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SPEAK LIKE A CEO

SPEAK LIKE A CEO

By Oliver Aust

SPEAK LIKE A CEO is the leading podcast on CEO communications. Every week Oliver Aust has an in-depth conversation with an inspiring founder or entrepreneur about leadership and communications. Tune in and find out all about how CEOs are tackling their communications Oliver is a best-selling author, and one of Europe’s leading communications & personal branding experts. He is on a mission to help people reach their full potential and share their unique voice. As founder and CEO of a leading communications consultancy, he is a trusted advisor to many high-profile individuals and organisations.
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Currently playing episode

#27 - WHAT DRIVES YOU? ft Tom Kirschbaum

SPEAK LIKE A CEOMay 31, 2019

00:00
39:13
233: 7 Game-Changing Ideas for 2024
Mar 28, 202407:01
232: How to Build an Invincible Company. Alexander Osterwalder
Mar 21, 202442:20
231: How to build a brand in 15 minutes. Howie Chan, Brand Strategist.

231: How to build a brand in 15 minutes. Howie Chan, Brand Strategist.

A brand is not a logo or a misspelled word. “It's the perception someone has about a company.” 

In this actionable episode, Howie Chan breaks down his step-by-step process for building a powerful brand in just 15 minutes. 

Howie is a sought-after branding expert, the founder of Healthy Brand Consulting, and the creator of Legend Letters, one of the fastest-growing newsletters out there. 

We discuss how you can define your brand's "organizing idea", identify what makes you truly differentiated and relevant, understand what you're really selling beyond your products or services, and craft messaging that unlocks customer problems.

Howie also shares what the biggest traps are in branding, how brands get diluted, and how brands serve as a shortcut for customer decisions. 

Whether you're launching a startup or revamping an existing business, this is a master class in strategic brand-building.

If you want to create a brand that resonates deeply and serves as a shortcut for customer decisions, don't miss this tactics-packed episode. 

Because as Howie says, "You are what you are in the mind of your audience" – so make sure to shape those minds.


Would you like to receive weekly tips from me on how the top 1% of CEOs communicate? Subscribe to the Speak Like a CEO newsletter and get my tactical guide “Presentation Hacks: 50 Powerful Hacks to Become a World-Class Presenter” https://www.eoipsocommunications.com/newsletter/


Check out Howie Chan’s newsletter “Legend Letters”: https://www.howiechan.com/


And here is the link to Olivers episode on Howie Chan’s podcast “Healthy Brand” https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/the-secrets-of-a-master-communicator-how-to/id1635867263?i=1000648905506

Mar 14, 202457:58
230: FOMO in the Age of AI. Patrick McGinnis
Mar 07, 202442:16
229: New World Order: AI Special (Part 2)

229: New World Order: AI Special (Part 2)

In this two-part series, I interview 9 thought leaders about the impact of AI on all aspects of communications.

These thought leaders are world-renowned CEOs, business school professors, company builders and crisis communications experts. With their combined expertise, my aim is to give you the most complete and actionable overview on the topic. 

In this episode we will discuss how AI can be rocket fuel for your internal communication, how you can use it to boost recruiting and employer branding, how it can help you build a business and craft your own story, and what the risks are if you are not clear with your team about how you plan to use AI. 

My first guest is Nicole Büttner, an entrepreneur, economist and a tech optimist as well as a WEF Digital Leader for Europe. As the founder & CEO Merantix Momentum, she enables companies to unlock the value of artificial intelligence. 

Next up: Dries Faems is professor for entrepreneurship at leading business school WHU and self-proclaimed GenAI nerd. He is also the co-host of the Most Awesome Founder podcast. 

Our third expert is Benedikt Ilg. He is CEO & Co-Founder of Flip, a fast growing startup that empowers hundreds of companies including the likes of McDonalds and Porsche to communicate better, cheaper and faster with their frontline workers - with the help of AI.  

Our last guests are Jasmin Meilner and Maximilian Neukirchner. They are the founders and co-CEOs of MyRecruity. They are experts on social recruiting and the use of AI in recruitment.


