The Presentations Japan Series

Dale Carnegie Training
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  • Management
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Persuasion power is one of the kingpins of business success. We recognise immediately those who have the facility and those who don't. We certainly trust, gravitate toward and follow those with persuasion power. Those who don't have it lack presence and fundamentally disappear from view and become invisible. We have to face the reality, persuasion power is critical for building our careers and businesses. The good thing is we can all master this ability. We can learn how to become persuasive and all we need is the right information, insight and access to the rich experiences of others. If you want to lead or sell then you must have this capability. This is a fact from which there is no escape and there are no excuses.

  1. 2d ago

    Applying The Shu-Ha-Ri Concept To Presentations

    Japanese martial arts offer business presenters a surprisingly practical roadmap for improvement. Shu-Ha-Ri (守破離) describes the journey from mastering fundamentals, through experimentation, to an effortless command of your craft. I first encountered it while studying karate in Australia. The same progression applies when we stand up to speak to an audience in Tokyo, Sydney or anywhere else. What does Shu-Ha-Ri mean for business presentations? Shu-Ha-Ri is a three-stage Japanese learning framework: protect the fundamentals (Shu), break away and innovate (Ha), and transcend conscious technique (Ri). The characters 守破離 come from the world of Japanese traditional arts, including karate. They describe a journey rather than three tricks to bolt onto your next PowerPoint deck. In Shu, we learn the correct forms and repeat them deliberately. In Ha, we have enough control to explore alternatives without losing the basics. In Ri, those techniques have become so thoroughly absorbed that we no longer need to think about them. This is not a shortcut to charisma. It is the opposite: sustained practice that eventually looks natural. Whether you are briefing a Japanese board, pitching a B2B client or addressing a multinational conference, the same learning path applies. The presenter's job is not to demonstrate technique; it is to communicate with the audience. Do now: Identify whether you are learning, experimenting with or instinctively applying your presentation fundamentals. How can you recognise the Shu stage when learning to present? At the Shu stage, presenters consciously manage their stance, eye contact, gestures, facial expression and vocal variety.We have to remind ourselves of everything. Are our feet positioned so that our body faces the whole room rather than shutting out half the audience? Are we looking directly at individuals instead of sweeping an unfocused gaze across the hall? Do our gestures match the point we are making? In my approach, a gesture should not hang around for more than about fifteen seconds, or it loses its force. We also need to animate the face and avoid that dreaded business monotone. Pace matters, too: rushing makes the message harder to follow. None of this is glamorous. It is painstaking, conscious rehearsal, much like practising the fundamentals of karate. Businesspeople who deliver only a handful of talks each year can spend years at this stage, especially when they never rehearse or receive coaching. Do now: Rehearse one talk while checking posture, eye contact, gestures, expression and pace. What changes when a presenter reaches the Ha stage? At Ha, the fundamentals become more automatic, freeing the presenter to experiment with movement, stronger gestures and closer audience connection. We stop spending every second mentally checking where our feet are pointing. We know how to reset our body so that people on the far left and right are not ignored. On a larger stage, we may move towards different parts of the audience rather than remaining rooted to one spot. Gestures become less manufactured and may grow larger when the message deserves greater emphasis. This is a departure from rigid form, not an excuse to abandon discipline. A salesperson presenting to six decision-makers may need restrained movement; a leader speaking in a large auditorium may need something more expansive. The context changes the delivery. The critical shift is that our attention begins to move away from our own performance and towards the people listening. That is genuine progress. Do now: Keep the fundamentals and deliberately test one new delivery technique at your next presentation. What does the Ri stage look like in front of an audience? Ri is the point where presentation technique operates naturally and the speaker concentrates almost entirely on audience reactions. I saw this clearly after speaking at the Tokyo American Club about my Six Impact Points of Persuasion. During the questions, someone asked whether I had consciously decided when to use gestures or whether they simply happened. I had never really considered it. The gestures followed the content without any deliberate internal instruction. That was Ri in action. At this stage, we are not occupied with the mechanics of eye contact, body position or voice modulation. We can read the room, sense what is landing and adjust our approach as we go. The audience and presenter become more closely aligned. It may look effortless from the seats, but it rests on years of learning and repetition. Ri is not a performance trick; it is earned fluency. Do now: During your next talk, notice whether you are monitoring yourself or responding to the audience. Why do so many executives struggle to progress beyond Shu? Many executives remain at Shu because they present infrequently, rehearse too little and rarely receive specific coaching afterwards. Consider the typical business presentation cycle. A manager prepares a set of slides, delivers the talk once, returns to the day job and never revisits that performance. There is no second attempt, no structured feedback and no deliberate improvement plan. That is a poor system for building mastery. The same problem appears in Japanese corporations, Australian SMEs and international organisations: expertise in the subject does not automatically create expertise in delivery. A senior title does not make a presenter compelling. Even if you speak only a few times a year, you can practise a short section aloud, record yourself, review your eye contact and voice, and ask a trusted colleague for targeted feedback. Those repetitions help turn conscious techniques into habits. Improvement does not require a packed speaking calendar, but it does require intent. Do now: Record a rehearsal and ask for feedback on one specific behaviour, not just whether the talk was "good". How can leaders use Shu-Ha-Ri to improve their next presentation? Use Shu-Ha-Ri as a practical self-assessment: master one fundamental, experiment once it is reliable, and gradually shift attention towards the audience. Start by naming your present stage honestly. If you lose eye contact whenever you check your slides, work on Shu. If your posture and gestures are sound but your delivery feels stiff, try Ha: change your position, vary your gesture size or use the room more deliberately. If those techniques already happen naturally, work towards Ri by reading audience expressions and adapting the message in real time. A Tokyo client pitch and a regional leadership meeting may call for different levels of energy, but both demand that we remain connected to listeners. The goal is not to imitate another speaker or to tick off a mechanical checklist forever. It is to absorb the craft so completely that you can forget yourself and concentrate on the people who came to hear you. Do now: Choose your current stage and set one observable improvement goal before the next talk. Conclusion The best time to start becoming excellent at presenting was yesterday. The second-best time is today. Shu-Ha-Ri gives us a way to see progress instead of hoping that another presentation will somehow make us better. Protect the basics, experiment intelligently and work towards that rare state where the delivery serves the message without getting in its way. Author bio Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across all leadership, communication, sales, and presentation programs, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery, and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう), and Gendaiban "Hito o Ugokasu" Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー). Greg also publishes daily business insights on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, and hosts six weekly podcasts. On YouTube, he produces The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery, and Japan's Top Business Interviews, which are widely followed by executives seeking success strategies in Japan.

