As a regular host and speaker at events like the Employee Engagement Summit and Customer Engagement Summit, I’m always impressed by the calibre of ideas on offer — brilliant case studies, expert panels, dynamic interviews, lively exhibitor zones, and thousands of professionals moving between stages and sessions.
But one thing that often strikes me is this: how rarely speakers successfully communicate the brand values they represent.
Each speaker has a unique, unrepeatable opportunity to differentiate their brand in front of hundreds of influential people. And the same is true whenever they speak to employees, clients, partners, or institutions. These aren’t just presentations — they’re moments of truth.
In a hyper-communicated world where most decisions are made before a salesperson or makes an order — and where AI-generated messaging is everywhere — your leadership team must know how to optimise every human touchpoint in the brand building process. Especially when representing your organisation on platforms like Engage.
That’s what Progress Software recognised when they developed their Engage award-winning Brand Activation – Thought Leadership programme with us with the help of Veronica Hannon at Transform Communications.
We moved away from scripted marketing-speak and instead equipped key global leaders to develop and deliver relevant, resonant keynote presentations — ones that inspire trust and demonstrate real customer centricity.
And here’s the thing...
Most customers won’t buy from a brand they don’t trust or can’t immediately recall when it comes time to find a supplier.
And trust isn’t built through glossy decks or clever marketing messages — especially if the delivery feels awkward. It’s built over time, through many consistent communications — and it can be destroyed in seconds by a single poor one.
I once watched a senior executive present a vital workplace wellbeing strategy to a packed audience of 1,000 peers from other major brands — many of whom were potential customers. He spent most of the session reading from the slides behind him and even admitted: “I’m sorry, but these are not my slides.”
Trust, gone.
According to David Maister, professional trust is built on three key components:
Credibility: Do I believe what you’re saying?
Reliability: Can I depend on you to follow through?
Intimacy: Do I feel safe listening to — and sharing with — you?
And it’s undermined by one major factor:
Self-Orientation: Is this more about you than it is about me?
That’s the fundamental question every audience is asking:
“Is this presentation about me… or about you?”
Or…how well do you “show me you know me…”
When we developed the Brand Activation – Thought Leaders Coaching Programme, we set out to liberate our speakers from two extremes:
Know your purpose. Think audience-first. Visualise success. Open strong.
Use the rule of three. Tell stories. Structure clearly. Vary your pace. Breathe.
Pause. Use your body. Make eye contact. Keep slides minimal. End strong.
Leave something behind.
Now, don’t get me wrong — there’s nothing wrong with any of these. They’re all great tips.
But having directed both brand-culture programmes as well as successful theatre productions (and the odd TV programme) over the last 19 years, I can tell you: if I gave an actor a checklist like that before a performance, they’d quickly become very self-conscious… or robotic at best. And that’s the enemy of the intimacy they need to create to truly connect people with their brand’s values in a 5-10-20 minute or longer presentation.
The real goal of a director is to help performers connect to purpose and intention — and deliver the message like it’s being spoken for the first time. We use exercises, rehearsal, and feedback to get there.
The same applies to leaders.
But this isn’t about turning leaders into performers. It’s so much more than just giving them theatre skills – which is a start point.
It’s about helping them connect their story and your brand values and…the values of the audiences they’re speaking to. And that’s what our speaker coaching process is designed to do.
Everyone already has an innate ability to communicate — to tell stories, make people laugh, challenge, persuade, and connect. We’ve been doing it since childhood. In the right context, it’s a joy.
And yet… how many of us leap to volunteer when it’s time to present these days?
The trouble is modern corporate presenting has become such a high-stakes, high-pressure situation — and I don’t believe that tips and techniques alone can create the kind of five-star performance that makes people lean forward in their seats.
We need to help leaders rediscover the joy in it. The joy of being their true selves, and communicating what matters — to them, and to their audiences.
That’s why we need some encouragement. The right tools. A supportive space.
If helping your people become powerful brand ambassadors through how they speak sounds important, let’s talk.
📧 nick@soulcorporations.com
📞 +44 (0)7778 356954