Talking Talks: How to influence an audience the right way
A large part of our ability to influence is how we engage people.
And one of the prime opportunities for that is when we are presenting to an audience, say in a team meeting, from the stage, or making a sales call.
We can use engagement techniques which appeal to the rational mind of our audience, like facts and logic.
And we can use engagement techniques which appeal to the emotional mind, like story and design.
Unfortunately, most presenters are botching the balance, and assuming the weight of their rational argument will be enough to persuade.
It’s not.
This has been nagging at me for years, but hit peak pique watching a large virtual conference recently, when for the second year in a row I was underwhelmed by the general standard of talks.
When presenters don’t do themselves or their audience justice it drives me bananas.
So with fire in my belly, I’ve decided to do something about it.
Welcome to Talking Talks
I’m very pleased to announce my new YouTube series, Talking Talks.
- In Talking Talks I do two things:
Interview world class presenters who share their process for crafting and delivering great presentations; and - Do deep dives on presentation techniques that work well, and those we should avoid.
Let’s celebrate the launch of Talking Talks with a couple of interviews.
The first is my interview with Christian Hunt from Human Risk in which we discuss making a “dull” topic interesting. Christian’s patch includes compliance, ethics and regulation, so he knows a thing or two about getting people engaged in topics that aren’t particularly sexy.
The second is my interview with Anne Miles of Suits and Sneakers in which talking about uncomfortable things is our theme. Anne is perfectly placed to share her ideas with us because she is well known for tackling topics like negative stereotypes in advertising and why the traditional ad agency model is broken.
I hope you enjoy! And if you do, let Christian and Anne know by connecting on LinkedIn.
And to get more interviews and clips from me for free, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel.
Interested in how to use behavioural science to improve your presentations? Book in for coaching with me and let's get started.
