John Wilson:
George, I can't thank you enough for being on the CEO Global Network podcast with us today. You know, I remember, and we were talking about it just a second ago, being on your podcast, the month that COVID hit, right? My goodness gracious. And your intended message, which is a very successful podcast that you have. And you know, I was honored to be the first member, I think it was the first interview. And so it's just, means a lot to have you here today. And I'm really looking forward to our discussion.

George Torok:
John, I am as well, and yes, you were the first one. You were number one.

[00:33]
John Wilson:
Number one, yeah, that's great. Well, thank you for that. Yeah. And you've had a lot of terrific guests since then. I catch your podcast every time and it's just outstanding. George, I heard you once describe yourself, maybe even more than once, because I've heard you present like, you know, how many times George? Like, you know, a hundred. And you've described yourself when you're speaking sometimes as once being a shy, introverted student.
What was the turning point for you that made you step into the path or onto the path of public speaking?

George Torok:
John, it was little steps along the way, but there was one significant event and that was at the time I was a manager in a large corporation. I registered for a two-day workshop on presentation skills my boss approved for me to go, and he said, “George, you don’t need this, you’re already good enough,” and I thought, yeah, I’m good enough. And that was the attitude that I took with me to the workshop. Fortunately for me, there were two great “ah-hahs” that I took away from that workshop. Number one, I realized that I wasn’t as good as I thought I was. No way. I had to discover that for myself. People can't tell you that. You have to learn that yourself. And two, I learned that presentation skills were not natural talent. It was a skill set using techniques based on principles. It's a science. There's a science to it. And that fascinated me. I wanted to learn more. I wanted to do more. I volunteered to do more presentations, both at work and in my community. And that was the major turning point.

[02:20]
John Wilson:
That's fascinating, right? And here you are, and you've heard me say this a number of times to people when I introduce you to people at events and so on. I mean, here you are today. In my humble opinion, you are the best presentation speech coach on the planet. And I mean that very sur-
One is you're a maven on the topic. Two is you give honest feedback, candid feedback in a very caring way, right? Which I just think is very special, very special talent that you have, George.
What is the single biggest mistake that executives make when they're giving high-stakes, really important presentations? Is there a particular mistake that you see as something that happens quite often, George?

George Torok:
Yeah, and for high-stakes presentations, I'm thinking of either a crisis situation, a major sales pitch, or perhaps a product launch. And the biggest single mistake that CEOs make is they think it's about them. They think it's all about them. Am I looking good? Am I sounding good? That's not what it's about. And John, the best example, the poster boy, for mistakes for high-stake presentations is the CEO of BP. Remember the BP oil spill in 2010? Remember his phrase? People were dying, there were millions of dollars wasted, and he's saying, "I just wanna get my life back."

[03:38]
John Wilson:
Absolutely. Yes. All about him.

[03:40]
George Torok:
Yeah, that's a really good example. Absolutely. You emphasize caring candor with people that are your clients who you're coaching. How have you, and I've seen you do it, but I'd love to hear your answer to this question.
How do you balance brutal honesty, George, sometimes with a smile, sometimes with a frown, with encouragement?

George Torok:
And John, I don't like to think I'm brutal. I like to think that I'm direct. And I prefer to be clear and not muddled. And the truth is that smart CEOs respect when they hear the truth because they don't hear it often enough. And they appreciate.

[04:33]
John Wilson:
No, you are direct. Not brutal, not brutal.

[04:33]
George Torok:
And so when I'm working with the CEO, I'll point out, here's what's working for you. And by the way, here's where you could improve because here's how your audience might be perceiving your message. Is that the way you want it to be? No. Well, then let's improve it. So I go through the steps, I make the connections and, and they can implement right away.

[05:16]
John Wilson:
Yeah, they can implement right away, absolutely. They can do it right away. I guess, George, that virtual presentations are here to stay. And what’s the number one tip to really keep a remote audience engaged? It's much more challenging, isn't it, than in live?

George Torok:
No question, a virtual presentation. Remember the camera, the camera magnifies your flaws and the camera filters out the energy. So the energy that we would feel if we're in the same room isn't there on camera. So when you are presenting virtually, it is more important to engage your audience and there are a number of techniques you can use. The key one is to involve them.

[06:09]
George Torok:
Find ways to involve them and there are many tools you can use with the various platforms, but here's a simple way to involve your audience. Speak to them and speak for their interest and use the word "you." Use the word "you" over "I." So don’t start your presentation by saying, "Today I’m going to talk about" and "I’m going to cover." We don’t care. Instead say, "Here’s why it’s important that you’re at this meeting today. Here’s what you will gain and here’s how that will help you."

[06:40]
John Wilson:
You "you" does get, it really does engage, absolutely. That's a great tip. Great tip for, you know, doing things on virtual presentations.
Can you share a story with us where a client of yours transformed dramatically and what clicked in for that?

George Torok:
John, it was a CEO of a company that was doing about $50 million a year in revenue. He’d built this company for nothing, a very successful company. And what was happening is that his sales presentations were starting to fail. He had another project, he was bidding on a $10 million project. He called me to help him prepare the presentation and hone his delivery.

[07:59]
George Torok:
The key change, the most important change that he made was he changed his perspective. He originally was talking about him, his company, his wonderful team, his wonderful clients, all the projects they did and how great they were, me, me, me. And we got him to talk about what was important to this particular client and why this project was worth more than $10 million to them.

[08:32]
George Torok:
The pause. If speakers would become more comfortable with pausing and use it strategically throughout the presentation, pause. And here's how you do it inside your head. Pause, one, two, three. Do it inside, count inside your head. Pause before you say something important and pause after you say something important.

[08:54]
John Wilson:
Well, there's a powerful message right there. George, I can't thank you enough for being on the CEO Global Network podcast. It's just great to see you again. Great to get those tips, great reminders and some great new tips there. Every leader can up their game on their presentation skills. Even if you've been doing it for 40 years, you gotta stay sharp. You gotta keep learning.

[09:36]
George Torok:
Always a pleasure to talk with you, John. Thank you.

[09:39]
John Wilson:
Thank you.