  2. Oct 26

    Why Are You Such A Boring Presenter

    Think you are not a boring presenter? You may be right, but think about the business presentations you can actually remember. Most professionals struggle to name even a handful. The problem is rarely a shortage of information. It is the mistaken belief that good content will somehow deliver itself. Why are so many business presentations boring? Business presentations become boring when speakers rely on strong content but neglect the way they deliver it. Once, executives could impress an audience simply by bringing information nobody else possessed. Search engines changed that bargain. Facts, charts and industry commentary are now readily available, so a presenter must do more than recite them. A business leader who reads slides in a flat voice asks the audience to work harder than necessary. The same trap catches salespeople, technical specialists and senior managers: expertise does not automatically create engagement. In a boardroom, an internal briefing or a client pitch, listeners need to understand why the information matters and feel that the speaker believes it matters too. Excellent material delivered badly can still disappear without a trace. Do now: Audit your next talk for moments where the delivery adds nothing to the content. Why is it harder to hold an audience's attention today? The smartphone puts a powerful alternative to your presentation within arm's reach of every listener. Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone in 2007, and the competition for attention has only intensified since. A bored listener no longer has to stare at the ceiling. Email, messaging, TikTok and an endless stream of online content offer immediate escape. This affects presentations in Japan as much as those in Australia, Europe or the United States. Even a polished executive cannot assume that the audience will stay focused simply out of courtesy. We are competing with a device designed to offer novelty on demand. The answer is not to cram more detail onto slides. We need to make the live experience worth watching, with purposeful changes of pace, vocal energy and a message that matters. Do now: Plan an attention reset before your audience has a reason to reach for a phone. What did Albert Mehrabian actually discover about communication? Albert Mehrabian's famous 55–38–7 figures do not mean that words account for only 7% of every presentation. His 1960s research concerned how people interpret feelings and attitudes when verbal and non-verbal signals conflict. The percentages are regularly stretched into a universal rule about speaking, appearance and voice. That is a misuse of the findings. Imagine a company president announcing excellent results in a monotone, with a wooden face and no expressive movement. The words signal enthusiasm, but the delivery signals the opposite. That mismatch can make the audience doubt the message or lose interest. The practical lesson is congruence: align your voice, expression and gestures with what you are actually saying. The research is not an excuse to dismiss content; it is a reminder that delivery can undermine it. Do now: Check whether your tone and body language match the emotion and importance of each key point. How can voice modulation stop a presentation sounding monotonous? Varying volume, pace and emphasis makes key ideas easier to notice and remember. A monotone flattens every sentence into the same level of importance. Instead, give significant words more power, then occasionally soften your voice almost to a conspiratorial whisper. That contrast makes listeners lean in. Pauses also matter. A short silence after an important statement gives people time to process it and signals that something deserves attention. Do not shout your way through an entire speech or slow every sentence into a dramatic performance. Variety works because the audience hears a meaningful change. In a sales presentation, a quieter explanation of the client's risk can carry more weight than a loud declaration about product features. In a leadership briefing, a firm, clear statement can underline the decision everyone needs to understand. Do now: Mark three phrases for emphasis and two deliberate pauses in your next script. How do gestures and eye contact improve executive presentations? Purposeful gestures and direct eye contact reinforce your words and make the audience feel personally addressed. Gestures should dramatise the point, not provide random movement. A broad gesture may underline an opportunity; a smaller, controlled movement may suit a serious warning. Coordinate the movement with the exact phrase you want remembered. Eye contact adds another layer. Rather than sweeping your gaze vaguely across the room, look directly at individual listeners long enough to complete a thought, then move naturally to someone else. That approach works in a client meeting, a management presentation or a conference speech, although cultural expectations and room size will shape how you apply it. In Japan, for example, you can be direct and engaging without turning eye contact into a staring contest. Your body should support the message, not compete with it. Do now: Rehearse one gesture for each major point and practise speaking to individuals, not the back wall. What should leaders do to become more engaging presenters? Leaders should rehearse delivery as deliberately as they prepare their facts and slides. Most executives spend their preparation time refining content, checking figures and polishing PowerPoint. Those tasks are necessary, but they are only part of the job. Rehearse aloud and listen for vocal variety. Test whether your facial expression suits the message. Remove gestures that look mechanical and add deliberate pauses where a decision, contrast or warning deserves attention. Record a short practice run on your phone and watch it as a distracted audience member would. Are you compelling enough to compete with the other things on that same device? This is especially important for business leaders whose presentations must influence decisions, not merely transfer information. We cannot eliminate digital distraction, but we can stop giving audiences an easy excuse to escape. Do now: Record five minutes of your next presentation and review voice, pauses, gestures and eye contact separately. Conclusion Information quality still matters, but it cannot rescue lifeless delivery. The smartphone has raised the standard for every speaker. If we want people to hear, remember and act on our message, we must bring the voice, gestures, eye contact and conviction to match it. Being merely interesting is no longer enough. Author bio Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across leadership, communication, sales and presentation programs, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう) and Gendaiban "Hito o Ugokasu" Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー). Greg also publishes daily business insights on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, and hosts six weekly podcasts. On YouTube, he produces The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery and Japan's Top Business Interviews, which are followed by executives seeking success strategies in Japan.

