Heroic Voice - Blog #The Presentation Gym

Deliver a World-Class Panel Presentation

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 23:14:16 -0700

World-Class Panel Presentations

Panel Discussions are one of the most effective ways to share real insights with organic conversations. However, a majority of panels fail because they arrive on stage under-prepared. The panelists share memorized answers to scripted questions, while their audience lstart to look for the nearest exit.

In this article, we will share how world-class moderators and panelists deliver outstanding audience experiences:

Personalized Introductions and Customized Questions
Rich and Organic Conversations
Precise Summaries and Key Takeaways

NOTE: This 30-minute framework is recommended for moderators with 2 or 3 panelists. Having a 4th panelist will require a longer session (45 minutes), and higher level of moderator skills.

Open with Personalized Introductions

Moderators have 3 minutes to earn the trust and attention of their audience. In the first minute, a skilled moderator will state the title of the session, share why the topic is important, and a deliver a Bold Promise from the panel. This promise often begins with the phrase "By the end of this session, you will...."

The most common mistake in the introduction is when a moderator or panelist recites their biographies. Titles and company names are already on the screen, so there is no need to read this slide to the audience. This low-quality introduction hints to the audience that will witness a boring conversation amongst strangers.

A professional moderator will use these two minutes to give a personalized introduction for each panelist. Personalized introductions demonstrate pre-existing relationships that hint to an engaging conversation amongst friends. Audience who witness these types of conversations experience deeper levels of connection with the panel.

Start with Customized Opening Questions

In the next 9 minutes, the moderator conducts an individual deep dive with each panelist. In each 3-minute deep dive, each panelist showcases a core message, shares a related story, and provides a key insight to the audience.

During the panel preparation process, the moderator will work with each panelist to ensure that their core message is connected to the panel's theme. Panelists use rehearsals to fine tune their message to be easily absorbed by the audience. Also, each panelist must finish their opening answer within 3 minutes.

I call this section the "Opening Solos", borrowed from the world of jazz musicians. These opening answers are the first opportunity for the audience to hear their voice and learn their content. A panelist succeeds when their core message lands with the audience, and their answer provides rich content for the moderator to use during the interactive discussion section.

Manage Rich and Organic Conversations

After the panelists answer their opening question, the moderator is equipped with a set of core messages, related stories and takeaways to lead an interactive discussion.

Moderator Role: Advance the conversation with follow-up questions that prompt the panel for additional details, examples, or insights. Actively listen to the contributions in order to draw connections to the panel's theme, or between panel members. Finally, challenge assumptions or raise objections, using your voice to represent the doubts or concerns in the audience.
Panelist Role: Actively listen to questions from the moderator and contributions from your fellow panelists. Build upon the current conversation and create deeper connection to the panel's theme. Use your contributions to elevate audience comprehension or facilitate audience engagement.

Close with Precise Summaries and Key Takeaways

A fully prepared moderator will finish the interactive discussion with 5 minutes left on the clock. This allows time for each panelist to have closing remarks, and time for the moderator to formally close the session.

Panelist Role: Take1 minute to do the following: (1) Restate your vision to spark the audience's desire for change. (2) Remind the audience of the stakes and the urgency of now. (3) Invite the audience to apply your actionable insight in their personal or professional lives.
Moderator Role: By skillfully managing time, you will leave yourself 2 full minutes to close the session. Start by synthesizing your panelist's core messages, and then invite the audience to implement at least one key takeaway. End with specific instructions on how to provide feedback and how to continue the conversation with the panel. Most importantly, prompt the audience to give a round of applause to thank your panel.

Summary

In this article, we shared the best practices of world-class moderators and panelists. In preparation for your next industry panel, we invite you to invest rehearsal time to successfully deliver the following audience experiences:

Personalized Introductions and Customized Questions
Rich and Organic Conversations
Precise Summaries and Key Takeaways

Build Your Message Portfolio

To build your Message Portfolio,, consider joining our Synchronized Communications MasterClass. Over the course of 12 sessions, you will compose 4 core presentations to be fully prepared for your most important presentations and conversations. In our presentation gym, you will learn to use the 7 voices of leadership to communicate trust, create connection and build relationships with your audience.

Schedule an appointment with one of our executive communications coaches, and learn how the MasterClass will prepare you to generate money, activate support and accumulate recommendations from all of your leadership presentations.

