A few chosen narrative examples, to uncover forms, inspire the soul and stir the creative spirits.
A friend introduced me to this track over twenty years ago. An example of prefacing a performance which amplifies and cascades it’s way into the tune. An embellishment of the highest order. Stick your headphones on and turn off the lights for this one.
Imagine the whole story of the first Star Wars film STAR WARS IV, A New Hope in a single scrolling computer graphic… well imagine no more, check out the immense infographic of SWANH which has it all there. It took over 1000 hours to complete and is 123 meters-long or 1024 x 465152 px or 27 x 12307 cm or 10.6 x 4845.3-inch. Created by graphic novelist Martin Panchaud.
Blast from the past with this one as remember seeing it doing the rounds a decade ago when it came out. Still one of the sweetest ways to creatively embellish a piece of audio from a young human telling the best story on the planet (with some great life advice at the end as well for us all).
All offered up to inspire, teach and make you smile / think.
Half-price ebook + audiobook pre-order offer open to celebrate reaching hundred thousand views (pre-order closed).
BUY NOW Speaking With Purpose: A guide to delivering impressive presentations!
For only $10NZD this bundle deal featured an ebook with a juicy 37 chapters, nearly 14,000 words across 89 pages plus a 1hour34mins audiobook version (read by me).
I remembered chatting to a friend before the above TEDx talk went live and saying how happy I would be if it hit five figures in views. Well, in just three months to the day of it going live it x10 that!
ANNOUNCEMENT
During the Christmas and New Year break I’ve been tapping away writing a companion guide to the talk which broadens out the things discussed. What it manifested into though is a series of monographs relating to the three elements of what makes a great presentation, the basis of my coaching system with clients and what I deliver in my masterclasses.
It’s currently being proofed by trusted peers under the title of “Speaking With Purpose : A guide to delivering impressive presentations!“
There are currently 30+ chapters and over 13k words detailing all that I know about public speaking, coaching this challenging skill-set plus tackling the biggest hurdles of nerves, emotional connection and storytelling models. And just as way of a teaser, here are three random un-proofed chapters:
Welcome—this book is for those who have to speak in public, present to small and large groups of people, and who want to master their nerves. It’s also for individuals looking to hone their physical and vocal nuances to deliver insightful content in a way which creates emotive action from their audiences.
These monographs detail the three elements of effective public speaking and will outline practical advice you can start applying during your next talk; whether you be a student delivering your final thesis, a confident leader having to deliver a closing keynote to a large conference crowd or a Chief Executive pitching the next 20 year plan to the board.
I trust you as an adult to take what you need and dismiss what you don’t.
This is not a ‘you should’ but more like a ‘you could’ guide based on everything I’ve learned in this arena (although these are tried and tested approaches which achieve re
After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.” Phillip Pullman
As detailed in my bio I was the licensee and producer of the TEDxWellington events for nearly ten years and one thing we provided was a five week coaching experience to aid the development of the talks. One year we had an individual we were failing in this sense as we were busy encouraging them (along with the other speakers) to stand in their story, project out and connect with the audience that way.
Well this person just wasn’t comfortable with this and as the weeks passed it became apparent it wasn’t going to work. I remember the conversation with them exploring other alternatives and the answer came from a comment she made about sitting in her office, across from her clients on two comfy sofas and how that was her most authentic self.
So, we put the speaker in a comfy chair and wow, instant success. The talk became intimate and focussed. Soft as well as powerful.
This was the best version of them to deliver their story in their way, not in our expected way of standing.
It also aligns with a favourite TED talk of mine which is a deeply moving, gentle and poignant, all delivered whilst sitting in a chair (please check out BJ Miller 2015’s talk: What really matters at the end of life). Another case of cultivating closeness through the simple act of sitting.
You’ll learn in a later chapter (DIVA) that understanding and stipulating the best environmental factors for you to deliver a great talk is paramount. And hoping the above story and examples give solid reasons to think differently in this area (albeit in rare cases).
