Today's episode is another my favorite tip episode where I go back to interviews from the past and I dig out the thing that was my favorite tip, like the thing that I got out of the interview that really impacted or resonated with me. Today's extract is from my chat with Rachel Botsman. This is my second time having
Rachel on the show. She was one of my all time favorite guests from the very first interview that we did early on in How I Work, and I was keen to check back in with her during COVID and see how the way that she approaches work has changed. So if you're not familiar with Rachel, she is a world renowned expert on technology and trust and the author
of two best selling books. Her first book was called What's Mine Is Yours, which was all about collaborative consumption, and her second book, Who Can You Trust, explores how technology is transforming trust and what this means for life, work, and how we do business. Rachel is a Trust Fellow at Oxford University and has been recognized as one of the most creative people in Business by Fast Company and as one of the fifty most influential management thinkers in
the world. She's also the host of the podcast Trust Issues, which if you haven't listened to it is excellent. I highly recommend it. And you also might have come across Rachel via her TED talks, which have been viewed by literally millions of people. So in this extract from my chat with Rachel, we talk about her strategies for creating really brilliant and engaging starts to virtual presentations, which she
has been doing a lot of. I just loved what she had to say about this, and it really changed the way I think about the own virtual presentations and keynotes that I have been delivering. So let's head on over to Rachel. I want to maybe like go into the presenting context because I feel like there would be lots of listeners that you know, having to do presentations where you know, whether that be you know, possibly not as professional keynote speakers, but certainly presenting information or ideas
or strategies to their team or their organizations. So talk me throughout you're thinking about presentations in the virtual world.
Yeah, So, to be fair, it's up and down. So some I'm finally quite enjoyable. Like when there is an element of interaction, it is very hard to just deliver a keynote. Particularly in some of these platforms because of GDPR, you can't see an audience. So the first thing I'd say is not precious, but be particular about your environment. If you need to see people, you have to figure out a way to see people. Otherwise how you're going
to create that energy and connection. The number of times I've gone on and asked the organizers, can I see the audience view? Because the presenter view or the speaker of you is different from what your audience sees. So even going through that exercise and going, oh, I see they see me like that big, like a stamp, and then they see the presentation really big, it really helps you get in the mindset and also saying actually, I'd rather be bigger than the presentation or whatever it is,
you know what I mean. Like you're designing, right, You're giving them instructions for the very best possible setup. And then when it comes to presenting, I think there is an instinct to jump into presenting and that we sort of throw away those moments where you know, I think really good presenters they settle the audience, right.
So if you watch a really good presenter.
You go Oh yeah, I feel really comfortable with this person, or I'm in safe hands, or you've already got a feeling, right, like you've been transported to a different place.
They pull you in to the feeling of.
Where they want to take you, and you can do that in a virtual environment, right, So don't jump Hello. My name is Rochard Rachel Botsman. I'm an author and
trust fellow Oxford University. Right, that's presentation mode. I'm now going to share my screen and we are going to talk about trust and I'm going to go through three points and then There'll be a Q and a Right now, I'm amping it up, but that's what we do, right, and we tend to talk really loudly and quickly for the first So settling people in like this takes time, and you can do it online and even sitting there smiling.
At people and not speaking can be really powerful. Asking a few people.
Where they are in the world, thinking about the feeling you want to create.
So do you want a lot of energy? Do you want calmness? Do you want whatever it is?
What's the feeling? So I think that's really key. And then when you're.
In presenting mode.
You know you don't have your body and you don't have to use your props, so how you use your voice and how you use pauses and intonation becomes even more important.
So it's like imagining that you've got your.
Hands tied behind your back and that really your expression has to come from your chest, not your throat.
So I think also.
Being very aware a where you're speaking from still really applies in a virtual setting.
I could go on, but I'll stop there because this is fantastic.
I want to delve in. I'm really interested in the idea of settling people in and I want to know, you know, in that first minute or two, like, what are some of the strategies that you've been using to create certain moods and making people feel settled.
It's so different so to a completely new audience, I think you have to be a bit careful about sharing a highly personal story that you think is funny. But it's kind of like you're at home anyway, right, So that was a bit intimate, so, you know.
Very safe ways.
I will run a pole sometimes, so I'll run a pole that is really about the way.
People are feeling.
So if it's something on you know, a lot of people are worried about what to say, how do you communicate as a leader or a brand, or ask a question Mike, are you most worried that something you say will be irrelevant, inauthentic or insensitive?
And then they vote and.
It's an amazing way to get a read on the group, right, So you can go, Wow, for a tent of you, it's about insensitivity, and then suddenly it's become about them, right. And then if it's a smaller setting, you can ask people, So you could say, anyone who wrote the insensitivity, could you just share why you pick that above the other two? And then already they're interacting with you, right, So you've
got out of that one way mode. So the poll is a brilliant tool, but making it quite personal and about them, I found is a really good kickoff tool.
I think it's something.
The hardest one is when something dramatic or I don't even write that something big has happened in the world that day. How do you acknowledge that without them going, oh God, we're gonna have them, you know, like it's going to be another conversation. So you want to feel like you're creating space, but you have to nod to it.
So I think sometimes what I do is rather than talk.
About say Cummings or Floyd or I'll say, like, our acknowledge how I feel, so I acknowledge the feelings.
So I think that's that's really tricky.
With audiences where I know them or the host knows me really well, I might share a story that's not funny, but there is an element of vulnerability, so I might I shared a lot of stories about homeschooling, and you have to be careful with that one as well, right, because you're not trying to divide an audience. I've seen a lot of well, I'm a parent and I'm you know, it's okay you being alone, and you have to be carefully.
You're not doing that with your story. What you're saying is, you know, so I tell a story of my son decided that the school should pay me to teach him, and then I said, oh, my son, that's ay, said, ask me if the school should are paying me to teach him? And then I told him that I was paying the school still, which he thought was rather strange.
So he told me he'd pay me a pound a day.
So that's my worth everyone, right, that's you're going to get someone who's worth a pound a day. Now, it's kind of funny, right, But what you're doing is you're creating a vulnerability signal, and that's one of the most powerful things you can do without being emotionally flooded. So I think this is really important that you are still presenting. You are still leading this audience somewhere, and they need to feel like you're in control.
So I've heard a really bad day. I hate my children, you know. I we go get three is far? I'm really pleased to be with you. Yeah, I'm exaggerated, but.
I am seeing all of this right, Like, So you have to be in control, but you can and you should signal vulnerability and that's a really powerful connector. So there's some pretty obvious ones, but they are incredibly effective.
That is it for today's show. If you want to listen to the full episode, I link to that in the show notes, so you might want to check that out. And if you are enjoying how I work, I would be so deeply grateful if you just take five seconds out of your day to leave a review in Apple podcasts. It might be a star rating or a few words and by doing so, it helps other people find the show and it also brings a huge smile to my face. So thank you to the hundreds of people that have
left reviews. It is so deeply appreciated. So that is it for today's show and I will see you next time.