  3. Oct 19

    Four Strategies For Building Confidence As A Speaker

    Confidence in public speaking is not created by telling a nervous presenter to "be confident". Fear and nerves are real, and when speakers become consumed by their own stress, their attention shifts away from the audience. Confidence has to be built deliberately. Four practical building blocks help: self-acceptance, self-respect, taking manageable risks and using evidence-based self-talk. How can self-acceptance reduce presentation anxiety? Accept that nerves are a normal physical response rather than evidence that you cannot present successfully.Stress triggers reactions such as adrenaline because the body is preparing for perceived danger, and fighting that reality only creates additional pressure. We also create anxiety by setting the performance bar unrealistically high. If the internal requirement is to be perfect, almost any presentation becomes threatening. A better approach is to treat presenting as a journey. Decide that today you will improve three specific things rather than demanding flawless performance. That recalibration reduces pressure and gives you achievable targets for progress. Mini-summary: Accept the nerves and lower the demand for perfection. Focus on a few specific improvements each time you speak. How does self-respect build confidence as a speaker? Use your existing record of achievement as evidence that you can develop presentation skills too. Skilled speakers were not born delivering polished presentations; they built their capability over time. When we watch an accomplished professional, we see the finished capability but not the awkward early attempts that preceded it. The same applies to public speaking. Look back at skills you have already developed in your career and life. You were not complete at the beginning of those journeys either. Moving your mindset from perceived lack to demonstrated capability gives you a more realistic foundation for confidence. Mini-summary: Remember what you have already learned to do well. Your history of achievement is evidence that presentation capability can also be developed. Why do speakers need to take risks to improve? Growth requires changing something, and any meaningful change carries some risk. Repeating exactly the same presentation behaviours will usually reproduce exactly the same results. The change does not have to be dramatic. You might tweak something you already do or introduce one new technique. Start with a small risk, try it in a presentation, analyse what happened and adjust before the next speaking opportunity. Repeating this cycle steadily expands your repertoire and makes previously uncomfortable techniques feel normal. Mini-summary: Take small, deliberate presentation risks. Test, review and adjust until your range of speaking skills expands. What kind of presentation risks should beginners take? Choose risks small enough to be manageable but meaningful enough to stretch your current ability. Confidence grows through successful experimentation rather than through one enormous leap outside your comfort zone. A speaker might try stronger eye contact, a more powerful opening, greater vocal variety, a deliberate pause or a more expressive gesture. The particular technique matters less than the process: select one change, practise it, use it, evaluate the result and refine it. As each small risk becomes familiar, the next challenge becomes easier to attempt. Mini-summary: Stretch rather than overwhelm yourself. Small experiments accumulate into a much larger range of presentation possibilities. How can self-talk improve public-speaking confidence? Replace unsupported "I can't" thinking with constructive language backed by evidence. Simply repeating "I can" is weak unless you can tell yourself why that statement is credible. For example, "Because I have done the preparation, I can do it" gives your mind evidence. So does, "Because I have done this successfully on a smaller scale, I can build on that experience this time." The content we repeatedly feed our minds matters, including our own internal commentary. Negative self-talk magnifies fear; evidence-based self-talk directs attention toward preparation, capability and progress. Mini-summary: Do not merely tell yourself you can succeed. Give your brain concrete evidence from preparation and previous achievement. Can anyone become a more confident presenter? Confidence is not a fixed personality trait; it varies by situation and can be deliberately developed. Someone may be extremely confident in one area of life and frightened in another, including public speaking. That makes presentation confidence a project rather than a prerequisite. Self-acceptance helps normalise nerves. Self-respect reminds us that we have developed difficult capabilities before. Small risks expand our repertoire, while constructive self-talk gives us evidence that progress is possible. Together, these four tools shift the focus away from fear and toward the audience and the job we are there to do. Mini-summary: Treat confidence as something you build. Apply the four strategies consistently and measure progress rather than perfection. Conclusion Speaker confidence is built through action, not instruction. Accept the physical reality of nerves, respect your existing ability to learn, take manageable risks and control your self-talk with evidence. Most importantly, stop making perfection the standard. Public speaking is a development journey, and each presentation is another opportunity to strengthen the skills and confidence required to focus on the audience rather than on your own fear. Author Bio Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across all leadership, communication, sales and presentation programs, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう), and Gendaiban "Hito o Ugokasu" Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー). Greg also publishes daily business insights on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, and hosts six weekly podcasts. On YouTube, he produces The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery and Japan's Top Business Interviews, which are widely followed by executives seeking success strategies in Japan.