Showcase Your Transform Conference Video

Sun, 17 Aug 2025 14:29:38 -0700

Showcase Your Transform Video

Congratulations for taking the stage at the Transform Conference to share your nuggets of wisdom. The team at Transform has uploaded your video to Vimeo. You can now download the video to promote your brand and your messages.

In this article, we will share 3 examples of how to showcase your Transform Conference video:

Feature as a LinkedIn Post
Feature on a LinkedIn Article
Feature on your Portfolio Website

Feature as a LinkedIn Post

Check for an email from the Transform production team. You will find a Vimeo link that looks like this:
https://vimeo.com/1110171132/1fff74ba45?share=copy

You can directly place this link into your LinkedIn post, and the video will automatically be embedded.

You can also choose to feature a segment of your video by adding a start time and an end time. For example, let's say that I want my video to start the at the 0:02 timestamp and end at the 1:04 timestamp.

Using these timestamps, I create the following text to insert into the Vimeo link.

#t=0m2s&end=1m04s

Be sure to insert the text after the last number and before the question mark.

https://vimeo.com/1110171132/1fff74ba45#t=0m2s&end=1m04s ?share=copy

For best practices, review the following Transform LinkedIn Post:

Summary: Share a few sentences to introduce your session
Promo: Encourage the audience to connect with you to learn more
Gratitude: Tag your fellow panelists to show your appreciation
Wisdom: Add your Vimeo link to share your video.

Advanced Strategy: This video was enhanced with OpusClip, an AI video editing and clipping tool. View the following micro-training and learn how OpusClip can help you choose and edit a highlight moment from your Transform video.

Feature on a LinkedIn Article

Most viewers prefer to watch a highly curated segment of your video, especially if it is their first online experience with you. By providing a rich and engaging short piece of content, your viewers will be motivated to learn more.

Begin your article with a link to your video. For example:
"In this article, you will learn how to build a message portfolio of your 4 best presentations. Here is my 1 minute overview: https://vimeo.com/1110171132/1fff74ba45#t=0m2s&end=1m04s?share=copy

For best practices, review the following LinkedIn article from Transform 2025 panelist Bryan Breckenridge:

Summary: Share a few sentences to introduce your session
Promo: Encourage the audience to connect with you to learn more
Gratitude: Tag your fellow panelists to show your appreciation
Transform AI: Find your video in the "On-Demand" part of the Transform Website. Below your video, you will find three sections (generated by Transform AI) that you can copy and directly paste into your article: "About this session", "Insights" and "Strategic Takeaways".

Advanced Strategy: Review the summary produced by Transform AI. Did it accurately capture the key messages you intended to share? Read the following article to learn how to refine your messages and elevate the impact of your next panel presentation.

Feature on Your Portfolio Website

Your Transform conference video is an ideal addition to your website. We recommend that you create a portfolio website of your 4 best videos:

Brand: Highlight "Who you are" and "What you stand for"
Pitch: Sharing wisdom as a Trusted Advisor
Solution: Teaching how you solve a specific problem
Keynote: Highlight moments from a main stage presentation

We recommend using your Transform conference video as your "Pitch" video. This video is a great example of you, sharing nuggets wisdom and speaking with the voice of a trusted advisor.

Andrea Robb, panelist from Transform 2024, features a highlight moment as one of her 4 message portfolio videos. Visit Andrea's sample page to see the additional videos we helped her create to complete her message portfolio.

Advanced Strategy: Some of you may want to explore using simple video editing tools or even using AI to generate your message portfolio website. View the following micro-training and learn how Dr. Harvey Castro, a 4-time TEDx speaker, used AI to generate his website to showcase his TEDx videos.

Summary

Download your Transform Conference video to promote your brand and your messages. Use these 3 strategies to showcase your video:

Feature as a LinkedIn Post
Feature on a LinkedIn Article
Feature on your Portfolio Website

Build Your Message Portfolio

Showcase Your Best Presentations

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 20:18:21 -0700

Showcase Your Best Presentations

Once you have selected your top 4 videos, here are the easiest ways to make edits and create a personalized Message Portfolio page. In this article, we will share 3 examples from some of our favorite clients:

How to showcase a full-length video
How to showcase a segment of your video
How to showcase your best presentations

Showcase Your Entire Video

When you have a full-length video to showcase, the first step is to upload your video to YouTube or Vimeo. Once uploaded, embed the link of your video to your website, or better yet, on your LinkedIn profile.

For example, Andrea Robb composed a complete collection of her Message Portfolio videos: Brand, Pitch, Solution and Keynote. Here is a sample page that features each of her Message Portfolio videos.

