The most beautiful performance I’ve ever seen

I finally steeled myself to watch Untold Raygun: Breaking Badly on Netflix.

I’m behind the zeitgeist on this one, as a lot of us in Australia are still healing from the 2024 Paris Olympics performance.

What stayed with me was how completely her husband, Samuel Free (also her coach), was in her corner.

He says, ‘It was the most beautiful performance I’ve ever seen.’

You watch him and think, how special to have someone who believes in you that much.

Your partner’s job is to think you are magnificent, even when you are wandering around the house in old pyjamas, rat’s nest hair, eating ice cream directly from the tub.

But a coach or mentor needs to look at your precious creation, be hard-nosed about it and say, ‘Nope. That bit sucks.’

Every important presentation should be road-tested with someone you trust.

Who can see what you can’t and is brave enough to call it out.

You might be surprised to learn that I work with a professional speaking coach for every keynote.

I do this out of respect for my audience.

Michele Bullock, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), recently said she has a mentor helping her learn more about AI.

If the Governor of the RBA can ask for help, the rest of us can probably survive hearing that our beloved opening anecdote needs work.

Because your audience should never be the first people to discover that slide 3 makes no sense.