One word of caution here for those hosting and ‘sitting’ on panels at events: this is a very different domain that what is described above in terms of a solo speaker in a chair. Unless you use clever lighting it’s very hard to create the same effect as what I’ve described in the other cases although much of the other stuff in the book can be applied in this scenario.
So lets get back to presenting and the body by focussing on the…
Anyone can make the simple complicated. Creativity is making the complicated simple.” Charles Mingus
Nobody likes the way they sound. That’s a given, therefore, get over it. I guarantee you sound just fine enough.
Accents rule. Lean into them with just a side consideration of clarity for those with thick regional ones. Over the years, due to my international work plus living overseas for over a decade, my Welsh accent has softened. Then again, I still roll my “r’s” heavily and when I get excited it comes out wonderfully. I just make sure I articulate correctly and it’s never been an issue.
Cadence is how you modulate your voice and add stresses to what’s being said. These inflections can assist the audience to consider the importance of certain aspects of the story.
Just like the cadence, the rhythm is another aspect to consider. Varying the speed throughout any talk can be an effective way to add some ‘colour’ to an orators style. Although, don’t have too much of a difference here as it will sound awful.
Play around with subtle shifts in both cadence and rhythm which match the emotional range, like a little faster when it’s an exciting element of the story with a higher register and then slowing down again to annunciate for the poignant aspects which allows for reflection.
By the way if you want to create tension or make the listeners understand of the important of a statement, just pause.
A pause is like an underline is writing. It emphasises what came before.
Now the other way to do this is to repeat something. However this can only be used sparingly, like cumin in cooking.
Repeating something, even twice in a talk, gets noticed and I would suggest using this trick just once. Focus it on your biggest point or statement or piece of information which is truly arresting. Like a statistic which generates a ‘wow’ from when you share it, or a summarising line or two to distill a big topic which you’ve been introducing, or a revealing insight from a lived experience or even report. Just be careful with this one beyond that one time use.
The ebook and audiobook will be available on sale from end of March 2023 although making this pre-order live in celebration of the 100,000 views mark. Half-price. If you purchase I’ll send it through a couple of days before going live to the public (pre-order sales closed).
‘Speaking With Purpose’ is my second book, my first being ‘Zen And the Heart Of Social Media’ (see books), written back in when I was delivering in the social media space. This book is now free if you want it (all you have to do is ask).
Again, HUGE thanks to the TEDxNelson team, the other speakers and organisers plus licensee & producer Kara for the original invitation.
Chats about public speaking, coaching, presenting online vs in-person, event design and delegate experience development etc.—all the stuff I’ve been doing these past few years condensed into 30mins.
Dan produces a very impressive podcast with an eyebrow-raising amount of featured talent (like Daniel Pink, Tom Peters, Arianna Huffington etc.). Was lucky enough to spend some time rapping about what I’ve been up to in the past few years and hope you enjoy!
lightyear.fm show how radio broadcasts leave Earth at the speed of light. Scroll away from Earth and hear how far the biggest hits of the past have travelled. The farther away you get, the longer the waves take to travel there—and the older the music you’ll hear.
A few chosen narrative examples, to uncover forms, inspire the soul and stir the creative spirits.
Nineteen minutes of pure improvisation between beatboxer/looper/producer Beardyman and the freestyle rapper Harry Mack. With random words from the audience as a starting point in which to weave and overlay off-the-cuff stories with impressive lyrical and musical aplomb.
Revealing the development and process behind the thinking, testing and final solution of showing a coding workflow. What is revealed is the depth of thinking behind the production side of presenting technical aspects of computer work whilst retaining the human element of guidance. A job well done Outlier.
Wonderfully spoken, the enticing letters between literary lovers of ilk given voice by tremendous beings in this Letters Live piece. Steamy and erotic. Recitals are hard to do as the tread the line between verbatim reading out loud and nuanced emotive expression which is needed to bring the writers intentions alive. A perfect example of the latter in play here.
All offered up to inspire, teach and make you smile / think.
A hearty year coming out of 2020/2021 even though COVID devastated my event activity income stream. So very grateful for the variety of clients which contracted me to collaborate this year.
