Powerful Presenting For Leaders

Someone contacted David recently and asked how to choose a presentation skills coach. This is something that David had never considered but realised one thing - the process is the same as when choosing a coach for ANY endeavour. In this episode, David goes through the 6 key elements that every leader MUST consider when looking for a presentation skills coach for that next big presentation.

2022 is World Cup year in rugby league and as a huge Brucie bonus, it is being held in England. Last week, David got invited to speak to the players and backroom staff at one of their camps just 12 weeks before it starts. In this episode David explains how he made schoolboy errors by cocking up the briefing and how his confidence evaporated when he found out that the last speaker was the England f...

We all have medals and scars. Successes, failures, amazing highs, devastating lows. But traditional speaking says to only share the war stories. In this episode, David explains why this is horseshit and how we should learn from both medals and scars as they both have a great deal to teach us. It is also the same when we present. Audiences love to hear how you overcame adversity but also want to he...

You don't look for a presentation skills coach in the Yellow Pages. Oh no, that much is obvious. After all, why would you put one of the most important presentations of your life in the hands of a stranger? Well, actually, many do and don't have much choice. In this episode, David goes through the 6 key things to consider when looking for a coach including the questions to ask, what the perfect tr...

Most leaders resist like mad when it comes to putting entertainment into their presentations. They usually tell David that they are not a 'performing monkey.' To which he always replies 'Yes you are and if you're not now, you'd better learn.' In this episode, David explains why every presentation requires a certain amount of entertainment. Otherwise, it will be boring, you will be boring, the audi...

Someone challenged David about his Facebook feed commenting that he has too many testimonials. Basically, he is bragging too much. A great challenge. In this episode, David talks about how the changes he implemented in his social media feed are the same we should put into our speaking.

A 1955 Mercedes SL 'gullwing' currently costs around $2m at auction. When they come up. A 1955 Mercedes SLR 'gullwing' Uhlenhaut just sold for a shocking $142m. The only major difference between the two cars is the wonderful back story and history attached to the Uhlenhaut. In this episode, David explains the value of a back story and how we can use it to get greater engagement from our audiences.

David recently went to Croatia to do last minute on site coaching with a client who he had been working with for 6 weeks from home. Coaching at the event they were speaking at was a first for him and taught a ton of stuff. In this episode, David is going to share what he learned and also what he did that made them come off stage fist pumping the air.

David recently got asked to speak at a major event. Problem is, he didn't know how major...because he didn't ask! In this week's episode, David goes through what you should ask a client when speaking externally. Or you could REALLY miss out.

David has just appeared on The Rob Beckett Show on BBC Radio 2. It was a fun slot called Geek Of The Week! As always, David uses his media appearances as a great example of how to apply presentation skills. With Beckett being a professional comedian, it made for a very fun and lively interview. The clip is included in this week's podcast.  

The second half of the interview that David conducted with Dave Hyner. Dave does not hold back in giving his opinion on the good, bad and ugly in the world of speaking. He drops knowledge bombs all the way through this interview. A fascinating insight into a top class speaker.

Dave Hyner has spoken to more than 1 million people over the last 25 years. He is a Hall Of Fame speaker with the former Academy for Chief Executives. He has spoken internationally, written books and done enormous amounts of study and research to make sure that what he speaks about works. In this episode, David interviews Dave and gets into everything involved in the world of top class speaking.  

Brevity is the #1 law in all of speaking. Get on, say your bit in the shortest time with the least number of slides and the fewest number of words then get off. Even if you have a time slot to fill, keeping it super succinct and moving along is really key. In this episode, David talks about why it is so important and uses a really cool example of selling fish!

This week, David bought a new microphone to improve the quality of his podcast recordings. It has only taken the idiot 120+ episodes to do it. In this episode, David talks about how important it is to crank up your professionalism BEFORE it starts to become noticeable. Unless you're an idiot, of course in which case, stay as you are.

The Oscars generated billions of words about the Will Smith and Chris Rock situation. And about the same number of conversations about what is acceptable for a host to say to an audience member. In this episode, David goes through his very specific formula about what you can and definitely should NOT say to an audience.

As a leader, people in our circle of influence expect to hear our voice and opinion but when and how we use that voice to mention current affairs can be a delicate issue. In this episode, David talks about how to do just that, shares examples of how to do it badly and gives an example from one speaker who won't discuss it publicly at all. And for very good reason.

It's always a nervy time testing new material. You don't want to be stuck delivering the same old stuff every time you present but it takes courage and a leap of faith to use brand new material. In this episode, David talks about how dead ducks don't quack (bad material is just bad material and will never come good), how to measure how successful material is from the response of an audience respon...

Coaching commercial clients is fun and inspiring because they walk through the door keen to learn and improve. But teaching kids round the kitchen table is a trial that most parents would rather substitute with tooth removal without anaesthetic. In this episode, David talks about how he recently coached his daughter on presentation skills and how improving yours isn't just about you becoming a pre...

A successful senior manager in a major company spent the day with David yesterday at his house learning presentation skills. Problem was, she was already speaking beautifully for the very narrow type of presenting she does. And will probably do for the remaining 5 years or so in her career. But the problem was only for David. His client walked away with the most important thing she was looking to...

Mel Robbins is a fantastic motivational speaker and David has both listened to her Audible podcast series and an interview with her. She was asked about her presenting style and she said that she fills her talks with analogies to get her message across. In this episode, David explains how analogies are incredibly powerful but also that putting in more variety and using other techniques is the opti...

David appeared on the TV show, The Weakest Link, many years ago. He got through to the final three but astonishingly, one of the other two contestants didn't realise that the strategy that would WIN her the money in the final would not be the one that had got her TO the final. In this episode, David recounts the amazing experience and how leaders need to understand that the style of speaking they...

In business, everyone brags about the key elements that make them stand out. In David's case, he is forever going on about appearing on Oprah, having a #1 bestselling book and breaking a Guinness record. But sadly, when leaders speak, their humility means they pass over these crucial points too quickly in their talks. In this episode, David explains how to make your credibility work for you and mo...

David heard the title to this podcast in a newsletter and thought it very apt for his progress through his speaking career. In this episode, he explains why presentation skills progress only happens when we truly push ourselves out of our comfort zone, as cliched as that sounds. David also talks about the difference between who we are and who we are becoming through the concept of the Hegelian dia...

In this episode, David goes through the top 10 lessons he has learned about presenting in 2021. This is from the perspective of his own speaking having presented in person and remotely in over 50 countries. And from his perspective as a presentation skills coach having prepared many CEOs for big talks.

As a presentation skills coach for leaders, David gets to work on specific talks with real material and over the years, he has worked on every kind of talk imaginable. He is not easily shocked or surprised. But recently, he got a call from a CEO doing a simple long service awards ceremony and wanted some advice. There was an unusual and devastating twist to the presentation. In this episode, David...