  4. Oct 12

    Should We Argue The Point With Our Audience

    Public speaking has become more complicated in an era of short attention spans, scepticism and strongly held views. Even a conventional business presentation can wander into sensitive territory, and the Q&A is where disagreement can become personal. The speaker's job is not to win a public argument. It is to remain professional, control the room and protect both the message and the personal and professional brand. Should a speaker argue with a hostile audience member? No. A speaker should answer the issue but avoid turning the Q&A into a public verbal brawl. Once an exchange becomes a contest over who can win the argument, the presenter risks surrendering professionalism and control of the room. Audiences can arrive with strongly held expectations about business, society and corporate behaviour. Topics such as diversity, equity and inclusion, plastic waste, climate change, cybersecurity and privacy can trigger views that extend far beyond the narrow subject of a presentation. A speaker may think the material is harmless and discover otherwise when questions begin. The crucial mindset is to expect disagreement without treating disagreement as an invitation to combat. Mini-summary: Answer the issue, not the aggression. Your objective is to manage the room professionally, not defeat an antagonist in public. Why is the Q&A the highest-risk part of a business presentation? The Q&A removes much of the speaker's control because audience members can raise hostile, unrelated or highly charged issues. The prepared presentation has a structure; question time can go anywhere. In most business settings, audiences will allow the speaker to deliver the formal talk without interruption. The dynamics change once questions are invited. Someone can be rude, arrogant, bullying, condescending or aggressive, and the speaker has to deal with the behaviour in real time. That makes mental preparation as important as subject knowledge. Before taking the stage, consider the controversial areas surrounding the topic, anticipate difficult questions and decide how you will respond without becoming defensive. Mini-summary: Treat Q&A as a separate presentation skill. Prepare for difficult questions before you enter the room rather than improvising under pressure. How can a speaker control the time during a hostile Q&A? Set a clear time limit for questions before the Q&A begins so you retain a legitimate and dignified way to close the session. This simple piece of framing gives the presenter an important control mechanism if the discussion deteriorates. If questions become increasingly hostile, the speaker can refer back to the allotted time and say that the session has reached its scheduled conclusion before moving to prepared closing remarks. This is far better than abruptly terminating an exchange because you appear unable to handle it. The time boundary was established in advance, so using it feels natural rather than evasive. It also allows you to reclaim the final impression instead of letting an antagonist's question become the last thing the audience remembers. Mini-summary: Define the Q&A window in advance. A pre-set time boundary gives you a professional exit route and helps you retain control of the close. How should you repeat or paraphrase an aggressive question? Repeat normal questions for the audience, but paraphrase hostile questions to remove their emotional charge before answering. Do not amplify an attack by broadcasting the attacker's exact language to the whole room. For example, if someone asks, 'Isn't it true that you are going to fire 30% of the workforce in the next few weeks?', the speaker can reframe it as, 'The question was about staffing.' The underlying issue still has to be answered, but the inflammatory wording has been stripped away. This lowers the temperature and allows the presenter to appear cool, calm and collected. Paraphrasing is not a licence to dodge the substance; it is a technique for separating the legitimate question from the hostile packaging around it. Mini-summary: Neutralise the language, then answer the substance. Paraphrasing helps reduce tension without avoiding the issue. How do you stop a hostile questioner from taking over the Q&A? Give your answer and move immediately to another audience member rather than inviting the antagonist to continue the argument. Asking whether your answer satisfied them can simply reopen the fight. After answering, transition with a clear 'Who has the next question?' If the same person interrupts again and insists on continuing the dispute, acknowledge that they hold strong views and offer to continue the discussion after the presentation rather than consuming everyone else's time. Then move straight back to the room and invite the next question. This prevents one individual from monopolising the event while showing the rest of the audience that you are willing to engage without allowing the session to be hijacked. Mini-summary: Answer, transition and keep moving. Do not hand a hostile questioner repeated opportunities to dominate the room. When should a speaker simply agree to disagree? When the difference is fundamental and further debate will not change either position, acknowledge the gap and agree to disagree. Continuing to fight rarely improves the audience's view of the speaker. A useful response is to thank the person for sharing their thoughts, acknowledge that your positions are a fair way apart and then move to the next question. The wider audience is watching not only what you say but how you behave under pressure. Many people may already regard the antagonist's conduct as unreasonable. If you descend to the same level, you sacrifice the professional advantage you had. Staying above the conflict protects credibility, composure and the personal brand attached to your presentation. Mini-summary: Do not try to win an unwinnable public argument. Stay professional, acknowledge the difference and move the conversation forward. Conclusion Speakers cannot control every question, but they can control their own behaviour and much of the Q&A process. Set the time frame, anticipate difficult issues, paraphrase attack questions, answer the substance, move quickly to the next question and refuse to be dragged into a prolonged public fight. When views are irreconcilable, agree to disagree. The audience expects professionalism, especially under pressure, so staying above the mud and the blood is not weakness; it is presentation discipline. Author Bio Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie 'One Carnegie Award' (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across all leadership, communication, sales, and presentation programs, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery, and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう), and Gendaiban 'Hito o Ugokasu' Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー). Greg also publishes daily business insights on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, and hosts six weekly podcasts. On YouTube, he produces The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery, and Japan's Top Business Interviews, which are widely followed by executives seeking success strategies in Japan.