Since all of her videos are available on Vimeo, Andrea is able to embed them on her company website. She also embedded a video in a LinkedIn post, which is highlighted in the "Featured" section of her LinkedIn profile.

Showcase a Segment of Your Video

Most viewers prefer to watch a highly curated segment of your video, especially if it is their first online experience with you. By providing a rich and engaging piece of content, your viewers will be motivated to learn more.

Curating great content will require some minor editing skills. You can choose to use free tools like Adobe Express or iMovie , to shorten the video by identifying start and end times. For simple yet powerful edits, consider using the AI tool OpusClip. Drop your video into OpusClip and it will produce a rich set of short videos, complete with captions and a suggested title.

Select your favorite video, make minor edits, and upload it to Vimeo or YouTube. A great example is a LinkedIn post from the Transform conference. Their team embedded a short OpusClip video of a panelist, included a summary, and acknowledged each member of the panel.

This marketing post provides 2 ways for viewers to learn more:
* See the full-length video by joining their online community
* See more high-quality content by attending their next conference.

ShowcaseYour Best Presentations

Once you have a full set of videos, you're ready to add them to a page on your website. We recommend that you publish a Message Portfolio that includes a keynote (less than 10 minutes) and 3 shorter length videos (less than 3 minutes).

Use your Message Portfolio to share with conference producers, potential investors, and organizations looking for leaders with outstanding community skills. Your videos give your audience an opportunity to get to know you before an in-person conversation. A Message Portfolio effectively answers the 7 most important leadership questions.

Dr. Harvey Castro is a sought after speaker. With his experience as an ER physician, he has delivered 4 TEDx talks, earning the nickname "Dr. GPT". Harvey used Manus AI to help him build his Message Portfolio website. He first provided a prompt that included links to his TEDx talks. Next, Harvey added a few follow-up prompts, and Manus AI created an exceptional website that Harvey now shares with Conference Producers.

Get your free version of Manus AI and build a Message Portfolio website that features your 4 best presentations.

Summary

Once you have a portfolio of your top 4 videos, it's time to share them with conference producers, prospective investors, or companies who are hiring excellent communicators. Use these three options to build and share your Message Portfolio:

Showcase a full-length video
Shocase a segment of your video
Showcase your best presentations

Build Your Message Portfolio

Qualities of Top Presenters

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 17:22:54 -0700

Qualities of Top Presenters

Today's top presenters enjoy outstanding reputations with their audiences. They focus on the strength of their connections and the depth of their relationships. We invite you to focus on these two areas and earn a reputation where you are:

Trusted for your voice
Recognized for your authority
Respected for your leadership
Rewarded for your impact

Trusted for Your Voice

New audiences will first invest time to learn about you. They are particularly interested who you are and what you stand for. You first core message, "Your Brand" contains the answers to these questions.

Share your vision for the future, so your audience knows where you are going. Identify the values that are most important to you, so your audience can connect with shared values. Share an origin story that provides insight to your commitment to the vision.

Deliver these messages as a Contributor and Storyteller, you will be trusted for your voice.

Recognized for your Authority

Once you establish an initial connection with your audience, they will invest their energy to learn from you. They listen for how you evaluate problems and how you recommend solutions. Your second core message, "Your Pitch" answers these two questions.

Identify the major trends and challenges in your industry. Identify competitors you admire and highlight what they are doing well. Showing appreciation for the entire industry sets the stage for you to highlight the merits of your solution.

Speak with the voice of a visionary and advisor, you will be recognized for your authority.

Respected for your Leadership

After successfully educating your audience, they will be motivated to turn theory into practice. They will invest effort to learn how to apply your content to their situation. Your third core message "Your Solution", illustrates how you solve the problem they have.

Provide an overview of your solution or framework. Share a relatable case study to establish credibility, showing that your solution solved a client problem. Most importantly, this helps your audience envision the journey of working with you.

Speak with the voice of a leader and teacher, you will be respected for your leadership.

Rewarded for your Impact

By delivering your first three core messages, you develop a strong connection and a depth of relationship with your audience. They trust you for your voice, they recognize you as an authority, and they respect you as a leader.

Your fourth core message "Your Keynote" integrates your first three core messages into a signature presentation. This high-stakes presentation is delivered to audiences of potential stakeholders. These audience members can fuel your mission with their money, support and recommendation.

