Case Study
Aberdeen Investments: Coaching for Keynotes
A Senior Executive at a global asset management business wanted some intensive one to one work on his keynote presentations. His role increasingly involves pitches and presentations and workshops, but also keynote presentations at conferences in the UK and mainland Europe.
The brief might as well have been “from good to great”; in other words the task was to take a decent presenter, three out of five on the conference circuit feedback forms, and take him to four then five. Three intensive half day sessions were delivered, centred around a specific keynote presentation.
Delivered a week or two apart, three intensive sessions firstly used the KWC Method to create a presentation that would speak to and be remembered by the audience. There were a number of slides that initially appeared fundamental to the message, but these were quickly put aside as the core messages and overarching theme was uncovered.
By the time the presentation was scoped out the importance of the slides had receded considerably. There is an intensity in the teaching, we call it tough love, that interrogates everything the presenter does and seeks to find the best way to deliver results: there is not only one way to be good.
As we move through the process there is a shift from skills development on structure and tone and the emotional connection to delivery style. It is difficult to describe the alchemy that happens as you push yourself to deliver presentations that are at first outside your comfort zone but quickly, if you are open to it, become the norm.
Finally, integrating technology is something that clients can be keen to do at the start of every big presentation; we teach them that they need to develop what they are going to say first: that has been very powerful. Even a short session of how to best use a flipchart, in front of an audience of over 100, shows keynote speakers how they might better connect with a bored group at 2pm on a warm Friday.
The client felt that they became a much better and more confident presenter after nine hours with Russell because this training was as far removed from generic presentation skills training as you can imagine. Russell gives clients an insight into their personal style and how to deliver effective presentations. However, more important was the way Russell teaches techniques to engage an audience, make a more immediate impact, weave their stories into the analytics, releasing themselves from the need to have any slides, to become a more kinetic presenter.
What is especially exciting, as someone who has goals and ambitions, is that I can see this as being a key skill as I move forward in my career which I can apply to many situations. I know I have become much better in a very short period- it feels a bit like hot housing to be honest- but also know I will get much better.
Immediately after the first session I delivered a keynote with far fewer slides; it was obvious the audience engaged more fully with the material and I got some real leads from the event. Then choosing to take away all technology and use only flipcharts was a revelation. The freedom to move around produces a lot of energy and engagement and allows me better to express myself. What is inspiring is that, though my development had been dramatic in a short time, this is just the start of a journey to being the keynote presenter everyone remembers.
Senior Executive, Abrdn
