Public Speaking and Executive Presence for Senior Leaders – Paris, 6–10 Sep 2027

Programme overview

Technical depth: Conceptual · Practical mode: Role-play

Introduction

Senior leaders are judged on how they speak as much as on what they decide. A strategy announced without conviction, a town hall that dodges hard questions or a keynote read from slides can cost a leader credibility with employees, partners and investors. This course equips executives to prepare and deliver speeches that carry authority, using recognised models of rhetoric and executive presence. Through recorded role-plays across several speaking occasions, participants build an Executive Presence Development Plan and a signature speech script they can use at their next major engagement.

Course Objectives

• Assess personal executive presence across character, substance and style using structured feedback
• Structure keynotes, town hall addresses and ceremonial speeches around a clear call to action
• Direct speechwriters and communication teams and judge whether a draft fits the leader's voice
• Deliver with vocal and physical control that sustains credibility in live, virtual and hybrid settings
• Handle hostile questions, panels and impromptu requests without losing the message
• Produce an Executive Presence Development Plan anchored in recorded evidence of progress

Target Audience

• Chief executives, deputy chiefs and general managers who represent the organisation in public
• Executive committee members who lead town halls and all-staff briefings
• Heads of divisions and business units who present at industry conferences and partner forums
• Public sector executives who speak at official events, launches and ceremonies
• Board-level leaders newly appointed to roles with a larger public profile

Course Outline

Day 1: Executive Presence and the Speaking Landscape

• Executive Presence Dimensions Using the Bates ExPI Model: Character, Substance and Style
• Warmth and Competence Judgements in the Stereotype Content Model
• Speaking Occasions Map: Keynotes, Town Halls, Panels, Ceremonies and Investor Forums
• Audience Analysis Canvas: Knowledge, Attitude and Expected Action
• Baseline Recorded Speech Scored Against an Executive Delivery Rubric

Day 2: Rhetorical and Speech Structure Models

• Aristotle's Five Canons of Rhetoric: Invention, Arrangement, Style, Memory and Delivery
• Monroe's Motivated Sequence for Speeches that Call for Action
• Heath SUCCESs Model for Memorable Messages
• Rhetorical Devices: Rule of Three, Contrast and Deliberate Repetition
• PREP and What-So What-Now What Frameworks for Impromptu Remarks

Day 3: Delivering with Presence

• Vocal Delivery Review: Pitch, Pace, Pause and Projection
• Stance, Gesture, Eye Contact and Stage Movement Assessment
• Leadership Storytelling with Kenn Adams' Story Spine
• Speaking Notes, Teleprompter and Autocue Technique
• Speechwriter Briefing and Draft Review Using a Voice-Fit Checklist

Day 4: Pressure, Challenge and Difficult Rooms

• Performance Anxiety Management Using Cognitive Reappraisal and Paced Breathing
• Town Hall Q&A Protocol for Hostile, Off-Topic and Multi-Part Questions
• Panel and Fireside Chat Conduct: Moderator Briefs and Airtime Management
• Virtual and Hybrid Presence: Camera Framing, Lighting and Remote Audience Engagement
• Delivery for Multilingual Audiences and Simultaneous Interpretation

Day 5: Recorded Role-Plays and the Executive Presence Development Plan

• Conference Keynote Role-Play with Recorded Playback
• Town Hall Role-Play Announcing a Strategic Shift
• Impromptu Speaking Drills Under Time Pressure
• Signature Speech Script and Executive Presence Development Plan Drafting
• Final Recorded Speech and Panel Scoring Against the Baseline Rubric

Skills You Will Gain

• Executive Presence
• Speech Architecture
• Rhetorical Persuasion
• Vocal Command
• Impromptu Speaking
• Audience Question Handling
• Leadership Storytelling
• Speechwriter Direction

Why Attend This Course

• Leave with an Executive Presence Development Plan and a signature speech script tested on camera and before peers
• See recorded evidence of how your delivery changed between the first and the last day
• Enter town halls and panels prepared for the questions leaders usually fear most
• Rehearse alongside executives from other sectors and countries who face similar audiences

Conclusion

An executive's words carry the organisation's intent to people who may never read the strategy itself. This course moves from assessing presence and analysing audiences, through the classic structures of persuasive speech, to delivery, storytelling and the pressure of hostile questions and hybrid rooms. The final day, delivered through recorded role-plays, produces an Executive Presence Development Plan and signature speech. Leaders return from this Core Concept programme with clear evidence of their progress and a disciplined way to prepare for every speaking occasion ahead.