Generate MONEY: Potential clients are sources of revenue. Potential investors can provide funding. In the world of policy, there are grants available for companies in your category. Finally, Non-profit organizations are fueled by their community of donors.

Activate SUPPORT: This category of stakeholders can offer their time, energy, and wisdom to support your vision. In your audience, you will find prospective team members who want to join your organization. There will be partners and sponsors who wish to collaborate. Finally, you may find policy makers who can help pave the way for a rapid adoption of your solution.

Accumulate RECOMMENDATIONS: This final stakeholder category includes journalists, analysts, conference attendees, and existing clients. They have the power to share their positive experiences with you, your organization and your solution. Their referrals, testimonials and recommendations all serve to accelerate your organization's growth and impact.

Speak with the voice of a changemaker, you will be rewarded for your impact.

Summary

Trusted for your voice
Recognized for your authority
Respected for your leadership
Rewarded for your impact

Build Your Message Portfolio

To build your message portfolio,, consider joining our Synchronized Communications MasterClass. Over the course of 12 sessions, you will compose 4 core presentations to be fully prepared for your most important presentations and conversations. In our presentation gym, you will learn to use the 7 voices of leadership to communicate trust, create connection and build relationships with your audience.

The Capacity of Your Voice

Mon, 04 Aug 2025 13:00:25 -0700

The Capacity of Your Voice

The capacity of your mission is defined by the capacity of your voice.

As a global impact leader, your voice is an instrument of change.

To elevate the capacity of your voice:

Develop a Message Portfolio of your core messages
Create Connection with your voice
Build a Habit of Practice

Elevate The Capacity of Your Voice

Global impact leaders are responsible for communicating the mission, vision and values of their organization. In all of their high stakes presentations, they are responsible for generating money, support and reputation to fuel their mission.

As a voice of leadership, your two most important priorities are 1) Developing a portfolio of your core messages and 2) Using your messages to create connection with stakeholders in your audience.

What You Say: Your core messages deliver answers to the most important leadership questions. Create a message portfolio of 4 core messages:
* Your Brand is who you are and what you stand for
* Your Pitch is how you evaluate problems and recommend solutions
* Your Solution is how solve a specific problem
* Your Keynote is your vision for our future.

How You Say It: Delivering message is much more than saying the right words. It is about saying the words right. This means sharing your messages in a way that creates connection with the hearts and minds in your audience.

Build Your Message Portfolio

As a voice of leadership, potential stakeholders often evaluate your reputation as a communicator. All of your recorded presentations can be evaluated by new audiences and by applications powered by AI. When you develop a reputation for being an outstanding presenter, you enjoy the following:

TRUSTED for your voice: Your first core message communicates who you are and what you stand for. Share the vision you have for the future of your audience. Highlight the values that you and your audiences have in common.

RECOGNIZED for your authority: Your second core message reflects your reputation as a trusted advisor. Share the major trends and challenges in your industry. Identify what each of your competitors are doing well. Highlight the merits of your solution or framework.

RESPECTED for your leadership: Your third core message teaches the audience how you would solve their problem or challenge. Provide an overview of your solution or framework. Share a relatable case study to establish credibility and help the audience envision working with you.

REWARDED for your impact: Your fourth core message integrates your first three core messages into a signature presentation. This high-stakes presentation is delivered to audiences of potential stakeholders. These audience members can fuel your mission with their money, support and reputation.

Use your messages to Create Connection

Once you have a portfolio of core messages, your next step is to develop your ability to powerfully deliver each core message. Every message can be delivered in a way that creates connection with the hearts and minds of your audience.

CONNECT with your Audience: When you take the stage, make audience connection your first priority. Show that you know who they are, the emotions they feel, the challenges they face, and the future they desire. To illustrate relatability, share a personal story or origin story.

CONNECT with your Message: Be an excellent curator of content that you bring to the stage. Resist the temptation to maximize content, and focus on maximizing comprehension. Put yourself in "Beginner's Mind", and select a few pieces of content that is essential, calibrated and trusted.

CONNECT Audience with your Message: When presenters "speak at" their audiences, they begin to tune out. Focus on "speaking with" your audience by offering them opportunities, activities and exercises to easily engage with your information. Your audience can easily absorb, retain and share your content.

Summary - Build Your Message Portfolio

The capacity of your mission is defined by the capacity of your voice.

As a global impact leader, your voice is an instrument of change.

