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A lesson from the Toronto Raptors

Congratulations to the Toronto Raptors! “We the North!” They are the 2019 NBA Champions. I am delighted for Toronto — where I lived for over 15 years — and for all of Canada.

Toronto Raptors

In a thrilling Final, the Raptors defeated the defending Champion Golden State Warriors 4 games to 2. For the Warriors, it was their fifth straight appearance in the Finals and they had won three of the past four years.

There are many reasons for Toronto’s success, but without a doubt, the biggest was Kawhi Leonard. One year ago, the Raptor’s organization made a bold move. In a blockbuster trade, they sent DeMar DeRozan — a fan favourite in Toronto and arguably the best player in the history of the franchise to that point — to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for Leonard. (Other players and a draft pick were involved but Leonard and DeRozan were the centrepieces.)

A Bold Move

It was a big risk for the Raptors. DeRozan is an excellent player and was popular in Toronto. By contrast, Leonard had only played nine games the previous season because of an injury. Plus, he only had one year left on his contract and could be lost to the Raptors in free agency; indeed, the Raptors might still lose him this summer. And, there were rumours that he was not easy to get along with in San Antonio. So in a very real way, the Raptors were taking an enormous gamble for a shot at the title.

The gamble paid off.

Leonard shone. He had an incredible season and was a powerhouse throughout the playoffs. Other members of the Raptors played terrific basketball, but Leonard was the best. He won the NBA Finals MVP – the second time he has done so – and he led the Raptors to their first title.
Before the trade for Leonard, the Raptors were a good team. After the trade, they became a Championship team. They took a chance on Leonard and it was a massive success.

The Lesson

The lesson in all of this for public speakers? Sometimes, you have to take a risk if you want to take your speaking to the next level.

Taking risks isn’t easy. It’s not comfortable. But that is precisely where your biggest opportunities for growth are: beyond our comfort zone. So if you’ve been playing it safe with your speeches and presentations, maybe it’s time to take a chance and do something different.

For example:

  • Speak to an audience that is different from your usual audience.
  • Give a presentation without slides.
  • Be more vulnerable on stage.
  • Tell more stories.
  • Interact with the audience.

These are just suggestions. What feels risky for one speaker will feel fine for another. You know what feels like a risk for you. That’s the direction you should go.

So once more, congratulations to the Toronto Raptors! I will drink a toast in your honour. Now, if only the Toronto Maple Leafs can do the same thing in hockey!

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  2. It’s poetic justice!! We lost the Stanley Cup AGAIN!!! to the US. So it’s great we won the NBA. By the way, the St. Louis Blues won the Stanley Cup with 14 Canadian players playing and with a full roster of 25 Canadians. In fairness the Raptors were almost all Americans. As a side note basketball was invented by a Canadian as well as hockey. Canada rocks!!!

    Mom
    xo

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Testimonials

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!"

Jon Lopez

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.

Eric Thuillard

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.

Diego Brait

Director of the Jura Region, BKW Energie AG

Be BOLD. Those two words got stuck in my head and in the heads of all those ADP leaders and associates that had the privilege to see John on stage. He was our keynote speaker at our annual convention in Barcelona, and his message still remains! John puts his heart in every word. Few speakers are so credible, humble and yet super strong with large audiences!

Guadalupe Garcia

Senior Director and Talent Partner, ADP International