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Be Conversational: Why Authenticity Beats Performance in Presentations
Key Highlights
- The curvilinear relationship between confidence and persuasiveness: Too little confidence undermines your message, but too much confidence also reduces persuasiveness - the goal is finding the "sweet spot" at the top of the curve where you're most effective
- Four elements of presentation success: Singular and advancing message (keep movement going), optimistic energy (even with difficult content), humanness/authenticity (show up the same everywhere), and turning anxiety markers into confidence markers (replace "ums" with purposeful pauses)
- The 80% rule for your go-to speaking style: Find where you look and sound your best (usually mid-range), then speak from that place 80% of the time while using your full dynamic range for the remaining 20% to create conversational variety
- Four critical presentation foundations: Master your intro (practice 5x more than anything else), build transitions in advance (where most filler words happen), prepare for Q&A with 5 likely questions in your pocket, and close strong (never end with awkward "any questions?" silence)
- Presentations are conversations within a series of conversations: Stop treating them as one-moment-in-time events that amp up anxiety - engage before, during, and after to build authenticity and reduce pressure
- "Today, the power's with the audience, not the presenter anymore. The audience decides how persuasive you're going to be and how much attention they're going to give."
- "People make up their mind in the first 30 seconds of a presentation how much they're going to pay attention all the way through. When their phone buzzes 10 minutes in, they've already decided if they're going to look at it."
- "The way I'm talking to you right now is my go-to speaking style. I've watched myself record it, I know this is where I look and sound my best. I bring my go-to everywhere."
- "Perfection is the enemy of engagement. The more you try to be in your head about how you deliver, the more you're gonna disengage the audience."
- "You speak in your natural speaking voice 99% of the day. But we've created these formulaic presentation styles that aren't us. You don't have to change who you are to be a better speaker."
- Dan Couladis is an Executive Coach at CRA | Admired Leadership, specializing in presentation coaching and leadership communication. Over 14 years, he has developed a proprietary approach to public speaking that reflects how audiences engage today, working with leaders from MBA students to Fortune 100 C-suite executives. A devoted Buffalo Bills fan who brings optimistic energy and conversational authenticity to every interaction, he has studied the evolution of public speaking from ancient Greek philosophers to TED Talks to create frameworks that help leaders find their natural voice and command attention in an era of unprecedented distraction.
- Wes Bender serves as a facilitator and thought leadership coordinator at CRA | Admired Leadership, helping to connect practical leadership insights with real-world application through webinars and educational content. A self-described enthusiastic presenter working to master his own go-to speaking style.
- Field Note: "The Singular Message" on creating a through line in presentations
View all episodes
By Admired LeadershipKey Highlights
- The curvilinear relationship between confidence and persuasiveness: Too little confidence undermines your message, but too much confidence also reduces persuasiveness - the goal is finding the "sweet spot" at the top of the curve where you're most effective
- Four elements of presentation success: Singular and advancing message (keep movement going), optimistic energy (even with difficult content), humanness/authenticity (show up the same everywhere), and turning anxiety markers into confidence markers (replace "ums" with purposeful pauses)
- The 80% rule for your go-to speaking style: Find where you look and sound your best (usually mid-range), then speak from that place 80% of the time while using your full dynamic range for the remaining 20% to create conversational variety
- Four critical presentation foundations: Master your intro (practice 5x more than anything else), build transitions in advance (where most filler words happen), prepare for Q&A with 5 likely questions in your pocket, and close strong (never end with awkward "any questions?" silence)
- Presentations are conversations within a series of conversations: Stop treating them as one-moment-in-time events that amp up anxiety - engage before, during, and after to build authenticity and reduce pressure
- "Today, the power's with the audience, not the presenter anymore. The audience decides how persuasive you're going to be and how much attention they're going to give."
- "People make up their mind in the first 30 seconds of a presentation how much they're going to pay attention all the way through. When their phone buzzes 10 minutes in, they've already decided if they're going to look at it."
- "The way I'm talking to you right now is my go-to speaking style. I've watched myself record it, I know this is where I look and sound my best. I bring my go-to everywhere."
- "Perfection is the enemy of engagement. The more you try to be in your head about how you deliver, the more you're gonna disengage the audience."
- "You speak in your natural speaking voice 99% of the day. But we've created these formulaic presentation styles that aren't us. You don't have to change who you are to be a better speaker."
- Dan Couladis is an Executive Coach at CRA | Admired Leadership, specializing in presentation coaching and leadership communication. Over 14 years, he has developed a proprietary approach to public speaking that reflects how audiences engage today, working with leaders from MBA students to Fortune 100 C-suite executives. A devoted Buffalo Bills fan who brings optimistic energy and conversational authenticity to every interaction, he has studied the evolution of public speaking from ancient Greek philosophers to TED Talks to create frameworks that help leaders find their natural voice and command attention in an era of unprecedented distraction.
- Wes Bender serves as a facilitator and thought leadership coordinator at CRA | Admired Leadership, helping to connect practical leadership insights with real-world application through webinars and educational content. A self-described enthusiastic presenter working to master his own go-to speaking style.
- Field Note: "The Singular Message" on creating a through line in presentations