Courage decides in the first few seconds
Reading time: 6 min
When an audience is waiting, you need more than just expertise: you need presence, clarity, and courage. Mareike Redder has worked hard to achieve exactly that: through training, feedback, and the goal of conveying her messages with confidence. Today, she stands on stage with self-assurance—and makes an impact from the very first moment.
"I've become a bit of a face for Triovega."
Mareike Redder is Senior Product Manager at Triovega in Lübeck. Triovega develops customized software, primarily standardized products for OT security and production safety for machines. Her main areas of responsibility are product design, solving customer problems, and giving regular presentations to specialist audiences at seminars and workshops.
Which Haufe Akademie training course Haufe Akademie you attend, and what were your expectations?
I Haufe Akademie taken advantage of the continuing education offerings at Haufe Akademie several times in the past. Once when I started out in product management, and again a good two years ago when I needed to develop good storytelling skills and learn how to convey messages to an audience confidently and assuredly. The training event place in Hamburg and lasted two days. The topic was "Conveying my messages confidently and competently." The real reason was that in this industry, we deal with an audience that is very conservative and very male-dominated. When I stand on stage there as a woman and want to convey my message, I can only do so if I have mastered the appropriate tools and methods.
Were there any goals you wanted to achieve?
In both of the presentations mentioned, you have to try to convey something within a few seconds. I wanted to learn how to grab attention as quickly as possible, get my audience to listen, or at least encourage them to listen.
The bottom line: the first few seconds count.
Please tell us a little more about the training. Was there anything that surprised you? What was the key takeaway for you?
I found it very exciting that the training was not dominated by scripts or theories, but by the experience that the trainer brought to the table and by many examples. The bottom line: the first few seconds count. That means that right at the beginning, you have to make a good impression—otherwise, the audience won't listen to me. I also learned how to structure my messages, especially at the beginning. At the same time, I learned how to respond to killer phrases. This means that if someone sitting opposite me makes a sweeping negative statement, I know how to structure my response so that I can convince that person.
What benefits have you gained from what you have learned? Can you apply this knowledge?
I went in with the desire to become more confident. That's exactly what I achieved, because the moment I stepped onto the stage, I felt much more self-assured. There were even concrete, measurable results: simply because we now get more and more leads after the presentations. And, of course, because we won an audience award!
Your message that sticks
If, as in the article, you want to make an impact in the first few seconds and really reach your audience, a good story structure will help. In training "Convey messages confidently and competently!", you will work on structuring content clearly and presenting it in such a way that it is understood and remembered.
"The topic of courage is very, very important these days. Because we live in a complex world, because things are constantly changing."
Is it worthwhile for a company to be courageous? Did the training event help you personally to become more courageous?
The topic of courage is very, very important these days. Because we live in a complex world, because things are constantly changing. And because we need to have the courage to make decisions. To have the courage to stand by what you do, and possibly also to learn from the mistakes you make. The training helped me become more confident and courageous. Simply by receiving feedback and learning not only to stand confidently on stage, but also to become more active on social media.
Thank you, Mareike, for talking to us.
More courage
Courage has many faces—sometimes loud, sometimes quiet, sometimes obvious, and sometimes hidden. Discover more courageous inspiration here.
Courage that drives processes: Why courage in companies does not have to be loud to be effective.
Where does courage come from? Why genuine courage is rare today—and yet more important than ever before.
Do you have an exciting story to tell?
Courage takes many forms: starting over, persevering, rethinking. If continuing education has helped you get a step "FURTHER," we want to hear about it. Apply with your success story—and with a little luck, we'll share it together in an interview.
