Newsletter

This issue’s post

Raw information VS stories

• Raw information is indigestible for a human being.
• It needs to be transformed when presented.

We’re all accumulating data! Data. Raw data. Figures, percentages, numerical evolutions from one year to the next, results, etc. Raw data is indigestible for a human being. We are not computers, capable of analyzing and interpreting this data in its original form. In front of miles of tables and lined-up figures, we give up!

The difference between data and a message we can understand and process: stories. The ability to transform raw data into stories is probably the most valuable and the least taught of all. It is not a talent. No-one is a born storyteller! No-one is born with the ability to tell beautiful stories that will rally an entire audience to a given idea. It can be learned. It needs to be practiced.

On June 2nd and 3rd, we hope to have the opportunity to offer the training “Winning Hearts and Minds – Part 1: Presenting with Confidence” as an Open Course. This will only happen once this year in Paris (but two of them are currently scheduled in London: 9^th & 10^th of September, 4^th & 5^th of November)!  If you are one of those who want at last to develop this narrative skill along with your presentation skills, now is the time to sign up!

Click here for more information. And enter the world of those who turn lead (the raw data) into gold (your inspirational message). Registration opens today and we’re looking forward to welcoming you!

What else?

Attachment VS efficiency

• Presenters are attached to how they sound and how they look.
• Rather than focusing on who they’re talking to.

Perhaps you are the owner of a beautiful BMW or a magnificent pair of Berluti or a splendid Patek Philippe watch? The truth is, we don’t own anything. This fundamental fact is hidden in plain sight. None of these things will be with us when we return to dust. If some of us enjoy buying cars, clothes, watches, we also forget that these objects are just on loan to us, they are never really ours, not really. If we were to die tomorrow, they would just sit there, waiting for a new tenant.

The idea behind all this is of course not to cling to objects, not to let yourself be possessed by them. They accompany us on our earthly journey. Nothing more. Some despise material things and see them as cumbersome, opting for a happy simplicity. On the other hand, it is possible to let oneself be moved by the beauty or the quality of some of them, yet without losing a kind of distance. They may be useful, practical.

But they are not ours. They are not us. The only thing they have to give is their utility. The rest, what truly matters, is within us. That which is only on loan can be taken back in the blink of an eye. There is something relaxing in this detachment and in this invitation to minimalism.

Becoming a great presenter means not being attached to presenting like everyone else, and letting go of much of what we think we need to present well.

What’s in it for you?

Success VS accomplishment

• Three pillars to create success.
• One criteria to define it.

If you have a vision, the desire to succeed at something, here are three prerequisites to help you achieve your goals.

The first: focus on what you are doing, rather than on what it will bring you, be it fame, fortune, or personal fulfilment. Your mission is to contribute in some way to the world as it is or as it will become.

The second: your intention. Why do you want to do this? Why does it matter to you? Understanding your deepest motivation will help you sustain it.

The third is to maintain a sufficient and consistent level of self-confidence. It is this confidence that will fuel your project with energy and help you not to abandon it. Because if your project is worthwhile, chances are that it will require tremendous effort, and will be fraught with difficulties. Effort means difficulty, and difficulty means being tempted to give up! Self-confidence is the result of practice. It is built on evidence and your past successes. It is up to you to look after it and ensure that it is in line with your ambitions! This requires both physical and mental training.

Ultimately, though, “success” is a subjective notion. It is perfectly possible to be successful without subscribing in any way to the clichés of success that our society offers us. Success has a thousand faces and it is up to you and you alone to assess whether your results are up to what you want.