Would you like to receive weekly tips from me on how the top 1% of CEOs communicate? If so, subscribe to the Speak Like a CEO newsletter. It is highly actionable and provides a ton of insights that you can immediately apply to your own career or business. 

https://www.eoipsocommunications.com/newsletter/


Feb 29, 202401:06:21
228: New World Order: AI Special (Part 1)

228: New World Order: AI Special (Part 1)

Who has all the answers when it comes to AI and communications? In my view: no single person. 

Which is why I asked not one, but nine thought leaders about the impact of AI on all aspects of communications.

They are world-renowned CEOs, business school professors, company builders and crisis communications experts. With their combined expertise, my aim is to give you the most complete and actionable overview on the topic in this two-part special. 

Our four guests this week: 

Matt Abrahams is one of the world’s leading communications experts. As a lecturer at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, he instructs future leaders in strategic communication. Matt is also the host of the popular podcast Think Fast, Talk Smart and the author of Think Faster, Talk Smarter.

Simon Lancaster is one of the best speechwriters in the world, author of several books, and multiple TedX speaker, Simon knows all the secrets to captivate an audience with words. He is an expert on the language of leadership who explains how we can all use ChatGPT to help draft our speeches and presentations – a huge time saver. 

Our third expert is my close friend Bettina Hausmann. As a truly international executive coach, she has worked with CEOs, board members, and policymakers from over 100 countries to help them develop their signature presence, master the media, and manage crises. 

Our last guest is Arne Schepker, the visionary CEO behind language-learning powerhouse Babbel. The company has become synonymous with language mastery. With millions of subscribers and over 16 million users so far, Babbel has revolutionized the way we learn languages. Arne explains how AI can help us learn and master a foreign language faster than ever. 


PS: You may have noticed that Speak Like a CEO looks different. We launched the podcast in 2018. After five and half years, we wanted to create a new visual identity that reflects where we are in 2024 as well as our ambition for the coming years. We are curious to hear what you think, so please DM Oliver. 


Feb 22, 202435:02
227: Innovation Society: From Ideas to Impact. David Rhotert, Companisto
Feb 15, 202449:34
226: The Rise of The Creator CEO. Laura Lewandowski & Julius Bachmann
Feb 08, 202442:04
225: Speak So People Want to Listen. Julian Treasure, 5x TED Speaker
Feb 01, 202451:48
224: Energize Yourself and Your Team! Simon Alexander Ong
Jan 25, 202447:18
223: Nø Rules. Caroline Renée Kroll, Nø Cosmetics
Jan 18, 202444:23
222: Leading with Positivity and Humor. Lubomila Jordanova, Plan A
Jan 12, 202442:26
221: Only Brands Have Fans. Dimitri Gärtner, Framen

221: Only Brands Have Fans. Dimitri Gärtner, Framen

What’s the future of advertising, branding and performance marketing? 

To answer these questions, Dimitri Gärtner kicks off the year on Speak Like a CEO. Dimitri is the founder and CEO of Framen, a fast-growing media tech scale-up based in Berlin that is rapidly becoming one of the major players in advertising and creating communities around the world. 

Dimitri’s insights into the future of advertising and marketing are particularly valuable right now. Customer acquisition costs keep rising and we tune out of the thousands of ads we get bombarded with on our phones every day.

Dimitri and I are also getting personal. We discuss why "you can't outsource your personality“, whether Dimitri writes his own social media posts, what role AI plays in content, and what his plans for Framen are.

Get my free tactical guide “Presentation Hacks: 50 Powerful Strategies to Captivate Any Audience” and join thousands of founders and CEOs worldwide who level up their presentation skills with these strategies:

https://www.eoipsocommunications.com/newsletter/.

Jan 04, 202449:53
220: 10 Predictions for 2024: AI, Memes and the Perfect Delivery. Oliver Aust
Dec 29, 202314:11
219: Turn No into Yes! Naren Shaam, Omio

219: Turn No into Yes! Naren Shaam, Omio

Based in Berlin, born in India, and educated at Harvard – Naren Shaam is a unicorn founder once rejected as a call center agent. 

