Powerful Presenting For Leaders

Multiply 10 x 10.

Got it? Of course.

Now multiply 13 x 76.

Struggling....?

Still struggling....? 😂

Trust me, we are all the same and the reason is because of a concept called mental economy. We shut things down that take up too much mental energy. But so do your audiences.

In this episode, David goes through two concepts that will have a huge impact on your ability to retain the attention of your audiences, possibly the biggest issue you face as a presenter.

Chris Voss is a Masterclass presenter and former FBI negotiator. David heard an interview with him and the guy had some very interesting approaches to managing situations that are highly counter intuitive but has the experience to back up having implemented them at the highest level (think state terrorism hijacking negotiations).

In this episode, David goes through just one of his concepts about how we ask questions and whether it would help us become more effective communicators when we present.

When a challenger arrives to tell us how shit we are at something, everyone's instinct is to tell them to get stuffed. Or get defensive and justify our actions.

But neither of the above are the right course of action if we want to realise our true potential.

In this episode, David explains how someone properly pissed him off with a couple of challenges and how grateful he is that they did.

As a leader, you are used to facing one way in your organisation and everyone else facing the other. You are the boss, the big cheese.

It is the same in speaking whether it is an internal or external presentation.

The fact that you are the best in the room is not in doubt. That is why you are speaking and everyone else is listening. But at the same time, you cannot let your ego take over and you have to find ways to connect with your audience.

In this episode, David shares strategies and ideas on how to really connect while also owning your speaking space.

David recently read an interview with a former head of Toastmasters who was also a former speaking World Champion. In it, he said that erms and ahs SHOULD be in presentations and that getting rid of them is a bad thing.

In this episode, David explains why this guy was totally wrong and goes even further, saying why it is critical that you not only get rid of them in your professional talks but also your personal conversation.

Audiences love to be part of your presentation and a great way to include them is by asking questions.

But managing an audience is also like herding cats. Asking them a question will lead to them potentially chatting amongst themselves or even worse, shouting out something really inappropriate that knocks you off balance.

In this episode, David goes through three simple rules you must follow when asking questions and you will be fine. He thinks. 

This is the third episode in a three part special recorded after doing an exit interview with a client David worked with doing 6 sessions over 8 months.

In this episode, David explains what he learned that will make him a more effective presentation skills coach in the future but also what you can take away to be a better presenter as a leader.

We can never assume what a client is thinking and it is dangerous to do so. As always, the best course of action is to ask. David did just that with a client after coaching him for 6 sessions over 8 months. What he heard was amazing.

In this episode, David is shocked to find out exactly what the client got out of their time together - and how much more he would have been prepared to pay!

After doing 6 sessions over 8 months with a remote client, David did an exit interview with him. What the client shared has transformed the way that David will approach his leader speaker coaching in the future.

In this first episode of a three part special, David shares why and how the client chose him and why it matters so much to you as a leader improving your presentation skills.

Well, it's been a while, as the saying goes!! Finally, David is back face to face with audiences and while it has been a fabulous experience on some level, it has also brought up some challenges.

In this episode, David will share both the pleasures and the downsides of being back in front of an adoring crowd, his vision of how presenting will be in the future and how leaders can adjust their speaking to the brave new world we are about to step into.

We are all sick of back to back Zoom meetings all week long. We yearn for a bit of face to face time.

But the shockingly high efficiency that remote presentations and meetings have brought us means that it simply will not disappear when we eventually get to the new normal.

There is still significant value in mastering remote presenting, especially when only 5% of leaders are doing even the basics properly.

In this episode, David explains some of the benefits of remote speaking and goes through the fundamentals that will immediately put you in that top 5%. 

David still finds it astonishing how many leaders pass up the chance to present and give it to others to do in their team. This is horrendous both in terms of how it looks and the massive missed opportunities.

In this episode, David explains why it is crucial that leaders show some courage, grab the baton and start doing the presentations themselves.

He also includes two interview clips of Managing Directors who worked with David, overcame their fears and started presenting more with powerful results.

Leaders often make one fundamental mistake when presenting that lawyers don't - they will say what they DO want to happen as well as what they DON'T.

In this episode, David explains how to manage getting both types of messages across and how he prepared a recent CEO client to do just that.

Are you still thinking of a pink elephant?

Life gets the better of us sometimes and I took a step back from a bunch of marketing and publishing stuff including this podcast.

In this episode, David explains in more detail why he took a break but more importantly, why he came back and what lessons there are for us as leaders.

Leaders are motivated to either learn by themselves or by going on training courses. This is admirable but deeply flawed.

In this episode, David explains why both DIY and training are false economies when it comes to improving presentation skills.

He also shares how the ONLY way to be the best version of you when presenting and get there in the shortest possible time is through coaching.

David sees leaders die on their arses when presenting because they rely way too much on data, statistics and graphs. These are the Features of their organisation. Their staff care way less than they imagine.

Better leaders talk about the Benefits those features create.

But the BEST leaders (top 5%) understand that it is about the MEANING behind the benefit.

Recently, David did a 1-2-1 presentation skills coaching session with a Dubai CEO that turned out to be the most extraordinary one ever.

But unfortunately, not for the right reasons.

David explains what happened, what he learned from it and how his experience can help you with your presentation skills.

David posted recently that his process for presentation skills called The Presentation Palace is a flexible template that can be applied to ANY presentation. David then received a great challenge saying that this wasn't possible.

In this episode, David explains the difference between a flexible template and a prescriptive process.

When assessing a presentation you have either been asked to give or volunteered for, you must ask yourself two questions - are you the right speaker for this presentation and are you the right fit?

David did not perform this due diligence for his last presentation in 2020 and for only the second time in 24 years as a speaker, he did not get paid.

In this episode, he goes through the whole miserable tale and how he (and you) can avoid this.

Everyone prepares like crazy for the big talks which is absolutely the right thing to do. Problem is, that means best practice doesn't become common practice. The only way that happens is by implementing more often.

In this episode, David explains how to practice your speaking skills on a regular basis without it taking up a ton more time.

He also plays the audio of a video Facebook book review he put up about a book his mate had written. 

He starts off by saying 'This book could be the difference between life and death.' Hence the title of this podcast.