Think about how technology has evolved over the last 20 years or so. Think about the tools we can use today to communicate our ideas to the world. Now, compare that with the tools we had a few years ago. Today in most industries we have more competition—not only from a business perspective but also from a communication perspective.
The tools we have today are designed to empower people—lots of people—to share their message with the world.
The 2022 French presidential election debate serves up a new dish, more palatable than the one served in 2017.
On Wednesday night, 20th of April 2022, two presidential candidates battled in Paris for the next five years in a crucial election here in France. For Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen this was their second debate, the last being back in 2017. But last night’s debate was very different.
Now, from a policy point of view, many views were exchanged on the environment, security, the economy and the current international context amongst many others. While we could debate the details and validity of the points made here, I will leave that to the journalists.
Misinformation is the scourge of our time. It confuses and divides us and can do irreparable harm. What can we do to fight it?
For the majority of us today working in business, life is good. In the last 15 years or so, I have observed huge improvements in the way large companies and corporations respond and communicate with their customers and peers on issues that matter: climate change, DE&I and Digital transformation being the most important. Our leaders now actually tell stories that inspire us and share their vulnerabilities. We have seen workspaces improve both in comfort, facilities and aesthetic. Our working weeks have become more flexible than ever, on average spending 2 days of our working week at home. Our children see us more and many of us no longer have to wait for retirement to do the things we really want to do. All of this, whether you are grateful for it or not, is in direct response to the commoditization of our individual power; from the small devices in our pockets accessing the information that we need to the social media accounts that we use and give us a voice that our peers listen to. We have come far and quickly. But the 21st century, for all its advances, is bringing us new problems, by actors who wish to reverse this empowerment. One of the weapons in their armory is misinformation, a kind of noxious drip-feed of poison, which is causing us irreparable harm.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has reached the parts that other leaders haven’t reached in a long time.
After weeks of an army build-up on the borders of Ukraine from the Russian state, and on the eve of a massive Russian invasion, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy, hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned, made a video statement to his people from the centre of Kyiv which inspired not only Ukrainians, but also the rest of the world to the core:
Michael Rickwood from Ideas on Stage on how he got to meet the man who started it all for the presentation world.
Once in a while we set ourselves some great tasks. Interviewing my presentation hero was a particularly appealing one. Over the years I have read many great books on business communication and have taken inspiration from authors from all facets of our industry: Nancy Duarte, Garr Reynolds, Patsy Rodenburg, Dan and Chip Heath, Guy Kawasaki, Simon Sinek, Dan Pink, Dr. John Medina, Roger Mavity to name but a few. But there is one author whose books I come back to consistently, who, in my opinion, is the founding father of what we are all doing today in the presentations consulting industry. That author is Jerry Weissman.
We have recently completed coaching all the finalists for the latest installment of the INSEAD Venture Competition (IVC), an event where over one hundred teams of entrepreneurs pitch their start-up ideas for cash prizes. This is an internal competition where all MBA students are invited to participate.
More than the cash prizes, teams are mentored through the process by experts in launching businesses, investors, and management consultants. Teams gain world class advice and guidance towards launching their start-up businesses.
Say what you like about Boris Johnson, his style connects with the mob. Our institutional leaders need to put aside their intellectual bias and start figuring out why it’s working.
Last month in London, Boris Johnson gave a speech at the Confederation of British Industry in South Shields in the North of England. He stumbled, got lost in his notes, and started talking about Peppa Pig. You might start reading this and assume where it’s going. That a British prime minister talking about a children’s cartoon character, a Picasso-esque hairdryer shaped pig, in an address to senior business leaders, was an embarrassment and makes the UK look weak on the international business stage? Perhaps, but mock Boris Johnson at your peril.
Why a 13-year-old speech given by a former US president holds a blueprint solution for our modern problem.
In 2008, during his campaigning, Barack Obama gave a rallying speech in Wisconsin on the power of words and resistance to hope. “Don’t tell me words don’t matter! I have a dream, just words?! All men are created equal, just words?!” It’s true that speeches don’t solve all problems, but what is also true is if we cannot inspire the country to believe again then it doesn’t matter how many policies and plans we have.
