Spotlight on Dietitian Speaker Tori Schmitt
Dietitian speaker Tori Schmitt surfs a wave of positivity encouraging clients to say YES! to nutrition. So when does this Queen of YES! strategically say NO WAY? Read on to find out…
DS: How did you develop your Unique Speaking Platform?
TS: A lot of the conversation around food and nutrition has to do with the word “no” or “don’t eat this.” I aspired to help people live more healthy, balanced lives with a more inclusive approach – focusing on the positive, and promoting the foods, strategies and behaviors to say “YES!” to more often.
In 2014, I began YES! Nutrition, my nutrition communications and counseling company in Ohio. YES! Includes one-on-one nutrition counseling, partnering with food companies to develop online content, and dynamic speaking engagements. The YES! message stuck as my platform because it’s simple and direct. It resonates with patients as well as every kind of audience, from corporate wellness to conferences, high school students and health fairs.
I’ve made YES! my brand and include it in every presentation title. “YES! You Energize Smartly: Getting the Most Energy Out of Your Day with Enhanced Nutrition” and “YES! You Encounter Struggles: Navigating the Hardest Parts about Eating Well” are just two examples.
DS: Your enthusiasm is contagious, Tori. I’m already feeling like I need more YES! in my life. Say more about how you apply this positive attitude when presenting.
TS: The YES! message is more than just the word. My philosophy of presenting is that the audience isn’t just a stationary presence to talk to, they’re a group of interactive participants who are there to speak with you. Sometimes a speaker can get so focused on what they’re planning to say that they forget about the audience as individuals and what they want when it comes to nutrition.
For example, after I gave an open-to-the-public presentation on sports nutrition tips, one evaluation said it was very basic information and another one said, “I would have preferred a more basic explanation.” I realized that to accommodate the wide audience I had made the presentation too general to meet anyone’s specific needs. I used it as a learning experience and decided to host events with more specific topics to a more targeted audience in the future.
Before I agree to speak, I ask the organizer all about the audience. If it’s a company lunch-and-learn, I’ll ask about trends for employee lunches, what food is available on-site, are there vending machines? And I want to know the top nutrition needs of the employees, whether that’s healthier snacks at breaks, microwavable meals for lunch, high energy foods to support their physical labor, etc. Understanding the audience helps me make the most use of my time with them.
DS: An enthusiastic YES! to customization. A generic lecture is just not going to keep anyone’s attention in the smart phone era. What makes you say YES! to a presentation when you’re in the audience?
TC: I like Maya Angelou’s quote that “People may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel.” Dietitians have important and useful facts and ideas to share, and to make those details unforgettable we need to package them in a way that also delivers a feeling.
For instance, someone who comes to a lunch-and-learn presentation might forget the fact that protein and fiber can help keep them fuller for longer. But they might remember that I praised their chickpea salad as a super satiety solution during my presentation. Perhaps they can relate to the feeling of afternoon hunger pangs on the occasion they didn’t have any protein or fiber earlier in the day, or maybe they’ll laugh at the story of what happened when I didn’t include protein or fiber in my lunchtime meal. Feelings from compliments, stories and humor make facts more memorable.
DS: This is such a good reminder to newer speakers that it’s okay to be real and interact, crack a joke here and there, respond to your audience. But it’s hard when you’re nervous about being perfect. Do you have any advice to a dietitian speaker who’s just getting started and is stressing about doing it “right”?
TS: YES! I encourage patients and audiences that the healthy way doesn’t have to mean the “perfect” way, that “mistakes” are merely learning opportunities, and that small changes make a big difference. I think the same goes for speaking, too. Just get out there and say “YES!” You’ve got this!
But – and I know I am all about YES!, but hear me out – there are times it’s important to say no. Say no to opportunities that don’t value you or aren’t the right fit for your skillset or preference, say no to the audience person who is challenging you on nutrition philosophies, and say no to the person who wants to use your proprietary slides.
DS: The Queen of YES! says it’s okay to say no?
TS: Well, when you say no to those things, you’re actually saying YES! to the work that values you, to the opportunities that are the right fit, and to the protection of your integrity and intellectual property.