Powerful Presenting For Leaders

David is coaching 9 CEOs for specific pitches at the moment. When he first gets introduced to the new client, what typically happens is that he is presented with a slide deck to start proceedings.

In this episode, David explains why this is fundamentally the wrong approach and how it can negatively impact your finished presentation.

As a presentations skills coach I am used to telling leaders what to do. But now I am putting together a showreel video and as it is still a presentation, it is critical that I apply my own rules.

In this episode, I explain how and why I put it together and you get the chance to hear the audio version.

Almost every leader wants to stand out from the crowd when it comes to their product or service but goes into reverse when asked to do the same when it comes to their presentations.

I recently saw a post about how someone LOST 2000 followers on LinkedIn by changing their icon to incorporate the Pride colours.

One of the comments in the thread said this was virtue signalling.

Is virtue signalling a concern for presenters?

David has been preparing an MD of a wealth management firm for a major keynote speech. Due to coronavirus, she has had to pivot very quickly as the event went online. She showed real courage in making the necessary changes and really jumping in.

The death of George Floyd impacted David profoundly. He has found it difficult to know what to say because he has never encountered prejudice of that kind. But he knows what he thinks and what he feels and he knows what he needs to do. As a leader, you can find yourself in the same spot. This is how to deal with it.

No-one knows what the future holds when it comes to live events. But I do believe that even after lockdown, when things start returning to normal, remote speaking, presenting and facilitating will still be a significant part of daily business life. In this podcast, I explain why.

Being put on the spot is a nervous experience for even the most experienced speaker. Hear how David did on the second half of his live Q&A on a recent remote motivational speech.

Normally, when David does a keynote speech, there are no questions at the end. The client wants to get their value for money by having him speak for as long as possible. But after doing a recent remote motivational speech live, the organiser followed up with a live Q&A session. This podcast episode is the first half of that session.

David has thrown himself into the remote speaking world. He shares his experiences so far and there is the second half of his keynote speech that he recently did remotely for a national sales conference audience.

Keynote speaking is the one type of presentation where it is difficult to capture the same impact online as you do face to face. David did one this week and gives you his opinion on whether it worked, feedback from the client and delegates and plays the first half.

Coronavirus has turned David’s speaking diary into a desert for the foreseeable future. The saviour that has stepped in is remote speaking. In this episode, David goes through how valuable remote speaking can be when it is done well. And the lessons he has very quickly learned as ALL his clients go virtual.

There is one number more important in business than any other and we should avoid it like the plague. It is the number that is sending businesses to the wall and particularly those of many speakers.

In this episode, David explains why this number is so significant but even more importantly, how you can circumvent it to ensure you still gain maximum impact when communicating as a leader. 

David posted today on social media about how managing nerves is still the #1 issue when it comes to presenting. Someone posted that they ‘believed’ that nerves are good to maintain focus. This is utter bullshit. David tells you why in this podcast.

If it was easy, every leader would be a presentation rockstar. Improving presentation skills requires an entire deconstruction of your current speaking self, learning successful and tried strategies and turning them into habits. How hard can that be and have you got what it takes?

‘Every organisation must prepare for the abandonment of everything it does.’ - Peter Drucker. This is EXACTLY what David does when he coaches CEOs. He takes them apart and reassembles them as a presentation rockstar. But to do that takes a leap by the mentee. Most want to be a little more interesting/funny/better with technology, etc. But to have a significant improvement requires something much deeper. David explains how he does that and the impact it had on one CEO when he made the change.

David recently spent a day doing presentation skills coaching with a team of 8 people. Unusually, the feedback was mixed. Question is – how did David deal with it?

As David has gone along his merry journey called life, he has learned one thing. Whether it was becoming a world class memoriser, national level competitive bodybuilder or an international speaker for nearly quarter of a century, one thing is true. There are always two categories of performers – those who have a detailed strategy and execute it well and those who fly by the seat of their pants.

David recently had an old friend up at his house for a day doing presentation skills coaching. When he did the exit interview at the end of the day, he asked him why he had chosen David. He said it was because of his social media videos. We all know the incredible value of a strong presence on social media and yet, it still shocks David how many people – even professional speakers – do it badly despite the obvious harm to their business and brand.

David did a motivational keynote speech for a sales conference just before Xmas in Dubai. One specific request from the guy who booked his was to memorise and recite a pack of playing cards. Two people filmed it and you will hear a clip of the response from those watching. What seems like an almost pointless party trick can have a dramatic effect on an audience.