People who work in marketing communications spend a significant amount of energy and time making presentations. A great presentation is often the difference between failure and success, whether it’s a new business presentation or an internal creative review. Making remarkable presentations—just like making remarkable work—is a learned skill and there are smart people and companies in the business of helping us improve our communications skills.
People like Patti Sanchez. In his latest episode of Remarkable People, podcast host Guy Kawasaki introduces listeners to Sanchez, the Chief Strategy Officer at Duarte, Inc., a Silicon Valley consultancy that makes good speakers great and great speakers amazing.
During the show, Sanchez says that developing empathy is the pathway to great storytelling.
Kawasaki the salesman says, “There is no episode of ‘Remarkable People’ that is more practical and tactical than this one. If you want to learn how to become a better communicator, make sure to listen to this week’s episode.”
Good Question
An important passage from the podcast:
Q. Do you think that great communicators are born or made?
A. I believe they can be made. Now, I grew up in a family of charismatic people. My father was a salesman, and he could sell anything to anybody and he was also a great storyteller.
I was not that person. I’m an introvert. I’m uncomfortable being in the spotlight. Storytelling in particular was not something that came naturally to me, or that I felt comfortable doing.
I had some skills, but I needed to build more skills.
Illuminate—The Book
Nancy Duarte and Patti Sanchez wrote Illuminate: Ignite Change Through Speeches, Stories, Ceremonies, and Symbols. The book equips readers with the same communication tools that leaders like Steve Jobs, Howard Schultz, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used to move people.
Moving people is hard and these two ladies are all about making it easier by degrees for those of us who are ready to listen and learn.