  5. Oct 5

    The Beauty Of Presentation Practice

    A business presentation should never be a "Just In Time" production. Yet busy executives routinely leave preparation until the last moment, recycle old slides, assemble a deck and then deliver the first complete version of the talk to the live audience. That is a high-risk approach for both personal and professional brands. Strong presentations are built steadily: understand the audience, define the purpose, select the key messages, assemble convincing evidence, design the opening and close, simplify the visuals and then rehearse until the delivery is polished. Why is last-minute presentation preparation so risky? Giving the first full rendition of your presentation to the live audience is an unnecessary high-wire act. Last-minute preparation leaves little opportunity to test the content, timing, logic or delivery before your reputation is on the line. Busy professionals often borrow Toyota's "Just In Time" production idea and apply it to presentations. They search previous decks, repurpose slides, cobble everything together and head to the venue. Reusing material can certainly save time, but assembling slides is not the same as preparing a presentation. For speaking, Aesop's tortoise is a better model than a production line: steady, consistent progress gives us time to think, test and improve. "We don't plan to fail, but we fail to plan" remains painfully relevant when the audience is waiting. Mini-summary: Never make the audience your rehearsal. Start early enough to test and improve the presentation before it becomes public. What should you do before creating presentation slides? Start by analysing the audience rather than opening PowerPoint and searching old slide decks. Until you know who you are speaking to, you do not know what content will be relevant or persuasive. Ask who will attend, how much expertise they already have, their seniority and what they are most interested in. Where useful, consider demographic factors such as age or gender composition, but only insofar as they genuinely affect the communication. Ask the organisers for as much useful audience information as possible. This creates a target for the presentation. Without that target, slide-deck amalgamation is like firing blindly into the dark. The slides may look familiar and professional, but familiarity does not make them appropriate for this particular audience. Mini-summary: Audience analysis comes before slide creation. Know who you are targeting before deciding what you are going to show them. What are the four main purposes of a presentation? A presentation generally aims to persuade, motivate, inform or entertain, and the speaker should decide the primary purpose before developing the content. Most business presentations concentrate on persuasion, motivation or information. Entertainment is a different challenge. Conference and convention organisers sometimes want a lighter speaker around lunch, dinner or another part of the programme, but genuinely entertaining an audience requires real talent. Unless you are a gifted raconteur, this is usually better left to professionals. For most executives, the critical decision is whether the audience should believe something, do something or understand something after the presentation. That purpose determines the structure, evidence and eventual call to action. Mini-summary: Decide what the presentation must achieve. Persuade, motivate or inform with intent rather than trying to do everything at once. How do you make your key presentation messages convincing? A central thesis is not enough; every important claim needs evidence that makes the message credible to the audience. Data, statistics, expert testimony, examples and stories can all help prove the point. Time limits force discipline. In a thirty- or forty-minute business presentation, there are only so many ideas we can cover properly. Once the key messages are selected, ask what evidence will make each one stick. Whenever you make a bold statement, mentally challenge yourself with the words "fake news". That may be exactly what a sceptical audience member is thinking. If the claim cannot survive that challenge, strengthen the evidence or reconsider the claim. Credibility comes from supporting assertions rather than merely delivering them confidently. Mini-summary: Match every major claim with proof. Assume the audience may be sceptical and give them a reason to believe you. How should you open and close a business presentation? Use a blockbuster opening to break through the audience's mental clutter, and prepare two strong closes so the final message is the one you want remembered. The second close comes after the Q&A because recency strongly influences what remains in the audience's mind. Audiences arrive carrying emails, meetings, deadlines and personal distractions. The opening has to win their attention quickly enough for the rest of the presentation to get through. At the other end, do not allow the final answer in the Q&A to become the accidental conclusion to your talk. Prepare one close for the end of the formal presentation and another concise close after questions. That allows you to regain control of the final impression and reinforce the message that matters most. Mini-summary: Own both ends of the presentation. Capture attention immediately and make your intended message the last thing the audience hears. Why is rehearsal essential for a professional presentation? Rehearsal is where a prepared presentation becomes a polished performance. Full-power practice reveals whether you know the content, whether the cadence works and whether the presentation actually fits the allotted time. Before rehearsing, simplify the visuals. Resist loading the slide deck with excessive content or too many screens. Go Zen: keep slides stripped down to the essentials so they serve the presenter rather than upstage them. Then practise the entire talk. Repeating a thirty-minute presentation at full power is exhausting, but that effort is precisely what exposes weaknesses while there is still time to fix them. By the time the real audience arrives, the content and delivery should feel familiar rather than experimental. Mini-summary: Rehearse the whole presentation at full power. Test content, cadence and timing until the live performance is polished and professional. Conclusion The beauty of presentation practice is that it removes avoidable risk. Start with the audience and purpose, narrow the key messages, support them with convincing evidence, create a powerful opening and two closes, keep the visuals minimalist and then rehearse the complete talk repeatedly. The tortoise approach may feel slower than assembling a deck at the last minute, but steady preparation produces a presenter who arrives in front of the audience fully tooled up, confident and ready to protect — and enhance — their professional brand. Author Bio Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across all leadership, communication, sales and presentation programs, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう), and Gendaiban "Hito o Ugokasu" Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー). Greg also publishes daily business insights on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, and hosts six weekly podcasts. On YouTube, he produces The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery and Japan's Top Business Interviews, which are widely followed by executives seeking success strategies in Japan.