The CEO of global tech & travel company Omio has two superpowers: patience, and not recognizing a 'no' for a 'no'. 

He moved to Berlin after graduating from Harvard, not knowing anyone, and without speaking the language, determined to pursue his mission to make world travel seamless for everyone. 

Naren has a talent for active listening and understanding the needs of his audience. These skills have enabled his company to scale and grow from a small startup to 300 employees hailing from more than 50 countries based in Berlin, Prague, London and New York. 

That’s despite the fact that the Covid pandemic brought the travel industry to a halt during Omio’s growth phase.

Listen to the episode for more advice from Naren on how to build and maintain a global brand, how to approach rebranding (Omio was originally called GoEuro), and how to anchor diversity in a business from the start. 


Want more communication insights like these? Sign up to my newsletter ‘Message Machine’ and receive a free guide with 50 presentation hacks to captivate any audience.

Dec 21, 202338:59
218: Forget Storytelling, Focus on Metaphors Instead
Dec 14, 202306:52
217: How to Get Bill Gates to Speak at Your Conference. Jörg Rheinboldt
Dec 08, 202304:38
216: Beyond Persuasion: FBI Techniques for Leaders. Adele Gambardella & Chip Massey

216: Beyond Persuasion: FBI Techniques for Leaders. Adele Gambardella & Chip Massey

Can we apply FBI persuasion techniques in business? Even in high-stakes negotiations? Absolutely, say a former FBI hostage negotiator and a top DC publicist.

Adele Gambardella and Chip Massey have just published an original and insightful book entitled "Convince Me: High-Stakes Negotiation Tactics to Get Results in Any Business Situation.“ 

In our conversation, they introduce the FBI-inspired concept of forensic listening, explain different types of convincing styles, and share advanced strategies for convincing like “bridging”, the “convincing continuum” and the “convincing cliffhanger”. Chip also explains which movies realistically portray the work of law enforcement officers (spoiler: it is not Die Hard). 

Adele is a prominent figure in the PR world. She has run PR campaigns for US President Joe Biden and well-known CEOs and global brands. She has also been invited to speak at the United Nations, where she gave speeches on crisis communications. She contributes to the Wall Street Journal and has taught crisis communications at Princeton, Cornell, and other universities. 

Chip is an Ex-FBI hostage negotiator and special agent for 22 years. He investigated the 9/11 terrorist attacks and led the New York FBI Office’s Crisis Negotiations Team. He teaches executives and their teams at companies like Facebook, Samsung, and Goldman Sachs how to apply the FBI’s techniques to every workplace scenario. 

Together, as co-founders of The Convincing Company, they bridge the worlds of PR and crisis negotiation.

Adele and Chip made a special welcome page for you. Dive into a treasure trove of resources to get tools and strategies for handling challenges. Check it out here: https://convincingcompany.com/speak/


Sign up to Oliver's newsletter: https://eoipsocommunications.com/newsletter/

Nov 30, 202356:19
215: 10 Lessons from 5 Years of Speak like a CEO. Oliver Aust
Nov 23, 202320:58
214: Language, Leadership, and Learning. Arne Schepker, Babbel
Nov 17, 202338:53
213: Think Faster, Talk Smarter. Matt Abrahams, Stanford

213: Think Faster, Talk Smarter. Matt Abrahams, Stanford

Giving formal presentations is stressful. But there is another, more common type of communication that is as crucial for success: unscripted and uncontrollable situations like small talk at a networking event, an interview, a pitch, a sales presentation. 

Yet little has been written about spontaneous communication in business. Until now. In this episode, Matt Abrahams shares his six-step approach for speaking confidently and clearly when we don’t have a script. This allows us to focus on what matters: creating connections with those around you, getting your message across, and even enjoying the situation.  

Matt is the host of the popular podcast Think Fast, Talk Smart and author of a brand-new book Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Speak Successfully When You’re Put on the Spot.

