Personal Profile: Cam Barber interviews Craig Bruce who started as a radio DJ, and ultimately became Head of Content at SCA, overseeing 78 radio shows including Hamish and Andy and The Kyle and Jackie-O show.
Craig speaks honestly and openly about his nervousness around public speaking and shares his challenges and breakthroughs to become a better leader and communicator.
 

Top Messages in this episode:

• “I made a career out of talking into a microphone yet I was terrified of talking in front of people.”
• “I was comfortable in a radio studio, yet seeing people face-to-face changed things.”
• “Everyone’s got to find a system that works.”
• “As a manager, you don’t want them to think ‘he’s putting on a show’, you want to connect.”
• “People who are good at one-on-one connection, often find it more challenging up on stage.”
• “Nervousness is normal in the spotlight of a presentation.”
• “Observe yourself. What meaning do you place on the nervous symptoms?”
• “Take all the information and build a structure around it.”
• “We fit 20 years of experience into three chunks: 1) Find great talent 2) build the ecosystem 3) brand the show.”
• “Think in chunks!”
• “Get certainty around the way you communicate and energy levels change dramatically.”
• “Bring a message to life.”
• “Public speaking it’s like any skill, you won’t be good until you practice it a few times.”
• “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”

Show Notes:

0:26 Focus topic: What are the top question to ask your public speaking coach?

0:44 Craig Bruce introduction.

1:10 Craig Bruce on Cam’s coaching process, the different challenges he came across and what he found most valuable?

1:32 The unique situation about Bruce, is that his career focuses on talking into a microphone and yet he was terrified of talking in front of people.

3:09 Craig’s system that helped him feel comfortable and relaxed.

4:12 How preforming is different to public speaking in a few ways.

5:11 How Craig connect with his staff as a manager, without putting on a performance?

6:57 What made Craig nervous?

8:29 The question is how do I manage nervousness and anxiety and how do I dissolve it?

13:36 Craig’s experience as an on-air announcer helped him with the chunk structure and it helped with certainty.

19:13 The clarity of ideas once reached, dramatically improves presentation skills.

20:14 Craig felt like he had unlocked a key.

21:32 How session’s with Cam helped with the messaging lens.

24:18 How to reinforce your message in a few stages.