FAQ

During my training sessions, you’ll learn how to communicate your story clearly, structure it effectively and deliver it to your audience with confidence. We focus on:

▪The message of your story. What exactly do you want to communicate, and how should you structure it?

▪Managing nerves.

▪Voice and body language.

▪Using visual aids and other supporting materials effectively.

My training sessions are designed for professionals, students, creatives, managers and experts who want to take their impact as speaker to the next level.
In practice, this might include:

▪Executives preparing to present to the board or update investors. 

▪Subject-matter experts who need to explain complex topics to an audience without specialist knowledge.

▪Managers who want to lead change or communicate difficult news to their team.

▪Professionals preparing for a keynote speech or pitch.

[Aan te vullen door Xander]​

That depends on your goal. For the one-to-one training sometimes one intensive session is enough to perfect a speech. If you’re looking for a deeper transformation in your speaking style, a programme of several sessions is recommended.

The basic training programme, both open-enrollment and in-company, last two full days, from 9:30 till 17:00. But I can also tailer in-company training sessions to your organisation’s needs. Sometimes one day is enough; in other cases, several sessions spread over multiple days work better.

Yes, absolutely. The one-to-one training can be delivered online. I often work with people based abroad, so I have plenty of experience with this. We can also combine online and in-person sessions. Get in touch and we can discuss what would work best for you.

Absolutely. In fact, making “mistakes” is an important part of the learning process. To create a safe environment, I deliberately work with small groups in both the basic training programmes: open-inrollment and in-company.

▪This helps everyone get to know one another quickly and ensures plenty of individual attention.

▪I don’t judge; I focus on what works for you. Rehearsing, as you would in theatre – trying things out, falling down and getting back up – is an important part of the training.

▪I respect your authenticity. I won’t teach you tricks or ask you to adopt a “role”. My method is designed to help you persuade people as yourself.

With this approach participants’ nerves soon give way to a sense of control, enjoyment and confidence.

Presenting is difficult. You’re deliberately putting yourself in a situation your brain perceives as “threatening”. You’re standing apart from the group, and you can’t fully control how the audience responds. The thought of going blank, being laughed at or embarrassing yourself in some other way can feel like a threat to your social standing. So it’s no wonder your heart starts racing, your legs tremble and your mouth goes dry.

Don’t worry: althoug you may think your audience notices every hesitation or bead of sweat, in reality, listeners hardly notice. Feeling nervous is completely normal, and your audience knows that too. In general, people listening want you to succeed.

Presenting is a skill you need to practise. What looks effortless is always the result of good perparation: a well-structured story, thoughtful pauses and practice, practice, practice. Want to learn how? Book a training session.

Feeling nervous when presenting is completely normal. When you’re standing in front of a group with everyone’s eyes on you, your brain unconsciously sees it as a threatening situation. Your heart rate increases, your breathing speeds up and your muscles tense. Without the right techniques to manage that tension, it can disrupt your natural speaking rhythm. That’s why we focus on the following techniques during training:

▪Control your breathing and voice. Nerves can make you breathe high in your chest, which can leave you feeling rushed. We practise breathing consciously down into your belly, and I’ll teach you to let silences happen so you can slow down your speaking rhythm.

▪Make a conscious effort to take up space. Tension can make you physically shrink. Use your body language to adopt a strong stance on stage. Standing firmly gives your brain the signal that you’re safe.

▪Focus not on yourself (“What do they think of me?”), but on your audience. Find out what they need and make genuine contact with the people in front of you. This shifts your focus from performing to cummunicating.

▪Make sure your presentation has a rock-solid structure. Knowing that you’re well prepared and exactly what your audience needs to remember can give you tremendous peace of mind.

And finally, we’ll get plenty of practice in a safe environment. Rehearsing and trying things out takes the edge off your nerves. The more often you experience that it’s okay to experiment, the sooner nerves give way to enjoyment and confidence on stage.

Always start with your message, not your slides. First decide what you want your audience to remember, then build your presentation around it. In practice, that means:

▪Write down your core message in one single sentence.

▪Decide what you want your audience to remember, do or feel afterwards.

▪Work out the structure of your presentation in plain text (not in slides yet). The structure of your story needs to be clear before you add slides.

▪Limit yourself to three supporting points that reinforce your core message; people won’t remember more than that.

▪Create your slides last. They should illustrate the structure of your story, not provide the structure itself.

Yes. Every good story has a clear structure: a starting situation, a moment of tension and a resolution. This structure works just as well in a boardroom as it does on stage. You can build your story in five steps:

1. Starting situation: describe the normal situation. What’s happening, and what’s at stake?
   
2. Moment of tension: introduce the problem, obstacle or turning point that disrupts the normal situation.
   
3. Resolution: show clearly what needs to change and what that means for your audience.
   
4. Keep it relevant: cut any detail that doesn’t contribute to the moment of tension or the resolution.
   
5. State your core message explicitly at the end of your presentation; don’t assume your audience will reach the same conlusion you have.

No, although many people think it is. Your presentation is the story you tell; your slides are simply there to support it. Use slides only for images, data or diagrams – not for text you plan to read aloud.

Think of it this way: a good story, with a clear core message and a well-defined structure, could even work without slides.

Always start with your conclusion, not the step that led you to it. When time is short, the message-evidence-action structure works better that a traditional structure, where you don’t get to the conclusion until the end.

Let’s say you have just three minutes to get your message across. Use these techniques:

▪Open with your conclusion or recommendation, then use the time left to support it.

▪Ask yourself “So what?” about every point, and cut anything that doesn’t answer that question.

▪Use one illustrative example instead of several: ons sticks in people’s minds: three can feel rushed.

Skip background and context unless someone specifically asks for them. Assume that an audience under time pressure wants you to get to the point.

Always take a moment to think before you answer. Don’t worry that your audience will think you don’t know the answer; a brief pause actually makes you seem thoughtfull. Then follow these steps:

▪Briefly repeat or rephrase the question to check that you’ve understood it correctly.

▪Answer the question directly before adding anything else; don’t drift onto another topic.

▪ If a question takes you off topic, answer it briefly and then explicitly return to you core message.

▪ Make sure you don’t take too many questions, so the message of your story doesn’t get lost. Stay in control during the Q&A. You can do this without being abrupt by saying, before the last question you’re willing to answer: “One last question.”

If you don’t know the answer, just say so. You can always add that you’ll look into it and get back to them later. Don’t guess or make something up; that will damage your credibility more than simply admitting you don’t know.