my responsibility to share as many helpful ideas as I can and to keep pace with trends in the safety and health industry. So, I would love it if you would let me know what you or your company are doing (if anything) about these three topics:

1. Avoiding addiction/misuse of prescription drugs.
2. Handling negative emotions such as anger, anxiety, fear, etc. (and depression).
3. Getting employees’ families involved in safety and health.

Respond to this blog or send me an e-mail message richard@richardhawkinc.com with a few details. If you prefer, send me a message and we can set up a time to chat over the phone about what you’re doing.

I’m writing a book on the first two topics, which have become among the top safety and health issues of our time. The third topic is just a great one to include in any SHE program. Of course, innovative ideas on any safety and health topic would be an awesome Christmas gift.  Can’t wait to see what you get me!

Oh, and what am I getting you? Same thing as last year, but with even more cool ideas, contests, and fun “Safety Stuff!”

‘till next time.

Richard
www.makesafetyfun.com

I’m a motivational safety speaker who specializes in helping Safety Leaders around the world Make Safety Fun! I also give inspiring talks to employees on ways to improve their focus and  better control negative emotions. This helps them perform better and make less mistakes that lead to kerfuffules.

Rock ‘n’ Community Connections for a Cause was about to begin. The stage was set. Everyone in the band had showed up. We did a sound check and were ready to go.

My friend and Executive Director CMM at the National Safety Council Karen Howe came by with another NSC employee to do a final “safety check” of our setup. Everything was good. We had railings on the back of the stage, two steps with railing to get on and off. We couldn’t tape down all of the wires because we moved around too much with our instruments but we did keep the stage as clear as we could.

During the first set we wore these crazy hardhats which my wife Jackie had decorated. She even decorated one for Philadelphia’s Mayor Nutter. Everything was going smoothly. We took a short break before the Mayor showed up and changed costumes (it was Halloween).

For the second set, everyone in the band wore some kind of fake beard or mustache. I was wearing a Groucho Marx setup with a bushy mustache and eyebrows, along with a black top hat, thick framed glasses and a coat that was as wild as could be (see pic on right and below).

Well, even though we thought we had taken all reasonable safety precautions, halfway into the second set something happened that was very unpleasant and could have been disastrous!

While I was singing Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison a piece of my mustache broke off and I inhaled it. What a nasty experience! I ran off stage (glad the steps were nearby), went behind the sound board and coughed up most what I inhaled.  I quickly got back on stage and took over for our other singer Angel who started singing the song as soon as I ran off.   Though I did feel a bit nauseous for a while, everything was fine. It could have been serious though. What if I would have inhaled a larger piece of the moustache or even the whole thing!

I don’t know exactly what lesson I learned—other than that being diligent is important with all aspects of your work and play and to be on the lookout for not-so-obvious hazards. The moustache I was wearing was put on with spirit gum which is standard for fake facial hair. It was on securly and the moustache didn’t have any loose parts when I first put it on. I suppose when I was jumping around, sweating and singing a piece came loose. (Yes I took off the mustache before I got back on stage.)

Overall it was a wonderful experience and we had an awesome time.  Though I believe what I’ll remember the most is the “Moustache Madness!”

Got any stories of your own mishaps? I’d love to hear about them.

‘till next time.

Richard
www.makesafetyfun.com

I’m a motivational safety speaker who specializes in helping Safety Leaders around the world Make Safety Fun! I also give inspiring talks to employees on ways to improve their focus and  better control negative emotions. This helps them perform better and make less mistakes that lead to kerfuffules.

Here we are with our Halloween Hardhats

I was working with a bunch of awesome musicians from Fame and Fortune

Here we are with our “moustache and beard” costumes.

When I was conducting Radiation Worker Training for PSEG in Salem, NJ, one of
the concepts that new employees had to understand in order to pass the exam, was
the difference between Radioactive Material (the stuff that gives off radiation)
and Radiation (the energy/particles that are emitted by the material).
Particularly, they had a hard time distinguishing what happens when you ingest
or inhale the material from being exposed to the energy when it’s outside of
your body.

For many students it was a breeze and a few of your standard examples and explanations was enough for them to “get it.” However, there were always a few folks who had a hard time figuring it out.  Try as I could, even with some private tutoring it was a tough concept for them to grasp. So, I put to use one of the skills I have developed over the years and came up with an innovative, and fun way to explain the difference.

