Blog posts

Why Most Strategy Presentations Fail (And How Leaders Fix Them)

Submitted by Jack Milner on March 10, 2026

I was reading a Bernard Cornwell novel from the Sharpe series recently. Most of the action is set during the war between Britain and Denmark in 1807. On the way back from Copenhagen, the characters sail past Elsinore – the castle from Hamlet.

The ebulliant Captain Chase asks Sharpe if he knows what the play is about. Sharpe says he doesn’t. Chase bluffly replies, “It’s about a man who can’t make up his mind. In the end, indecision kills him.”

Why Presentation Delivery Matters More Than You Think

Submitted by Jack Milner on February 25, 2026

I was recently listening to a very old recording of Johnny Cash singing U2’s One. Cash is in his late 60s (possibly sounding closer to 106). His voice only appears to have about three notes left in it. It’s deep, fragile, and you can almost picture him in the studio, holding the lyric sheet, resting between takes, just about finishing the song.

And yet somehow it connects.

In fact (and I say this as a U2 fan) Johnny Cash’s barely alive version is arguably stronger than Bono’s.

The Simple Story Trick That Makes You Instantly More Credible

Submitted by Jack Milner on February 13, 2026

The Simple Story Trick That Makes You Instantly More Credible

My daughter was telling me the other day about a conversation she’d had with a gentleman admirer. (You can tell through that phrase, how in-touch I am with the ‘yoooths’). 

Anyway, she said that when she attends lectures at university (she’s studying medicine) she often brings a large bag of sweets and shares them with the people sitting around her. Nothing disruptive, so she claims. Just a little morale boost during a long lecture.

Are Great Speakers Born… or Made?

Submitted by Jack Milner on January 27, 2026

 

I’ve coached some extraordinarily gifted speakers over the years. Not just gifted at speaking, but talented humans full stop:  sportspeople, artists, adventurers and business owners.

And when you ask how they got started in their chosen profession, a familiar pattern appears.

Most of them realised quite young that they had something. A knack. A head start.

Is Humour a Core Skill in Productivity Training?

Submitted by Jack Milner on January 14, 2026

As we move into 2026, I’ve reflected on a chat I had years ago with a senior banker. I asked him a simple question: where and when were you happiest at work?

It wasn’t the trading floor or achieving an immense KPI rolling out x project. It was when he was 18, fresh from A-levels, working for three months as a labourer on a building site.

“Until you asked me I’d never thought about it. But it was then. And it was because of the banter. It was a really tough job. But I loved it.”

The “Dis Technique”: The Smartest Way to Stand Out

Submitted by Jack Milner on November 25, 2025

If you really want to sound clever, try recommending someone no one else has ever heard of. You know the type of thing: an art critic proclaiming, “Oh, Maddy Diggy-Doo Buggy-Doom is unquestionably the most important artist of the 20th century,” and everyone nods sagely, hoping no one notices they’re Googling under the table.

Can Anyone Do Funny?

Submitted by Jack Milner on November 11, 2025

It’s a great question,  and one I’m often asked.

When I ran comedy workshops, I only met one person who was adamant they couldn’t do funny. He told me, “My wife sent me here because she says I need a sense of humour so we can watch Fawlty Towers together.” In truth, he was actually very funny – even if he didn’t always realise it.

So, can anyone really do funny?

Why Most Presentation Openings Are Dull – And How to Fix Yours

Submitted by Jack Milner on November 5, 2025

How many of us start a presentation with:

“I’m here today to talk to you about…”

It’s the presentation equivalent of a beige sandwich - brown bread, beef or mushroom pate filling. Safe, polite, and sadly very forgettable.

But what if you started with something that made your audience sit up, lean in, and think, “Ooh, this is different”? And different in a good way.