To elevate the capacity of your voice:

Develop a Message Portfolio of your core messages
Create Connection with your voice
Build a Habit of Practice

Build Your Message Portfolio

Where to Publish Your Message Portfolio

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 09:32:37 -0700

Publish Your Message Portfolio

Publishing your Message Portfolio makes it easy for your audience to experience your voice and the best of your content. In this article, we recommend 3 online locations to share your message portfolio:

* Your Website

* Your LinkedIn Profile

* Your YouTube Channel

Your Business Website

Your website is a great place to have a "First Conversation" with someone new. The moment someone arrives on your website is similar to the moment you take the stage. There is an audience waiting to learn who you are, what you stand for, and how they can count on you. Answer these questions with your Message Portfolio.

* Business Website: Your "About Page" is the best place to share your answers to these initial questions. This page traditionally provides information about the company, the mission and the team. In the team section, provide a link from your photo or your name to a follow-up page that features your 4 videos.

* Personal Website: This website showcases the best of your content and your voice. Create a section where you share all 4 videos in your message portfolio. First, place your keynote next to your photo. Second, place your shorter videos (brand, pitch, and solution) on the second row.

Your LinkedIn Profile

Your LinkedIn Profile offers a Featured section where you can post your best content in a variety of formats: your LinkedIn posts and articles, as well as external links to articles or videos.

FEATURED VIDEOS: The featured section displays your top 3 items, with an option to scroll and find more content. Select the the shorter videos from your Message Portfolio (your brand, your pitch, and your solution). In each of your featured videos, LinkedIn displays the video description.

Compose a description that includes the key questions you answer in your video. For example, in your first video (your brand), share a sentence about your vision for the future, and a followup sentence about the values you stand for.

FEATURED ARTICLES: An advanced technique is to embed your video inside of a LinkedIn Article. Start by place your video at the top of your article. Next, add additional content that unpacks the the content in your video.

For example, in your Message Portfolio #3 (your solution), you've taught an overview of your framework or solution. After embedding this video in a LinkedIn article, use the article to provide more detail about each element of your framework.

Your YouTube Channel

YouTube is a great place for showcasing your entire collection of leadership presentations. Create a YouTube channel to house your video presentations, and create individual playlists to organize your content. Playlists are ideal for those who wish to take a deeper dive on your content.

FIRST PLAYLIST: Use the 4 videos from your Message Portfolio in this playlist. In your playlist description, share your vision for the future and the values you take a stand for. A viewer who enjoys your first video, will likely spend time watching the next 3 videos.

ADDITIONAL PLAYLISTS: Create additional playlists from the major topics you speak about. They can come from recorded presentations, video podcasts, or self-recorded videos. In your Message Portfolio #3 (Your Solution), you provided an overview of your solution or framework. You can create a playlist that features each element of your framework or solution.

Summary - Build Your Message Portfolio

To expand the capacity of your voice, build a Message Portfolio and share it on 3 online platforms:

* WEBSITE = Your Business Website
* LINKEDIN = Your LinkedIn Profile
* YOUTUBE = Your YouTube Playlist

Sharing you Message Portfolio will make it easy for your audience to experience your voice and the best of your content.

Build Your Message Portfolio

How to Build Your Message Portfolio

Mon, 21 Jul 2025 10:43:54 -0700

Build Your Message Portfolio

The most effective leaders build a portfolio of messages to answer 7 key leadership questions. In this article, we share how to build your portfolio from videos of your leadership presentations:

* Select Your Best Videos

* Select Your Best Messages

* Publish Your Message Portfolio

Select Your Best Videos

As a leader, you are invited to share your messages in a variety of high stakes speaking opportunities. Inside each of these presentations, you will find potential answers to 7 key leadership questions:

* Podcasts and Interviews: These are events where you share elements of your leadership brand, answering the questions "Who are you?", "What do you stand for?", and "What is your vision for your audience?"

* Client and Investor Presentations: In these presentations, you speak about potential solutions and future possibilities. As a leader, you answer the question "Where are we going?" As a trusted advisor, you answer the question "Which choice do you recommend"

* Demonstration and Trainings: In these situations, you take the stage to share about target destinations, company direction, and ideal strategies. As a teacher, you answer the question "How will we get there?" With a storyteller voice, you help the audience envision "When will we succeed?"

* Industry Panels and Conferences: At your industry events, you bring your nuggets of wisdom to the stage, answering the question "Why is this important?" These events are unique opportunities to engage your audience, and invite them to help you achieve a shared vision for the future.