The eureka moment came while I was grocery shopping.

When I need to be creative, one trick I use (it’s really not a trick as much as a technique) is to keep my mind open to everything I’m experiencing while reminding myself of my objective. In this case I was open to a way to use a unique but common example to demonstrate the difference between Radiation and Radioactive Material.

Well, while I was in the grocery store I strolled into the cookie aisle to get some cookies for my kids. When I reached for a box of butter cookies I said out loud “here are some beta butter cookies.” That was it!  Excitedly I grabbed two boxes, one for the kids and one for my training class. I also bought a box of “alpha wafers,” along with a “neutron party mix” and “gamma crackers.” (Alpha, beta, gamma and neutron are the common terms used for the energy/particles that are omitted by radioactive material.)

When I got home the first thing the kids and I did was make new labels for the boxes.  They were an awesome training prop.  Not only did they get a laugh but I was able to use them as a demonstration of what happens when you ingest radioactive material and other points about radiation vs. radioactive material. These props worked way better than a slide or drawn demonstration.

‘till next time.

Richard
www.makesafetyfun.com

I’m a motivational safety speaker who specializes in helping Safety Leaders around the world Make Safety Fun! I also give inspiring talks to employees on ways to improve their focus and  better control negative emotions. This helps them perform better and make less mistakes that lead to kerfuffules.

I was getting ready to speak to a group of linemen and meter readers for the city of Springfield, MS. Before the talk, I was hanging out with the audience and introducing myself to as many people as I could. When I got to Ed, a large 6’ 3” man with huge hands, he enveloped my hand in his giant mitt and gripped it tightly. Not enough to hurt, but enough to get my attention. Then he asked, “Why you goin around and asking everybody their name? You goin to remember everybody’s name?” 

“No Ed,” I told him. “But I will remember yours!”

Well, now I knew who I would question as part of my talk introduction. Here’s how it went:

“Hey Ed?” I hollered out. Ed looked at me cautiously knowing that I was up to no good and said,

“Yea.” I paused for a moment and then said,

“Are you married Ed?” Now it was Ed’s turn to pause. He smiled and said,

“Yep.”

“Did you get married in a church?”

“Nope.”

At this point two things were going on in my mind. One was that Ed might not have been the best person to call on, seeing that I was only getting short one syllable answers. My other thought was that I knew Springfield Missouri was farm country and because of Ed’s laid-back nature and size there was a good chance he grew up on a farm. So, I now asked Ed,

“Did you get married at home on your farm?”

“Yep.”

“Did you have a preacher come to your house to marry you?”

“Yep.”

“Were just a few family members and friends there?”

“Yep.”

“Did you two newlyweds go on a honeymoon?”

“Yep.”

Now I’m thinking, ‘enough of this yep and nope stuff’! So, I asked Ed a question that he would have to answer with more than one syllable.  But I didn’t get the answer I expected, that’s for sure.

“Ed, where did you go on your honeymoon?” Without a moment’s hesitation he said,

“To bed.”

I busted out laughing and so did everyone else in the room. It was an awesome way to start a talk.  (Later I sat at lunch with Ed. He was a great guy with a sharp wit. I’m glad I picked him.)

For most of my speaking career, I’ve found that the best way to get an audience involved in a topic is to make them part of it. And one of the best ways to do that is by asking personal questions about opinions or life events that an audience member will easily know the answer to.  ( “Mary, Do you like coffee?” “Tom, how long does it take you to drive to work?” “Amy, what do other drivers do that bothers you?” etc.)

Try it at your next safety meeting or presentation. (If I have a large audience I’ll sometimes bring a volunteer onto the stage.) Ask a “personal question.” Not too intimate; you don’t want to embarrass anyone. But personal enough so that it will get your audience to realize the session is about them, not just a required safety topic.

As always, I’d love to hear about your experiences.

‘till next time.

Richard
www.makesafetyfun.com

I’m a motivational safety speaker who specializes in helping Safety Leaders around the world Make Safety Fun! I also give inspiring talks to employees on ways to improve their focus and  better control negative emotions. This helps them perform better and make less mistakes that lead to kerfuffules.