“We Are Here to Talk About Heroes”

I was coaching a gentleman who needed to inspire action and commitment. Ed worked with The Gap, and I said, “Okay, Ed, tell me about yourself.” He said, “I am a newly promoted vice president of a certain division, and this is my first speech to the company since I’ve been promoted.” “Who is your audience?” He replied, “All of the Gap executives and 500 Gap managers.” I asked, “Well, what does a Gap manager look like?” He said, “24 to 28 years old.” I said, “Ed, remember, you are a 45-year old, prematurely silver-haired executive. How long are you going to speak?” He said, “Eight minutes.” I said, “No pressure, but you do realize that in that eight minutes all the executives and 500 Gap managers are going to think either, ‘Now I know why he got promoted,’ or, ‘In a company our size, couldn’t we have done better than that?’ That’s the power of a presentation. I asked, “What is your subject?” He said, “I have to talk about the program in which our employees give us ideas that will either make or save the company money.”