🌍 Lesson from Davos: How to get noticed on a panel

Despite the fact they take up 80% of the conference agenda, most panel discussions suck. They're a poorly masked PR fest that helps events sell more tickets 🎟️. But this panel at Davos 2019 was different. I share this because…

It’s why we host a member debate every month in MicDrop - my public speaking community for tomorrow’s thought leaders.

A chance to:

1. Commit to an opinion 🧠 

2. Voice it 🗣️, and

3. Practice challenging and being challenged 🤺

Off the cuff. In real-time. In a supportive space. Out of the public eye. With other speakers who’ve got your back.

Zero prep is required.

The goal?

To give our members the confidence to take a panel by the scruff of the neck and deliver something meaningful.

Just like in this astonishing clip from Davos 2019. Rutger Bregman and Winnie Byanyima take a bow… 🍿

Three things you can take away from this clip…

1. Use ‘I’ statements to set the tone 🐘
   It’s a way to express a viewpoint without directly attacking or challenging another person’s perspective.

2. Come into every panel with 3 impactful stories 🧨
   Winnie Byanyima counter-punched the former Yahoo CFO’s question with laser precision. Why? Because she had a story ready that directly addressed his challenge.
   
   To pull out that story and deliver it with the composure she did takes years of practice.
   

3. Nailing the panel is a critical part of a thought leader’s journey 🎤
   Like them or loathe them, panels are here to stay. Many leaders underestimate them (and wonder why they aren’t landing any keynotes). Don’t be one of them.

Announcement: We’re closing the doors to MicDrop - our 44-person strong public speaking community for tomorrow's thought leaders... 👇

We're moving away from an open community that people can join any time.

Why? Because we're building something rather wonderful and we want to do everything we can to preserve it 🫶.

So rather than growth at all costs, we're going to be really intentional about who we let in.

In our first 12 months, we've helped our members:
 
1. Build their stage confidence 🦁
2. Get clear on their message and their story 💡
3. Land life-changing speaking gigs 🔴
4. Secure their first paid speaking engagements 🤑
5. Increase their speaking fees 💰
6. Prepare for speaking engagements across the world 🗺️

The best bit? Membership is a fraction of the cost of my coaching fees.

12 months of 1:1 coaching? £12k
My 12-week Thought Leadership Accelerator? £3.5k

𝗔 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿'𝘀 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽? £𝟭𝗸

This week, I'm holding 15-minute calls with prospective members.

I'll be working with each of them to:
1. Get clear on their message 💡
2. Craft a curator-stopping speaker application 🎤

They'll also get a guaranteed speaking slot at our first in-person event of the year in April 🤩.

We had 8 spaces available. 3 of them have already gone.

So if 2024 is the year you finally take your public speaking and thought leadership to the next level, drop me a DM.

First come, first serve.

Alex

p.s. This week, I’ll be sending an email every morning sharing some of the incredible work we’re doing inside the club.

If you’d rather opt out of MicDrop emails this week, reply to this email with the word ‘MicDropped’. The next time you’ll hear from me is when normal service resumes next Monday :-).

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