  6. Sep 28

    How To Have Executive Presence Part Two

    In Part One, we looked at the mental barrier created when Japanese executives believe their English must be perfect before they can communicate with confidence. Once that hurdle is cleared, executive presence becomes much more practical. Eye contact, voice, gestures and posture can all be coached. The challenge is that several of these behaviours run directly against familiar Japanese cultural norms about modesty, politeness and not standing out. Why can executive presence feel unnatural for Japanese executives? Executive presence requires Japanese executives to stand out, be heard and project confidence, even though traditional Japanese social norms often reward modesty and fitting in. That cultural tension means the physical techniques are usually easier to understand than to adopt. Appearing unsure, timid, shy, modest or bashful can be interpreted positively in Japan because these behaviours avoid drawing unnecessary attention to oneself. International executive communication often demands the opposite. On stage, in a conference or in a senior meeting, the executive has to become more visible and deliberately command attention. The role has changed from ordinary interpersonal interaction to professional performance. Coaching therefore has to address mindset as well as technique, because simply telling someone to "look confident" does not remove years of cultural conditioning. Mini-summary: Executive presence requires permission to stand out. Japanese executives need to recognise that presenting and senior-level communication demand a different behavioural mode. How much eye contact creates executive presence? Around six seconds of direct eye contact can engage an individual without becoming excessively intrusive.Used across the room, deliberate eye contact makes an executive appear more confident, credible and connected to the audience. Direct eye contact carries different cultural expectations. In many Western business settings it is associated with credibility and trust, whereas Japanese people may be taught to avoid staring directly into another person's eyes and instead look toward the forehead or throat. When presenting, however, the executive's role is different from an everyday conversation. They need to engage people individually and make the audience feel included. Coaching can help executives become comfortable with this unfamiliar behaviour until they realise they were always physically capable of doing it; the real barrier was mental. Mini-summary: Use deliberate eye contact to engage the room. About six seconds gives enough connection to create impact without turning the interaction into a stare. Why does vocal power matter for executive presence? A strong voice helps an executive sound confident and ensures the message reaches the audience with authority. A small, quiet voice can disappear in the room and allow attention to drift away. Speaking loudly can feel impolite to Japanese executives, so increasing volume often creates considerable discomfort during coaching. Video replay is particularly useful. Executives may feel as though they are shouting when instructed to project more strongly, yet when they watch the recording they often discover that they simply look and sound confident. Volume is only one element. Voice modulation and greater vocal range help emphasise important ideas and project more power. The objective is not constant loudness but sufficient amplification and variation to support the message. Mini-summary: Project the voice rather than protecting it. Use appropriate volume and modulation so confidence can be heard as well as seen. How should executives use gestures when presenting? Gestures should visibly reinforce the words being spoken rather than being hidden, frozen or disconnected from the message. Combining gestures with eye contact and vocal modulation creates a powerful impression of confidence and credibility. Japanese executives often hold their hands behind their backs because they are unsure what to do with them. Others lock their hands together in front of the body. These positions may feel stable, but they remove an important communication tool. Gestures can emphasise size, direction, importance and contrast. If something is large, the hands can show width; if something is tall or short, one hand can establish the measure. The gesture and the language must be congruent or the movement becomes a distraction rather than reinforcement. Mini-summary: Free your hands and make gestures purposeful. Let the movement visually strengthen the exact point you are making. How long should a presentation gesture last? A gesture has a short useful life and should normally be switched off rather than held indefinitely. Holding the same gesture for around fifteen seconds or longer can drain its impact and turn it into an irritating visual distraction. Effective gestures are dynamic. They appear when needed, reinforce the point and then disappear as the hands return to a neutral position. This prevents repetitive or frozen body language from competing with the speaker's words. Congruence also matters. A gesture that contradicts the verbal message makes the audience work harder to interpret what the presenter means. Executive presence is strengthened when the voice, words, eyes and physical movement all communicate the same idea at the same moment. Mini-summary: Turn gestures on and off. Keep them brief, natural and completely aligned with the meaning of your words. What posture creates stronger executive presence? Stand straight and tall, command the whole room and project your energy outward rather than allowing distracting movement to dilute the message. Strong posture creates the impression of solidity, professionalism and gravitas. Slouching, leaning, continually shifting weight, wandering around the stage or walking rapidly back and forth all compete with the content. So does engaging only one side of the audience. The executive should use the whole body to command the entire space. The Japanese concept of "ki" (気), or vital life force, is useful here: imagine projecting energy into the audience and filling the room with it. When posture works together with eye contact, vocal modulation and gestures, the separate techniques combine into a much stronger overall presence. Mini-summary: Fill the room physically and energetically. Strong posture completes the combination of eye contact, voice and gesture that creates executive presence. Conclusion Executive presence is not one trick. It is the combined impression created by eye contact, vocal power, purposeful gestures, strong posture and the mindset to use them confidently. For Japanese executives, the difficult part is often not learning the mechanics but giving themselves permission to move beyond cultural habits that discourage standing out. Once that mindset changes, the techniques reinforce each other and create the solidity and gravitas expected of an executive on the international stage. Author Bio Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across all leadership, communication, sales and presentation programs, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう), and Gendaiban "Hito o Ugokasu" Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー). Greg also publishes daily business insights on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, and hosts six weekly podcasts. On YouTube, he produces The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery and Japan's Top Business Interviews, which are widely followed by executives seeking success strategies in Japan.

