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Summary:  Isaiah constantly references “Confessions of a Public Speaker” by Scott Berkun, so the hosts dedicated an entire episode to get the book out of his system. Hear the hosts supplement Berkun’s pithy prose with personal anecdotes.

Show Notes:

Isaiah steals the show and takes on the role of host. Despite having no idea what’s coming to him, Nathanael managed in interject a few salient points, starting with a dissection of the myth of razor blades in halloween candy. (Lesson learned: Never advise people to picture others in their underwear.)

First except. Isaiah introduces the first topic with a pithy quote from Confessions, mistakes that come from nerves, fear, and butterflies. Nathanael talks about seeing his hands shake when speaking and how his coaches told him to respond.

Note: this episode has some odd, weird, and yet effective transitions between topics. All in all an abnormal energy episode, as Isaiah is in the drivers seat and Nathanael can only interject via free association.

Second excerpt. Isaiah’s second major quote, from Confessions, puts you in the seats of an auditorium and the brains of an audience. That leads Nathanael to a less-than-clever joke, some additional jokes about workplace meetings, and then finally some thoughtful discussion about meetings. Just what makes meetings or debate rounds memorable is something out of the ordinary. Discussion: how to harness this energy without making mistakes.

Right before the break the hosts forget which episode was the one where Nathanael mistakenly showed porn to the entire audience. It was Episode 6.

— BREAK —

The hosts ponder the eternal question: presentation zen or presentation sin?

Among top sins, focusing on the Powerpoints tops Nathanael’s list. He describes the very personal act of deleting someone else’s words & slides and the very coaching act of telling people to practice.

Nathanael’s advice: shift attention from slides to the person talking. He tells the story of a time this tip caused Powerpoint chaos before a big presentation.

Isaiah presses the question: how many slides do I need? Nathanael gives a two-part answer: how two different types of people use compelling visuals in two different ways.

In a somewhat complete change of subject, Isaiah told the story of how he manically rearranged the room right before one of his colleagues gave an important workshop. Learn why the room was messed up and how he brought order to chaos. (Hint: it’s all about connecting with people, the ancients, and the fact that they didn’t have Powerpoints.)

Mic drop moment: do you want to connect to people or a screen? (Asked Isaiah, to you the listener.)

Listen for: the iPhone timer interrupting a very salient point from Isaiah TWICE!

Edit: the author’s name was previously misspelled “Burken” instead of “Berkun”.