'Content is king' has been our clarion call on many a podcast. What we often leave out is the equally important point of how you say something, as well as when you say it and where.

As Corporate Affairs and Comms professionals we are often the director of the presentations our spokespeople give to key audiences. The 'stage' could be a physical stage at a conference, or a virtual results presentation. It could be sitting in a TV or radio studio. Or even just a speech to employees at a town hall.

In many ways, Corporate Affairs practitioners need to be a Trevor Nunn, an Arlene Phillips and a Stephen Spielberg rolled into one with the occasional need to be a Tom Hanks as well.

This episode is about the power of performance. How to make your content come alive, to stay memorable and even repeatable.

This is often where Comms professionals realise they need specialist advice. If only they could get access to someone who has been an actor, has been classically trained at somewhere prestigious like RADA, and has worked with CEOs and business leaders to extract the best of performances. Luckily at Little Questions we have just such an expert who is happy to give away some that valuable performance-related stardust on this episode.

David Solomon is our guest for this podcast. He originally worked in the City, but left to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and spent the next ten years as a professional actor working at the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre.

This episode is hosted by Matt Young.

You can get in touch by emailing [email protected] and please consider leaving us a review. Find out more at apellaadvisors.com.

David Solomon, Executive Coach - Sun & Moon Training

David's professional journey is a testament to versatility and excellence. He began with a BSc in Maths and Statistics from the University of Exeter, followed by a year in the finance sector in the City. His passion for the arts then led him to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he trained and subsequently spent a decade performing with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. David's career evolved significantly as he became a Business Development Director in Corporate Video for prominent clients such as BP, Goldman Sachs, Heinz, HSBC and UBS Warburg. In 2003, David combined his corporate expertise and professional acting experience to become a Facilitator and Coach. Over the years, he has conducted skills training courses for organisations within the private and public sector, including London Business School, Cisco and the NHS. David is an accredited Executive Coach and a certified practitioner of MBTI and DiSC.

Elizabeth Mobed, Senior Associate - Apella Advisors

Elizabeth joined Apella as a Senior Associate in November 2023. She has extensive capital markets communications experience, advising on financial calendar communications, international M&A transactions and IPOs with FTSE 100 and leading private equity firms. She has also advised clients on reputation management, advocacy campaigns and crisis communications. Before Apella, Elizabeth worked in the Financial Communications team at Teneo. She previously worked at FTI Consulting's Strategic Communications team, joining as a Graduate. She holds an BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford.

Matt Young, Partner - Apella Advisors

Matt has 25 years of experience across media relations, public affairs, regulatory development, employee engagement, brand development, competition and CSR. Group corporate affairs director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.