  7. Sep 21

    How To Have Executive Presence Part One

    Executive presence is often treated as something mysterious, but the practical requirement is straightforward: executives need to look and sound professional, command attention and be taken seriously. For Japanese executives operating internationally, one of the biggest barriers is not necessarily a lack of English grammar or vocabulary. It is the pursuit of linguistic perfection and the hesitation that follows when they fear making mistakes. What does executive presence mean for Japanese executives? Executive presence means being seen as professional, being listened to and being taken seriously. For Japanese executives on the international stage, that requires more than technical competence or seniority; they also have to communicate with enough confidence to command attention. At international conventions, conferences, meetings and presentations, executives from across Asia-Pacific compete for attention and influence. In my observation, executives from China, India and Korea often create greater impact than their Japanese counterparts. English capability is part of the equation, but the deeper issue is whether Japanese executives are willing to speak up and project themselves. If they remain quiet because they fear imperfect English, their expertise is effectively invisible to the room. Mini-summary: Executive presence requires visible confidence and communication. Expertise alone cannot create impact if the executive is reluctant to speak. Why does perfectionism weaken executive presence in English? The belief that English must be perfect before it is spoken creates hesitation, and hesitation quickly undermines executive presence. Japanese executives can become so concerned about defects and mistakes that they restrict how much they say. The Japanese emphasis on perfection can be a strength in many business settings, but it becomes a limitation when executives apply the same standard to communicating in a second language. Chinese speakers have a subject-verb-object grammatical structure closer to English, while many international Indian executives have been educated in English. Korean, however, shares the subject-object-verb structure of Japanese, making the comparison particularly interesting. The issue is therefore not simply language structure. Japanese executives can communicate in English, but fear of mistakes can persuade them not to try. Mini-summary: Stop making perfection the entry requirement for communication. Effective English does not have to be flawless English. Why do text-heavy slides reduce executive presence? When executives hide behind dense slides, the screen becomes the presenter and the executive surrenders the room. Executive presence requires the audience's attention to be on the speaker, with slides supporting rather than dominating the communication. A common response to anxiety about speaking English is to put enormous amounts of text on PowerPoint slides and then read that text aloud. The presenter feels safer because the wording has been prepared in advance, but the audience can already read. They quickly become bored, switch off and stop engaging with the executive. The slideshow has now taken control. Slides can certainly support an international business presentation, but they should never become a substitute for confident human communication. Mini-summary: Dominate the slides; do not let the slides dominate you. Keep audience attention on the executive rather than on blocks of text. How does fear of failure affect Japanese executives speaking English? Fear of embarrassment encourages executives to say less, yet saying less guarantees less presence in meetings and presentations. The safest way to avoid making a language mistake may appear to be staying silent, but that strategy also removes influence. When coaching Japanese executives, we have to address the assumption that linguistic perfection is necessary for effective communication. The source text also reflects on the broader cultural aversion to failure in Japan and an observation made by a guest on Japan's Top Business Interviews about historical and modern attitudes to responsibility for mistakes. Whatever the historical explanation, the practical coaching issue is clear: fear changes behaviour. Executives who are worried about errors hesitate, avoid contributing or speak without conviction. Mini-summary: Silence protects you from language mistakes but also removes your influence. Executive presence requires accepting some communication risk. Can imperfect language still communicate effectively? Yes. People routinely understand imperfect language because listeners automatically interpret meaning from context. The goal is successful communication, not a grammatically flawless performance. I demonstrate this to Japanese executives by deliberately mangling Japanese grammar and saying, "watashi Tokyo eki ikimasu". They immediately understand that I mean I am going to Tokyo Station. I then ask how they could possibly understand such imperfect Japanese. The answer is obvious: they mentally adjust the imperfect sentence and extract the intended meaning. English listeners do exactly the same thing when a Japanese executive makes grammatical errors. The message can still get through clearly even when the language is not perfect. Mini-summary: Measure success by whether the message is understood. Do not confuse grammatical perfection with effective communication. How can Japanese executives build more confidence when speaking English? Replace the pursuit of perfect English with confidence that the message is getting through. For many Japanese executives, the real development requirement is mindset and coaching rather than another round of grammar study. Confidence itself influences how an audience receives a speaker. When someone communicates with conviction, listeners are more inclined to engage with the message. When the speaker is visibly frightened of making mistakes, that hesitation weakens delivery even if the underlying English knowledge is sufficient. In my experience coaching Japanese executives, many already possess enough vocabulary and grammatical knowledge to communicate effectively. Their bigger barrier is giving themselves permission to use what they already know without demanding perfection from themselves. Mini-summary: Build confidence around communication rather than perfection. Speak up, accept minor mistakes and focus on getting the message across. Conclusion Executive presence begins before we get to sophisticated presentation techniques. Japanese executives first have to remove the mental barrier that says imperfect English is unacceptable. When they stop hiding behind text-heavy slides, speak with greater confidence and focus on whether the audience understands the message, their presence immediately improves. Part Two looks at the practical tools executives can use to strengthen that presence further. Author Bio Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across all leadership, communication, sales and presentation programs, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう), and Gendaiban "Hito o Ugokasu" Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー). Greg also publishes daily business insights on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, and hosts six weekly podcasts. On YouTube, he produces The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery and Japan's Top Business Interviews, which are widely followed by executives seeking success strategies in Japan.

