Stand-up presentations are an inescapable part of business today.

“The best two-day investment in me so far.” Andy Pearson, CIO, HSBC UK.

This programme equips senior people with the input they’ve been missing to present with credibility to a business audience, the media or the general public.

Senior presenters face serious challenges

Presentations are a critical test of your credibility and yet too often end up being confusing, bland or full of irrelevant detail.

Initial budget approval and continuing support for a project can be won or lost on the confidence the business has in your ability to present your ideas clearly, concisely and in their language.

Public perception of your brand can depend on a conference presentation or a media appearance.

The more senior you get, the more critical these issues become.

Without specific, expert guidance, things can go wrong.

The dread of giving a presentation can take over your life for days, even weeks. When you get to deliver the presentation, it’s never how you planned it in your head, and there are myriad ways you could do better. You know what you mean to say, but are painfully aware that you’re losing your audience. Or maybe you just see other people doing it a whole lot better, but don’t know how to go about improving your skills.

Be as confident in presentations as you are in conversations

The good news is that delivering a presentation is a very particular, and learnable, set of skills.
We help you be as fluent, personable and together in a presentation as you are in conversation.

What will I get from this class?

In this class, you’ll gain the assurance of communicating in a way that matches your seniority, without feeling like a fraud.

Becoming a better presenter will lead to your people and your clients listening to you with more attention. You will be visible as a credible, sorted person who is worth listening to. You’ll learn where to start planning, and how to filter your knowledge appropriately.

On the way, you’ll gain the firm confidence that comes from knowing where you’re strong as a speaker, and from learning some of the advanced principles of psychology and communication that affect your ability to persuade.

You’ll learn when you need slides, and when you don’t, and how to deal with the dreaded Q&A. You won’t be learning how to put on an act, or how to become someone else. You’ll learn to become more yourself, to think in detail about who you’re talking to, and to implement some surprisingly simple principles around structure, content and delivery.

Finally, you’ll know how to make it easy for people to move in the direction of the recommendations you’re making, without using cheesy manipulative 'sales' tactics.

For our graduates, ordinary presentations make barely a blip on their radar, and important presentations are challenges they know how to tackle, but nothing to lose sleep over.

Who’s the class aimed at?

This programme is particularly aimed at people who feel like their presentation skills don't match their level of seniority inside their business.

It is especially effective to improve the skills of delivering to large or senior groups, or for stand-up presentations to customers/the public.

The class is designed for people who actively want to make leaps in their abilities to present without slimy sales tactics or forgettable ‘techniques’. (If you have to present often to your team, the principles you learn will copy over there, too.) Although beginners might get some benefit, the programme is definitely aimed at those with some experience presenting. Those who have just taken on a more senior/visible role will find it particularly beneficial.

What will I learn specifically?

By the end of the two days, you will be able to:

• Begin to enjoy speaking in front of any group, not just being in control of your nerves, but on your way to a deep sense of confidence in your abilities

• Use body and voice as a tool to convey credibility

• Filter complex information appropriately

• Use the secrets of language and presentation structure to gain early agreement to your ideas and deal with objections before they arise

• Use some of the fundamental principles of ethical influence

• Plan to answer questions with ease

• Use your passion and experience to make it easy for people to listen

• Plan persuasive presentations rapidly

• Make an authentic connection with your listeners

“The overall process of the workshop was just perfect.” Clarence Li, Senior Operations Manager

An unexpected benefit of the programme is the ability to analyse any presentation you see, being able to map in detail the way a speaker achieves the responses they get from their listeners and being able to implement that learning in your own presentations. In short, the structure of presentations is no longer a mystery.

What will the process be like?

You will be part of a group of eight who will receive in-depth intensive coaching throughout the two days on how to use pace, tonality, inflection, language, structure and gesture like master communicators. All you have to do is relax and follow instructions and we can promise you the opportunity to completely transform your skills. The programme ends with an chance to try out some ideas for your imminent presentations.

“This class gave me the confidence I need and tools that really work.” Raymond Kwok, Senior IT Manager

It’s a very down-to-earth, active programme, however, so you will have delivered seven or more sessions before this, growing through experimentation in a safe environment. You are filmed most times you present, and watch this in private with an experienced and friendly coach, who makes sure that you can see your rapid progress.

What’s the philosophy behind the class?

Every minute of every programme we deliver is devoted to giving you better communication instincts.
Rather than just getting you to interact with the latest fad, we train you in real skills that you can’t get from reading books. For this reason, we refuse to waste your time with ice-breakers, role-play, acronyms, people typologies, ‘training games’ or PowerPoint.

Who runs the class?

Andrew Lightheart is Asia's technical presentation specialist, as featured in Straits Times, Singapore's national newspaper. He is in the unique position of having coached almost 4,000 presentations by senior people from companies such as HSBC and Siemens with presenters from UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, China, India and the Philippines. Originally from the UK, but based since 2006 in Singapore, he is in demand as a writer, speaker, blogger, and workshop leader.