I crunched the numbers on how many gigs fell into which category (‘speaking’ includes talks as well as my ‘purposeful storytelling’ beginners and advanced full-and-half-day masterclasses for leadership groups) and here’s the results:
Also did the same for how much income each category pulled in as well:
So speaking is coming out as the top earner and as promised last year my in-person MCing is finally closed out as a service I offer.
Here’s what some of the clients said about what I delivered for them:
“DK delivered a brilliant session for my team, giving us all accessible, understandable and effective advice on how to present engagingly. The training worked for those with extensive presenting experience as well as those with little exposure to public speaking. It was also very practical and encouraged us to embed our learning by doing. Highly recommended!” Emma McLean, Engagement Lead, Engagement Lead, Accenture The Dock (Dublin)
“Engaging, smooth and professional. DK delivered his ‘Presenting Engagingly Online’ session to some of the sport sector in Wales. He keeps you locked in with his presentation, exhibiting exactly what he’s preaching with all the best tips and tricks for online delivery in the age of working from home. A top man who I highly recommend. Diolch, DK!” Matthew Davies, Digital Marketing Lead, Sport Wales
“I cannot recommend DK highly enough – we just had our second very well attended event with him “Presenting Engagingly Online”, which has received fantastic feedback from all the participants. After the first event on “presenting with purpose” with DK last year, our whole team gained a new level of confidence and know how, and it was so popular we just had to offer another session with DK. From the perspective of events organisation, the whole thing couldn’t have been easier – Having all the content and information provided in advance, easy set up made our jobs so much easier.” Julia Hahn, Wellington Branch Manager, German New Zealand Chambers of Commerce
Developed from an offer I had been delivering from the previous year as so many clients transitioned to the online medium to speak at conferences globally and I noticed nearly everyone do it so badly.
I had two other ideas to add to the offers which I still might do but for now, if you’re still sharing your screen and reading from a script to present online, first of all, don’t, it’s so bad for the folks watching, and secondly take my course and you will never present that way again plus engage with the participants in ways which excite and ignite emotional reactions.
CURATED / CREATED
As evident in the #47, #46, #45, #44, #43, #42, #41, #40, #39, #38, #37 digital breadcrumbs offerings—the good stuff I tweet collected into cohesive and more snackable monthly blog posts—my curiosity is still raging.
Had also a strong offering of blog posts this year also which included:
I also started a new series ‘for those who want to tell better stories: few chosen narrative examples, to uncover forms, inspire the soul and stir the creative spirits’:
On a more human scale, I continue to gather humans in conversations via Creative Welly, which is now up to 39 episodes—read the recent blog post benchmark review—it offers fuel for my spirit and stretches my cognition into new realms whilst satisfying my desire to learn in analogue form.
TEDXNELSON
I did a TEDx talk. A distillation of my 16 years as a paid speaker, 10 years as a facilitator through the TEDx licenses I held and the past 6 years paying my rent as a bona fide speaker coach. I’m now trying to write a companion guide based on this talk to publish early next year.
Till then, if you got an important presentation or pitch coming up and struggling to prepare, this will help (or your money back) and please share on if you find it of use.
It received over 10,000 views in just under a week of going live!
CREATIVE LEADERSHIP NZ
My little creativity conference for leaders never made a return after COVID (did mention it last year as a potential project to reignite). Am thinking someone needs to take it on if there’s someone who wants to…
LESSONS LEARNED
…but what we make.
Or more eloquently put: Amor Fati / the love of ones fate.
Especially if framed through a proactive lens of defining ones path and embracing the journey of discovery through intention.
Half the battle here is knowing thyself so recently invested in a couple of coaching sessions and spent time talking to wiser souls than I, to uncover the characteristics which I can’t see of myself (thanks Shazia, Neil, Tim, Mary)—what’s interesting is that they all came to similar conclusions of where I should be devoting my time.