  8. Sep 14

    How To Be A Pitch Contest Winner

    A pitch contest is not really about squeezing as much company information as possible into a short speaking slot. It is about creating a stronger, more useful and more memorable impression than everyone else in the room. When I was unexpectedly added to a Chamber of Commerce pitch contest in Japan, I approached the ten-minute presentation as a genuine competition: control attention, give the audience value, demonstrate expertise and leave them with something worth keeping. What is the best speaking position in a pitch contest? If you can influence the speaking order, go first or last rather than getting buried in the middle. Going first lets you establish the benchmark everyone else must follow; going last gives you the final impression immediately before judging or voting. In my Chamber of Commerce pitch contest in Japan, I landed in the middle of the batting order, which was not my preference. The first speaker has the opportunity to blitz the room and own the opening impression. The last speaker has recency working in their favour because their message is freshest when the audience makes a decision. Of course, you may not control the order, but if organisers give you a choice, treat that choice strategically rather than casually. Mini-summary: If you have a choice, take first or last. If you do not, make your opening strong enough that the audience forgets where you appeared in the order. How should you use slides in a ten-minute business pitch? In a short pitch, slides should create immediate visual impact rather than force the audience to read. Ten minutes disappears quickly, so every second spent decoding dense text is time taken away from you and your message. Several contestants used conventional slide decks filled with lines of text. One represented a people business, yet there were no people in the slides. I would have shown customers enjoying the service, happy families and behind-the-scenes images of how the service is delivered. Those visuals would help the audience identify with the business immediately. If your slides are merely your speaking notes projected on a screen, they are competing with you for attention. In my own pitch, I used no PowerPoint at all, so the audience had nowhere else to look. Mini-summary: Use powerful, relevant visuals or consider using no slides. Never make the audience choose between reading your screen and listening to you. How can content marketing make a business pitch more persuasive? Give the audience a useful sample of your expertise instead of spending the pitch telling them how wonderful your company is. Content marketing builds credibility because people experience some of your value before they are ever asked to buy. Before my presentation, I gave everyone a wallet-sized card called "6 Impact Points For Persuasive Power". The principle is the same whether your proof of expertise is a white paper, testimonial, video, podcast, book or practical tool. The item demonstrates that you have something useful to contribute. More importantly, it changes the nature of the pitch. Rather than making the audience endure ten minutes of corporate propaganda, you give them something they can apply themselves. That makes the presentation relevant to them, not merely important to you. Mini-summary: Demonstrate expertise with useful content. Give people evidence of your value rather than asking them to accept your claims about it. How do you make a pitch relevant to everyone in the room? Choose a subject with broad applicability and make the audience the beneficiary of the presentation. People are naturally more interested in what helps them than in the history, structure or virtues of somebody else's company. I spoke about persuasive power because leaders, salespeople, colleagues and anyone seeking cooperation from others can use it. That cast a wide net across the room. I said very little about Dale Carnegie beyond enough information to establish credibility and indicate the scope of the business. The rest of the time went into explaining the six persuasion points and how the audience could use them in their own presentations. This is a much stronger approach than reciting company facts that matter mainly to the presenter. A pitch can still promote the business, but it does so indirectly by demonstrating relevance and expertise. Mini-summary: Start with the audience's interests. Make your expertise useful to them and let that usefulness sell the credibility of your company. Why must a presenter 'walk the talk' in a pitch contest? Your delivery has to prove the claims you are making, especially when your business sells expertise. If you teach presenting, leadership, sales or communication, the pitch itself becomes a live demonstration of whether you can actually do what you recommend. I was explaining persuasive presentation techniques, so I had no room for a weak performance. I had to model the six points rather than simply describe them. That creates a powerful credibility effect: the audience can see the expertise operating in front of them. The contrast with other speakers also becomes more obvious without you needing to criticise anyone. In my contest, the speaker after me publicly remarked that I would be hard to follow. That was exactly the competitive advantage I wanted to create through preparation and delivery. Mini-summary: Make the presentation itself your proof. Whatever expertise you claim, demonstrate it visibly while you are on stage. What should the audience take away from a winning pitch? Give people something memorable, useful and easy to keep after the presentation ends. A strong takeaway extends the life of the pitch and keeps your expertise physically or mentally present after everyone leaves the room. One contestant offered spare copies of an A4 PowerPoint handout, but there was little enthusiasm. My business-card-sized summary of the six persuasion points was compact, robust and immediately useful. It fitted into a wallet and reinforced the exact ideas I had demonstrated on stage. That was deliberate. The physical format, the usefulness of the content and the presentation all supported the same message. A takeaway should not be an information dump or a souvenir of your slide deck. It should be something the audience has a reason to keep. Mini-summary: Design the takeaway as carefully as the pitch. Make it compact, practical and directly connected to the value you demonstrated. Conclusion A winning pitch is planned as a competitive performance, not treated as a miniature corporate brochure. Think about speaking order, remove unnecessary slide clutter, choose a subject the whole audience can use, demonstrate your expertise in real time and create a takeaway people genuinely want to keep. Whenever you are presenting alongside other speakers, assume you are competing for attention and memory. Your job is to make sure your presentation is the one that lingers. Author Bio Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across leadership, communication, sales and presentation programmes, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう), and Gendaiban "Hito o Ugokasu" Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー). Greg also publishes daily business insights on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, and hosts six weekly podcasts. On YouTube, he produces The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery and Japan's Top Business Interviews, which are followed by executives seeking success strategies in Japan.

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Persuasion power is one of the kingpins of business success. We recognise immediately those who have the facility and those who don't. We certainly trust, gravitate toward and follow those with persuasion power. Those who don't have it lack presence and fundamentally disappear from view and become invisible. We have to face the reality, persuasion power is critical for building our careers and businesses. The good thing is we can all master this ability. We can learn how to become persuasive and all we need is the right information, insight and access to the rich experiences of others. If you want to lead or sell then you must have this capability. This is a fact from which there is no escape and there are no excuses.

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