Select Your Core Messages

In each of the videos, look to find sections where you precisely and concisely answer the 7 key leadership questions. Knowing these questions will help you organize your content to include in a specific Message Portfolio video:

BRAND: Look in the beginning section of your recordings. This is where you first introduce yourself to your audience. Look beyond your title, company name, and achievements. Focus on segments where you share your vision for the future or the values that shape your leadership style.

PITCH: Identify times where you provide insight on your industry or your competition. The best content to include are times when you speak with the voice of a trusted advisor. Highlight the positive elements of the industry and competition, before sharing the unique elements of your solution.

SOLUTION: You will find ideal content in your product demonstrations or trainings. Focus on the sections where you provide an overview of your solution, or talk through a product demonstration. Remember this is a high-level introduction, rather than a deep-dive.

KEYNOTE: The best parts to include are the opening and closing sections of your presentation. In the opening, look for content that supports the desire for change, specifically shared vision and values. In your close, look for how communicate the urgency of now, and how you invite your audience into action.

Publish Your Message Portfolio

With an edited set of videos, you are now ready to publish your Message Portfolio. We recommend sharing on these three online platforms:

Your WEBSITE: On your company website, share these video as part of your "Home Page" or the "About Page". Consider developing a specific portfolio website to showcase the 4 videos in your message portfolio.

Your LINKEDIN Profile: LinkedIn offers the opportunity to feature selected content as part of your profile. Consider writing a series of LinkedIn articles, that embed each of your message portfolio videos.

Your YOUTUBE Channel: On YouTube, create a playlist that features the 4 videos in your message portfolio. For your YouTube viewers, be sure to provide ways for them to learn more or engage with you (email, website, LinkedIn profile)

Summary - Build Your Message Portfolio

To expand the capacity of your voice, build a message portfolio and share your nuggets of wisdom with your audiences. Look through recordings of your past recordings, choose the best content, and create 4 Message Portfolio videos:

* BRAND = Who are you? What do you stand for?
* PITCH = Which do you recommend? What is possible?
* SOLUTION = Where are we going? How will we get there?
* KEYNOTE = Why is this important?

Publish your videos to your website, your LinkedIn profile, and your YouTube channel, and invite your audience to connect with you to continue the conversation.

Build Your Message Portfolio

The Message Portfolio

Fri, 04 Jul 2025 16:42:43 -0700

The Message Portfolio

The most effective leaders have a portfolio of messages to answer 7 key leadership questions. In this article, we have organized these message into 4 core presentations:

* Your BRAND: Share who are you and what you stand for

* Your PITCH: Advise audience how to make the best choice

* Your SOLUTION: Teach audience how to solve a problem

* Your KEYNOTE": Inspire audience to support a vision

Your Brand

By mastering this presentation, you will be fully prepared for opening remarks, podcasts & media interviews, and conversations with prospective team members or partners.

When you step on stage, the audience is evaluating whether to trust your voice. Before sharing your content, begin by sharing "Who you are" and "What you stand for". Specifically, you want the audience to know your vision, like your values and trust your vows (the bold promises you make).

In this presentation, leaders often share a personal story that highlights a key element of their character. Sometimes, they share an origin story that describes the moment they committed to their vision for the future.

Your Pitch

By mastering this presentation, you will be fully prepared for client conversations, meetings with potential investors, and opportunities to demonstrate your product or service.

The reason audiences choose to attend this presentation is to find a solution for the problem they face. They may have multiple solutions to evaluate, and want to ask a leader "Which do you recommend?" Some in the audience may believe that the problem is unsolvable, and desperately wants a recognized authority to to share with them "What is Possible?"

During this presentation, share a case study that highlights the credibility of the potential solution. Next, build upon this story to help the audience imagine themselves on a similar journey of success.

Your Solution

By mastering this presentation, you will be fully prepared for your most important internal presentations: company town hall meetings, sales kickoff events, board of director presentations, and crisis communications.

In times of uncertainly, audience look to respected leaders to answer two key questions: "Where are we going?" and "How will we get there?" This presentation begins with specific milestones for the organization, and continues with teaching a strategy to achieve them.

In this presentation, highlight the intermediate milestones as well as the ultimate destination. Be sure to describe the team celebrations that will take place at each and every milestone. Include success stories that showcase your team's competencies to communicate "We have what it takes!"

Your Keynote

By mastering this presentation, you will be fully prepared for your most important external presentations: conference breakout presentations, panel discussions, and a keynote on the main stage.

