The White Rabbit

Amidst all the solopreneur emphasis on the need to niche one's business, Matt mentions that his favorite clients, by far, are the ones who, months later, have evolved to something that has absolutely nothing to do with his niche. He highly recommends that the other solopreneurs out there follow the niching literature and consider niching a vital survival technique, but he urges them to, at the sam...

Alper goes into the traits he sees making for a successful client. They are 1. Recognizing the power of exceptional communications, 2. Understanding that this is not an overnight process, 3. Recognizing the fine line between persuasion and fit, and 4. Understanding that a "no" today is not a "no" forever. Also, if someone knows how much a Lear Jet costs or what goes in a Mai Tai, please let us kno...

Matt describes what he sees as the three traits of clients who get the most out of the training. The traits are: 1. A history of serial problem solving, 2. A frustration coming from one of life's slaps in the face, and 3. The fear of god (an external force that makes them want to solve the problem that #2 brought to the forefront).  

Matt asks Alper for advice on how to handle a crisis of confidence his clients often face shortly after starting work.  

Alper goes into how AI is affecting his slide design work, and in particular how he reduces its impact. In short: Even if the AI image quality were perfect, which it's definitely not, the legal situation is too fluid, so go with your tried-and-true techniques: Make your own images, or use stock photography. Also, Matt crosses his fingers and hopes no one will call him out on a need to present data...

After resisting the temptation to talk AI, Matt and Alper finally break down and do it. Along the way they discuss the meaning of the phrase "con man" and the existential reasons for why they do what they do. The upshot of the discussion is that AI's source material is the sum total of the knowledge on the internet, and so most of us are therefore safe. However, if your main job is to produce cat...

Alper goes deeper into the specifics of a sales presentation slide deck, and in particular how you know it's time to upgrade your old deck, the importance of interactivity, and the importance of talking directly with your sales force while deciding how to layout the new deck. Also, what Will Smith has to do with good design.

Matt goes into a phrase he uses often with his clients, "stalk the board," and what he means by that, why to do it and how to do it, and what to expect and not expect. Don't worry, it doesn't involve hiding out in the bushes at midnight, getting arrested, or looking through binoculars.    

Alper mentions a sales presentation webinar he was leading recently, and in particular, suggestions he gave for building one's self-confidence in the delivery, and what are the right things to practice and what are the wrong things to practice. Also, what is an alternative to the all-too-common "about us" introduction.    

Matt goes into the major steps (and missteps) in his specialization journey, including what prompted him to start down that road in the first place.

Alper goes into rational and emotional resistance factors clients face, and that your slide deck can only carry part of the role in overcoming that resistance.

Alper asks Matt what he means by the phrase "The Four Things." If you want to "Pareto" your presentation or speech (do the 20% of the things that will get you 80% of the improvement), these are the four things to tackle first.

Matt and Alper interview Natalia Talkowska about the importance of putting some of your own story into your presentations, even if you feel a bit unsure about it, and how your audience needs that from you in order to connect with your message. Also, Natalia challenges Matt to draw a stick man on LinkedIn. 

Tom Tran makes another guest appearance on the podcast, this time to talk about internship presentations. What are they for, and what should be in there, and in particular, the importance of getting buy-in during the presentation development process.

Matt and Alper talk to product manager Ömer Gençer, who describes how he customizes his presentations for the many different audiences he encounters in his day-to-day work life.

Matt and Alper go into some tips for dealing with "Zoom latency" -- the tendency of videoconferencing software to interrupt the way we humans interact.  

Today Alper goes into the three factors causing us to be so stressed when speaking during a presentation, even though we know the chances are pretty low that someone is going to shoot us in the head while we're doing it, along with some of his techniques for getting around that stress.        

Alper goes into some ways to execute the non-linear approach to presentations in PowerPoint. If you want your message to land with the audience, you need to know these techniques.

Matt goes into his own form of resistance. Hint: It relates in particular to writing. In true Matt form, his technique for overcoming resistance is perhaps simplistic and reductive: He boils it down to one single step.

Alper goes into overcoming resistance, particularly as it applies to making videos, and more generally, as it applies to rehearsing for presentations. He outlines the six steps he goes through, and recommends to others, when overcoming resistance.

Tom Tran, an associate brand manager in the CPG business, comes on the podcast to describe how presentations are prepared in his world. Matt, Alper, and Tom suspect that maybe, just maybe, a future episode will need to deal with documents that go out before the meeting.

The White Rabbit podcast turns the big five-oh. Congratulations to TWRP! Inspired by a comment he heard from Chris Do of TheFutur.com, Alper wonders how presentations would change if we stopped using the vocabulary of obligation to describe them (“I have to give a presentation tomorrow”), and instead used the vocabulary of opportunity (“I get to give a presentation tomorrow”).

Today Matt and Alper go into visual design, not just generally, but including its role in furthering communication. Alper discusses the need for prioritization, and the point at which one can confidently say, "That's enough, time for other things now."

Matt and Alper go into three skills fundamental to everyone's success in life. In fact, they are so fundamental that Matt, a professional communications trainer, recently felt the need to improve them in himself. Today he mentions what they are and how he is going about "sharpening the sword."    

Matt lays out a piece of advice he gives to clients about "seeding," or "planting," questions during the presentation, and Alper gives some feedback on whether Matt's is a good piece of advice or not.