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A lesson from the 2018 World Cup

A month of terrific football (soccer) came to an end yesterday in Moscow with the World Cup Final. France lived up to expectations and claimed the title of World Champion by defeating Croatia 4 – 2 in an entertaining game. Félicitations les Bleus!

Throughout the tournament, France showed the depth of its talent, going undefeated in seven games (6 wins, 1 tie). With a host of young, dynamic players on its team, France has the potential to be a football powerhouse for years to come.

But today, I’d like to focus on Croatia. Although undeniably a talented team, they entered the tournament ranked much lower than France. Few picked them to reach the Final. Still, they finished with an impressive record of 6 wins and 1 loss, losing only to France in the last game.

Croatia set a World Cup record by becoming the first team to win three overtime games in a row. They beat Denmark on penalties in the Round of 16, Russia on penalties in the Quarter-finals and England in extra time in the Semi-finals.

In each of those three games, the opposition scored first and Croatia had to rally from behind. They played their Semi-final against England the day after France’s Semi-final which meant they had one less day to recover for the Final. Furthermore, because all three of their games following the Group Round went into extra time, Croatia, in effect, played one full game more than France heading into the Final.

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And yet Croatia showed remarkable resilience, energy and spirit to make the Final a thrilling one. They outplayed France for much of the game and finished with possession 62% of the time versus France’s 38%. Even when behind, even when France scored on a free kick and a penalty, neither of which, in my view, should have been awarded, Croatia never gave up.

Some thoughts on what we can learn from Croatia:

Croatia came to the Final having played more than France and having less time to recover. But they gave 100%.

  • Sometimes you have to give a presentation in the middle of a busy schedule and you are tired. You still have to deliver for your audience.

Croatia fell behind after 18 minutes as a result of an own goal off a French free kick. Ten minutes later, they tied the game.

  • Sometimes you make a mistake when you are presenting. You have to put it behind you and keep going.
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France had a corner kick that deflected off an French player and hit the hand of a Croatian player. After a lengthy review, the referee awarded a penalty kick to France. Many analysts felt it should not have been awarded. France scored and it had a profound effect on the game. But Croatia continued to play hard.

  • Sometimes things happen that are beyond your control. For example, the organizers might cut your speaking time, or your computer might break meaning you can’t show your slides. You still have to put forward your best effort.
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Although clearly disappointed by their loss, the Croatians were magnanimous in defeat. 

  • There will be days when you make mistakes or things do not go your way. You still have to be professional. Learn what you can from what happened and move forward.
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John delivered a keynote address about the importance of public speaking to 80 senior members of Gore’s Medical Device Europe team at an important sales event. He was informative, engaging and inspirational. Everyone was motivated to improve their public speaking skills. Following his keynote, John has led public speaking workshops for Gore in Barcelona and Munich. He is an outstanding speaker who thinks carefully about the needs of his audience well before he steps on stage.

Karsta Goetze

TA Leader, Gore and Associates

I first got in touch with John while preparing to speak at TED Global about my work on ProtonMail. John helped me to sharpen the presentation and get on point faster, making the talk more focused and impactful. My speech was very well received, has since reached almost 1.8 million people and was successful in explaining a complex subject (email encryption) to a general audience.

Andy Yen

CEO, Proton Technologies

John gave the opening keynote on the second day of our unit’s recent offsite in Geneva, addressing an audience of 100+ attendees with a wealth of tips and techniques to deliver powerful, memorable presentations. I applied some of these techniques the very next week in an internal presentation, and I’ve been asked to give that presentation again to senior management, which has NEVER happened before. John is one of the greatest speakers I know and I can recommend his services without reservation.

David Lindelöf

Senior Data Scientist, Expedia Group

After a morning of team building activities using improvisation as the conduit, John came on stage to close the staff event which was organised in Chamonix, France. His energy and presence were immediately felt by all the members of staff. The work put into the preparation of his speech was evident and by sharing some his own stories, he was able to conduct a closing inspirational speech which was relevant, powerful and impactful for all at IRU. The whole team left feeling engaged and motivated to tackle the 2019 objectives ahead. Thank you, John.

Umberto de Pretto

Secretary General, World Road Transport Organization

I was expecting a few speaking tips and tricks and a few fun exercises, but you went above and beyond – and sideways. You taught me to stand tall. You taught me to anchor myself. You taught me to breathe. You taught me to open up. You taught me to look people in the eye. You taught me to tell the truth. You taught me to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. I got more than I bargained for in the best possible way.

Thuy Khoc-Bilon

World Cancer Day Campaign Manager, Union for International Cancer Control

John gave a brilliant presentation on public speaking during the UN EMERGE programme in Geneva (a two days workshop on leadership development for a group of female staff members working in the UN organizations in Geneva). His talk was inspirational and practical, thanks to the many techniques and tips he shared with the audience. His teaching can dramatically change our public speaking performance and enable us as presenters to have a real and powerful impact. Thank you, John, for your great contribution!

Sara Canna

HR Specialist, World Health Organization

John is a genuine communication innovator. His seminars on gamification of public speaking learning and his interactive Rhetoric game at our conference set the tone for change and improvement in our organisation. The quality of his input, the impact he made with his audience and his effortlessly engaging style made it easy to get on board with his core messages and won over some delegates who were extremely skeptical as to the efficacy of games for learning. I simply cannot recommend him highly enough.

Thomas Scott

National Education Director, Association of Speakers Clubs UK

John joined our Global Sales Meeting in Segovia, Spain and we all participated in his "Improv(e) your Work!" session. I say “all” because it really was all interactive, participatory, learning and enjoyable. The session surprised everybody and was a fresh-air activity that brought a lot of self-reflection and insights to improve trust and confidence in each other inside our team. It´s all about communication and a good manner of speaking!"

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General Manager Europe, Hayward Industries

Thank you very much for the excellent presentation skills session. The feedback I received was very positive. Everyone enjoyed the good mix of listening to your speech, co-developing a concrete take-away and the personal learning experience. We all feel more devoted to the task ahead, more able to succeed and an elevated team spirit. Delivering this in a short time, both in session and in preparation, is outstanding!

Henning Dehler

CFO European Dairy Supply Chain & Operations, Danone

Thanks to John’s excellent workshop, I have learned many important tips and techniques to become an effective public speaker. John is a fantastic speaker and teacher, with extensive knowledge of the field. His workshop was a great experience and has proven extremely useful for me in my professional and personal life.

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Senior Sales Manager, Sunrise Communications

John’s presentation skills training was a terrific investment of my time. I increased my skills in this important area and feel more comfortable when speaking to an audience. John provided the right mix between theory and practice.

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Director of the Jura Region, BKW Energie AG

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Senior Director and Talent Partner, ADP International