Audience attend these signature presentations to learn from changemakers who are designing a future they wish to be a part of. These changemakers identify the costs of major problems we face today, focus on the importance of solving these problems as soon as possible.

During this presentation, changemakers will layer in stories that connect the audience to the emotions of having the problem, and the emotions of solving the problem. A successful keynote will result in audience members choosing to support the future vision with their money, support, or reputation.

Summary - The Message Portfolio

To be an effective leader, start by composing a message portfolio that answers the following leadership questions:
* BRAND = Who are you? What do you stand for?
* PITCH = Which do you recommend? What is possible?
* SOLUTION = Where are we going? How will we get there?
* KEYNOTE = Why is this important?

Next, create a habit of practice and build your ecosystem for practice. Make time for practice and you will be fully prepared for your high stakes speaking opportunities

Build Your Message Portfolio

How Leaders Communicate Emotional Intelligence

Mon, 07 Apr 2025 09:29:03 -0700

The Call to Feel

In this article, you will learn how the 7 voices of leadership communicate emotional intelligence. Each voice has the power to highlight a specific emotion from Robert Plutchik's "Wheel of Emotions". Learn and master these 7 voices to engage the hearts and minds in your audience.

Introducing The Engagement Loop

Audience bring more than just their minds into a presentation to learn. They hearts and bodies are also available to take part in the learning experience. Leaders use the Engagement Loop to prepare their audiences for success.

The first engagement happens with a Call to Think. Highlight specific items you want your audience to pay attention to.

The second engagement happens with a Call to Feel. Make the items you've shared memorable by connecting them to a specific emotion.

These third engagement happens with a Call to Act. After successfully connecting with hearts and minds in your audience, invite them to take the next step.

The 7 Voices of Leadership

Each voice plays a specific role and answers a specific leadership question:

Who are you? - Contributor
When have you succeeded? - Storyteller
Which do you recommend? - Trusted Advisor
What is possible? - Visionary
Where are you going? - Leader
How will we get there? - Teacher
Why is this important? - Changemaker

From Sadness to Joy

These leadership voices are used to describe the emotional experiences of feeling joy and losing joy:

Contributor Voice: This voice celebrates the existence of the values we hold dear. When our values are seen, lived and experienced in every corner of our lives, we are filled with joy and a desire to create connection
Storyteller Voice: This voice opens by highlighting the loss of joy in our lives. This is caused by our values being left behind, which bring up the emotions of sadness (causing us to withdraw). This creates the opportunity to accept a "Call to Adventure", in pursuit of restoring the emotion of joy

From Surprise to Anticipation

The Visionary and Advisor voices can spark the emotions of suprise and anticipation.

Visionary Voice: This voice highlights the many big changes that are ahead of us. It creates the emotion of surprise, and invites the audience to step back to see the big picture, and learn about possibilities they never envisioned.
Advisor Voice: The voice of a trusted advisor will lay out all of the options available, and guide the audience towards making the best choice. This voice creates anticipation of learning how the new possibilities compare with their current options.

From Disgust to Trust

The Leader and Teacher voice inspire action with the emotions of disgust (toward the current problem) and trust (in a credible solution).

Leader Voice: A Leader speaks out when our fundamental values have been violated, activating feelings of disgust. This emotions drives audiences to seek a path to restore the values they hold dear.
Teacher Voice: A Teacher speaks to guide the audience towards their vision for the future. This voice invokes the emotion of trust by highlighting and contextualizing all of the changes that are taking place. A teacher will then share specific strategies to achieve a milestone or reach a destination.

From Fear to Anger

This final voice of leadership is responsible of combining the audience's desire for change with the urgency of now. A changemaker can move the audience from fear (shrinking/hiding) to anger (boldness/courage).

Changemaker Voice: This final voice identifies the obstacles in our path, and channels the audience's emotion of anger into collective action. By the end of the presentation, the audience will have the confidence to play big, be loud, and win the game.

Summary

Each voice of leadership has the power to activate an emotion to spark action:

Contributor: Use Values to Elevate Joy

Storyteller: Navigate Through Sadness in order to restoreJoy
Visionary: Envision Possibilities that create Surprise
Advisor: Evaluates New Possibilities that create Anticipation
Leader: Reject what is Unhealthy by activating Disgust
Teacher: Communicate Trust with credible solutions.
Changemaker: Transforms Fear into Anger, sparking collective action

Synchronize Your Voices of Leadership

To synchronized your voices of leadership, consider joining our Synchronized Communications MasterClass. Over the course of 12 sessions, your team will develop a Habit of Practice and an Ecosystem for Practice. The goal for each leader is to be Fully Prepared for their most important presentations and conversations.

