ADAPT #40 - 🤘 I stumbled a bit...

Hey Rebels!

As always, I promise to provoke you in less than 5 min once a week so that you can stay adaptable and on top of your game!


Speaking about staying on top of my game…. Nooooo!!!! I managed to hit my Thursday deadline 39 newsletters in a row and on #40 (this one) I stumbled a bit…

I was going to give you some lame excuse but the honest truth is that I didn’t prioritise my week properly and let the newsletter fall through the cracks.

Well, I am here and I hope this week’s challenge is worth it!

I recently posted a keynotes reel on my socials (check it right below), weirdly enough I never had an official reel and now I do!

gusbalbontin

View more on Instagram

^^^ Watch the video and leave a comment.. did you like it?!!

The reel triggered a lot of people to ask me for advice - how do you present? What should I focus on? How do I beat the nerves?

Either people present in public due to their job and they want to get better, or they want to become a speaker, or they are terrified and they want to try it.

So here are a number of thoughts in no particular order:

• Unlike the usual advice you may get if you ask Google, I prefer to set a vague structure and not practise or rehearse my presentations. It aligns directly with my authentic approach, I want my presentation to be a true representation of how I think and my spontaneous logic, inclusive of my imperfections.

• I pay attention to my non-verbal communication, face, body, hand gestures, how I move across the stage. Remember a big portion of comms is non-verbal. If you decide to stand behind a lectern know that you’ll have to compensate a bit as there is less of you to see! The texture of your voice, the tones, the pauses, are also elements that are critical and are not necessarily linked to the content itself.

• Now onto the content. You need to truly believe and own what you have to say. When I keynote I really really really want the audience to know what I know because I think it will help them. If you half believe or you are talking about something you don’t completely own the audience will pick you apart quickly.

• You may think that public speaking is one directional, as in you talking to them. Remember the audience communicates with you in their own non-verbal way too. Mannerisms, body gestures, when they reach for their phones, if they take notes, if they talk to each other. All these actions are immediate feedback. Tune into this and modulate accordingly. If you are unsure, ask them: “too far?” “Not far enough?” “Am I making sense?” “Am I confusing you?”

• If you are scared of standing in front of people, ask yourself what exactly are you scared about and what’s the consequence? Write a list! Generally speaking, we make it worse in our own heads. Private or public, you always expose yourself to the judgment of others and the inevitable disagreement. I prime my audiences early and ensure they know this: “You won’t agree with everything I say, in fact, I failed if you did, what I want is to provoke you and make you come up with your own truth”.

• Don’t ever try to be funny, instead have fun. If you have fun, they will have fun with you. Same goes for feeling… wanna make them feel excited, be excited.. wanna make them feel challenged, be challenged.. want to make them feel perplexed, be perplexed. What they feel is just as important as what they hear.

• Make sure you have a good outro - don’t leave anyone guessing as to when they have to clap. Do this with your body, your tone and your content.

• Love your audience… genuinely think of these people as your family. They are lending you their ears, they are giving you attention they could give to a million other things. Take the privilege seriously and appreciate them in return.

• Be authentic, imperfect, candid, be human.

• Finally - surrender

For those that want to do it professionally perhaps email me back. If enough of you email me maybe I can put a little cheat guide to agents, pricing, content structure, things to think about, etc.

Break a leg!

Love

Gus

PS: one of my favourite quotes from a gig I did for Zendesk back in the day from @_pennyholloway “Gus keynoted the shit out of it” Hahahaha! 😆

My recommendations:

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