4 Steps to Becoming a Disney Level Presenter

If you intend to grow in your career, you can have the technical ability to leap ahead of the pack, but the intangible skill of communicating your personality, your wit, your humor, your intellect, and your ideas comes through the spoken word.

During my career at Disney, one of the things that allowed me to leapfrog ahead in my career was raising my hand to present a project plan, a strategy, or a business plan for the department or division I worked in.

This exposure to executives who did not know me allowed me to leave an imprint in their minds that I was someone to watch in the future. If I would have never overcome my fear of public speaking by learning to raise my hand when it was not comfortable, I would not have experienced all of the benefits that Disney afforded me during my career. 

I was the Sales Director for Disney’s Wide World of Sports and then moved over to a role as Sales Director for the Leisure Group sales team. Business was good.

But then an opportunity became available at the Disney Institute which required me to give up my leadership role, take a step back, and become an individual contributor. In doing so, I would give up my end-of-the-year bonus and all the other benefits and perks that come with being in a leadership role.

 It was a risky move, but I decided to do it anyway.

The only reason I made the decision is because it would train me on how to present the Disney methodology to corporations and organizations around the world. It was one of the single best moves I ever made in my career.

Not only did it sharpen my communication skills, but it also taught me the power of having content, and how content is king.

Here’s what I know to be true: if you are in a corporation or organization, no matter what size it is, the ability to influence others to see your point of view as the way to go is a critical skill that cannot be undervalued.

Think about it: anybody who has done anything significant in the world had to give a speech, put together a persuasive argument, or do interviews.

From Rosa Parks to Abraham Lincoln, Eva Perón to Malala Yousafzai, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Oprah, or Brené Brown…if you have a dream, a cause, a goal, or a message, you’ll need to talk about it. These figures are vastly different in what they believed and accomplished, but what they have in common is having a distinct point of view that shaped culture and created an outcome.

Vet Your Ideas First.

The best way to see if your ideas have legs and can make a difference is to put together an informal focus group of key advisors or peers who don’t have anything to gain or lose from your success. They can give you critical feedback about how to reposition, reshape, and reimagine how your ideas will land and stick. Being able to bounce ideas off of 1-5 individuals you trust to give you critical feedback will shape your presentation.

When I was preparing for my TEDx talk, I reached out to Dr. Marceta Reilly, who co-authored the book on which the the speech was based. I wanted to talk to her to get her insights from her position within the education space as to what stories, examples, and data would best fit the TEDx audience.

I didn’t stop there.

I also reached out to some of colleagues who are not familiar with the world of education, but who I respect, to get their feedback. I knew the overall story I would tell needed to be compelling to both experts and non-experts. In the end, I wove stories and research together that created a powerful narrative for both audiences.

If you watch it, you’ll see that I start with an introduction, go into three compelling stories, then drop the research in to support the whole point. It all weaves together. The approach is not revolutionary, but getting it right is truly an art, and you cannot do it alone.

Study the Best Presenters in Your Field or Organization.

This goes for everyone from world leaders to CEOs to moms and dads. What do they do well? You don’t want to mimic them, but you do want to take notice of best practices that you can apply in your voice.

For example, when I was preparing for my SUCCESS live talk, I was nervous. I was joining the platform with Brendon Burchard, Mel Robbins, Kim Perell, Les Brown, and the list goes on. I thought, “Wow, do I have what it takes?” I absolutely do (and so do you), but I had to find MY voice and not do it the way I saw them do it. But I celebrated what they did well—their pronunciation, their energy, their personality, their vulnerability.

Studying others taught me that it was totally OK just to be myself and have a conversation with the audience. This is one of the critical keys to giving effective presentations.

Find Out Who Will Be in The Room.

When I was working at Disney, there was an opportunity to present to key leaders from Pick n Pay. We were presenting to the CEO and his key leaders. We knew that the CEO was an astute reader of many different genres of books, and we also knew he was well traveled.

So when we presented to him about bringing a group over from South Africa to Walt Disney World, we also wanted to showcase that it wasn’t just about “This is Disney.” We wanted to connect with him about being a global entity that understands global practices. We wanted him to know that we would teach his employees from an international perspective, not just from a limited, Disney worldview. Knowing that he was a world traveler and global thinker who thought beyond his own geography was imperative in closing the deal.

Evaluate.

After the presentation, see if evaluations are given out. Ask trusted friends, peers, colleagues, supervisors, or leaders to let you know how they think it went. Ask them what connected for them or what was a disconnect. Do a self-evaluation.

Never take the feedback personally. It will only make you a better, more effective communicator next time around.

Want more? Check out the video montage below to see backstage and on-stage clips of me speaking to the biggest brands around. (Have questions? Let me know in the comments.)