The 7 Voices of Leadership

Wed, 19 Jun 2024 08:00:00 -0700

An Introduction

In this article, you will learn about the 7 voices of leadership. Each voice plays a specific role and answers a specific leadership question. Learn and master these 7 voices, and you will be fully prepared for all your high stakes presentations.

The 7 Voices of Leadership

There is more than one voice of leadership. The voice that we are most familiar with is strong, authoritative and confident. This voice is perfect for presentations to the board, journalists, analysts, and to your team members. However, these are not the only presentations a leader will be asked to make.

A Portfolio of Leadership Presentations

The Message Portfolio is a set of core presentations than answer seven specific leadership questions:

"WHO are you?" Answer this question when introducing yourself or your company. Specific situations also include the opening section of a keynote presentation or conference panel discussion.
"WHAT is the Vision (for your audience)?" This answer is used during conference breakout sessions company strategy meetings. Other situations include presentations to potential investors, partners and sponsors.
"WHERE are we going?" Answer this question during internal presentations such as Board Meetings and Company Town Hall Meetings. This question is also relevant to external audiences: industry analysts, members of the media, and potential team members.
"WHICH path do you recommend?" Popular applications for this answer are sales presentations, recruiting conversations and budget meetings.

"HOW will we get there?" This question commonly arises during training presentations, and conversations with potential investors and partners.
"WHEN we we succeed? " These include personal stories of overcoming adversity and company case studies. Stories have the power to help your audience envision the journey and reaching the destination.

"WHY is this important?" This composition is used for Keynote Presentations, Annual Kickoff Meetings and Main Stage presentations.

Message Portfolio #1: Your Brand

By mastering this presentation, you will be fully prepared for opening remarks, podcasts & media interviews, and conversations with prospective team members or partners. Success means that the audience trusts you for your voice.

"WHO are you?" (What do you stand for?) This question arises when you are meeting your audience for the first time. Your audience is interested in the your vision, values and vows. Use the voice of a contributor, and illustrate how you can make a difference in their lives.
WHAT is the vision (for your audience)?" This question is often asked in meetings focused on brainstorming new ideas, designing new products, or creating new solutions. Speak with the voice of a visionary to spark imagination, inspiration and creativity in your audience.

Message Portfolio #2: Your Pitch

By mastering this presentation, you will be fully prepared for client conversations, meetings with potential investors, and opportunities to demonstrate your product or service. Success means that your audience recognizes you as a Trusted Authority for your industry.

"WHERE are we going?" During times of uncertainty, this will be a central question from your team, your company and your industry. Speak with the voice of a leader, who has a crystal clear vision of the direction and destination for their audience.
"WHICH path do you recommend?" When confronted with a problem, your audience will be exploring potential solutions. Speak with the voice of a trusted advisor. Establish trust by first acknowledging the solutions provided by your industry and your competition. After sharing an unbiased and trusted perspective, share the merits of your solution.

Message Portfolio #3: Your Solution

"HOW will we get there?" In training events, your audience is there to learn how to solve a specific problem. When you speak with the voice of a teacher, you empower your audience with the knowledge and skills required to complete a task, achieve a milestone, reach a destination.
"WHEN will we succeed?" You audience is looking for evidence and social proof that you have a track record of success. Use the voice of a storyteller and share examples of how you've overcome adversity, reached a milestone, or achieved a mission. Stories have the power to communicate character, credibility and competency.

Message Portfolio 4: Your Keynote

By mastering this presentation, you will be fully prepared for your most important external presentations: conference breakout presentations, panel discussions, and keynotes on the main stage. Success means that you have generated Presentation ROI (money, support, reputation) to fuel your mission.

"WHY is this important?" This question is the focus of keynotes delivered at industry conferences, TEDx events, and company kickoff events. Speak with a voice of a changemaker, to move the audience from seeing problems to seeing possibilities. Shift their emotions from feelings of doubt to feelings of confidence.

Summary

Each voice plays a specific role and answers a specific leadership question. Learn and master these 7 voices, and you will be fully prepared for all your high stakes presentations.

Who are you? - Contributor
What is the vision (for your audience)? - Visionary
Where are we going? - Leader
Which path do you recommend? - Trusted Advisor
How will we get there? - Teacher
When will we succeed? - Storyteller
Why is this important? - Changemaker