This was further reinforced via the CliftonStrengths Assessment (thank you Antonia) which really helped to both define and validate the elements to amplify along with giving me the language in which to craft a path forward. These are my top 5 strengths from the assessment:
On a more personal level I keep coming back to: Can I choose gratitude in this moment? Can’t remember where I came across someone saying it although they had ‘happiness’ rather than gratitude in their question. When asked it activates a depth of connection with the world which I haven’t felt for a very long time.
2023 STRATEGY
Simply, pages are being turned.
New unexplored paths are being pursued with hope and vigour.
For now I will continue to offer my speaker coaching and creative producing services, however, will start to transition with a more calculated strategy for my future so watch this space.
So, how was your year, what are you feeling grateful for and what do you have lined up for your fate in 2023?
78 humans, 39 episodes, over 18 months, one idea to have ‘courageous conversations with bold humans.’
It has been a pure joy to sit down with such a diverse range of leaders. Learning from such talent in such an unencumbered way, celebrating through storytelling their current position in life whilst evolving ideas through simple conversation. Nothing can replace this purely analogue process of interaction for me.
What you might not know is that we record three episodes back-to-back in one day which shocks people but actually it’s so energising whilst I’m in it.
Was validating earlier this year to receive a sponsored opportunity to apply for a Webby Award, basically like the Oscars for the web although it’s pretty pricey to apply. Didn’t win but was lovely to have the opportunity to put the little project forward for it and very nice of the award body to invite us to for free under one category (have a personal gripe about awards you have to pay for although as it was for free thought there was nothing to lose until I then got spammed like hell from their parent company with snail mail (seriously) for other online awards, sighs).
Creative Welly is still a self-funded and voluntary-produced endeavour, in association with video extraordinaire Jono Tucker from Empire Films (special thanks to David from Flashdog Studio for allowing us to utilise the space at cost), and there’s now approximately 65 hours worth of unique video content exploring the creative talent in my network.
And all those episodes are out there as audio as well, uploaded to anchor.fm (which is owned by Spotify) where recently they told us we’re in the top 4% of content creators:
I’d suggest you go subscribe via the site to the video version, as I’ve discussed before, it’s so so unique because it’s specifically designed to create intimacy for the viewer in a never seen before format. If audio is your jam though here’s the subscription options.
So thank to all of the participants up until now. For many it’s been a big deal to step into the public arena in this way and am always enamoured by their bravery.
Am already looking to book in January 2023 recordings and continue on this journey as still got a juicy list of humans to get through. Until then, here’s the bumper list for you to work through for the silly season:
Got an important presentation or pitch coming up and struggling to prepare? This will help (or your money back): exploring the three elements which make up a great talk plus a Jedi-mind trick which will reframe those debilitating nerves once and for all.
What a joy to be invited to give a TEDx talk last month in Whakatū Nelson, at their first ever in-person event.
After nearly a decade of developing and delivering the TEDx offerings for Te Whanganui-o-Tara Wellington, was an honour to be stepping on that red rug as just a speaker to share my ‘idea worth spreading.’
Am currently working on a companion guide to this talk, an ebook of what I’ve learned in the last 16 years, speaking on five continents to audiences large and small, plus during the last decade of coaching others to step onto the red carpet and other stages / boardrooms.
BUY NOW Speaking With Purpose: A guide to delivering impressive presentations!
For only $10NZD this bundle deal featured an ebook with a juicy 37 chapters, nearly 14,000 words across 89 pages plus a 1hour34mins audiobook version (read by me).
As discussed in the talk, scripts are rubbish, and just to prove here’s mine which I prepared my talk from after developing different options via the post-it note medium (if you’re speaking from lived experience this is all you need):
Thanks to all the good people behind the scenes at TEDxNelson for the opportunity to share my story/ies plus the attendees and other speakers for making it a great day.
The livestream of The Pitch Drop experiment, the longest running lab experiment (established in 1927 to demonstrate how tar is the most viscous liquid, there’s been 9 drops have fallen in 95 years).
Whilst it still breathes, check out social.perma.cc which allows you to capture a thread from Twitter and archive it in sealed PDFs to attest to legitimacy.
