The Power of 3s: Public Speaking Lessons with Spencer Waldron - MS002

Meeting Strategist - Conversations on Leadership & Communication

My guest for this episode is Spencer Waldron. Spencer is the Regional Director Europe of Prezi, the cloud-based presentation platform. A marketing veteran with more than 20 years of experience, he’s also a frequent speaker at business conferences across Europe on topics like storytelling and leadership communication.

This episode is packed with the lessons that Spencer learned the hard way – by being on stage. How do you best prepare for talks, how do you handle your nerves when being in the spotlights and how do you create a story that people will actually listen to? To top it off, we also explore how you can use these lessons to make yourself heard in smaller settings like business meetings. Here are some of the episode’s highlights with timestamps:

• 4:36 – Tips for steadying your nerves in the final 15 minutes before you go on stage
• 10:17 – Spencer’s recent technical meltdown in front of 500 people
• 13:01 – The Think-Do-Feel matrix: the start of his preparation process
• 26:27 – Getting ready for the big show
• 38:00 – Aristotle, Winston Churchill and Boris Johnson: the power of rhetoric
• 42:23 – Public speaking lessons that you can use in smaller settings like business meetings
• 56:29 – Spencer’s book tip and the power of 3s

For more detailed information about this episode and relevant links to people, books and other resources, visit the show notes on www.meetingstrategist.org/spencer-waldron

About this podcast

Welcome to Meeting Strategist! On this podcast, Marcel van de Hoef interviews professionals and thinkers from the worlds of investment, business and arts about their approach to business conversations. You'll hear inspiring stories about impactful meetings, while also learning about the strategies, tactics and mindsets these guests rely on to make meetings more productive and meaningful.

Marcel is an Amsterdam-based communication advisor and trainer and the curator of the Meeting Strategist blog. His mission is to help senior professionals think more strategically about meetings, ask better questions, improve their listening skills and have more meaningful conversations in business and life. Learn more and stay up to date at meetingstrategist.org