He is one of the leading global experts in communication with decades of experience. As a lecturer at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, he teaches popular classes in strategic communication.


Get your free copy of "Presentation Hacks: 50 Powerful Strategies to Captivate any Audience

Nov 02, 202334:23
212: How to Become a Thought Leader. Oliver Aust
Oct 26, 202332:56
211: The 50 Most Powerful Presentation Hacks. Oliver Aust

211: The 50 Most Powerful Presentation Hacks. Oliver Aust

This week we are launching our new guide on ‘Presentation Hacks: 

50 Powerful Strategies to Captivate Any Audience’

So on this episode of Speak like a CEO, I go deeper on some of the ideas I cover in “Presentation Hacks” including how to come across as charismatic, why slides kill your mojo and how to cut out the ‘umms’ and ‘ahhs”.

You can download the full guide here:

https://www.eoipsocommunications.com/newsletter/


In this tactical guide, I share with you the 50 most powerful hacks to deliver your presentation in a way that wows every audience every time. 

It includes everything you need to know about the Three P’s of Presenting: Prepare, Practice, and Present (the “3PP Method”). By the end of this short guide, you will be able to craft a presentation in just 15 minutes and wow any audience. 

Enjoy!

Oct 19, 202308:18
210: Moment: How GetYourGuide built a Global Brand 

210: Moment: How GetYourGuide built a Global Brand 

How many entrepreneurial journeys have started with a wrongly booked ticket to China? Alone in a hotel room in Beijing, Johannes Reck realised how a city is transformed when you have access to tour guides and experiences.

Two years later, Johannes and university friend Tao Tao took a leap of faith and launched GetYourGuide – a platform that unlocks unforgettable experiences.

Fifteen years later, GetYourGuide has built a global brand with strong word of mouth, product-market fit in multiple countries including the US, and offers more than 70.000 unique experiences worldwide.

In this mini episode of Speak Like A CEO, we offer a special moment from episode 190 with CEO Johannes Reck.

Subscribe to the Message Machine newsletter and become an unstoppable founder yourself. https://www.eoipsocommunications.com/newsletter/


Oct 11, 202315:02
209: How Communications Can Solve 90% of a Company’s Problems. Oliver Aust
Oct 05, 202301:11:16
208: Find Your Leadership Voice. Caroline Goyder, Speaker, Author, Voice Coach.
Sep 28, 202334:24
207: Making a Hollywood Movie Against All Odds. Torsten Ruether, CEO, Hello Moment Productions.

207: Making a Hollywood Movie Against All Odds. Torsten Ruether, CEO, Hello Moment Productions.

This week’s episode is a rare behind-the-scenes interview on how a Hollywood movie gets made – and how to persuade the right people to back an impossible dream. 

Torsten Ruether is a filmmaker, director and the CEO Hello Moment Productions. He has pulled off the unthinkable: to make a Hollywood movie with award-winning actors during some of the most challenging times of the film industry – first the pandemic and then the writers’ and actors’ strike. 

The movie “Uppercut” is the remake of an independent film he shot in Berlin in just three nights during Covid. On the podcast he shares the story behind the making of the film, how to think big and stay on track despite insurmountable challenges, how to combine business and creativity, and his 5 E’s for success - Empathy, Enthusiasm, Energy, Emotion, Execution. 

Subscribe to the Message Machine newsletter and become an unstoppable founder yourself. 

https://www.eoipsocommunications.com/newsletter/

Sep 21, 202345:52
206: Don’t wait for the perfect story, make your story perfect. Karen Eber, Author and TED Speaker

206: Don’t wait for the perfect story, make your story perfect. Karen Eber, Author and TED Speaker

Don’t wait for the perfect story, make your story perfect.”

This is the message of Karen Eber, author, storyteller and TED speaker with 2 millions views. 

In her brand new book ‘The Perfect Story’, she shares the science behind how your brain processes stories and how storytelling is the best way to communicate in business. It is accessible and actionable for anyone who wants to lead, inspire and inform through stories. 

Storytelling is the best way to make people retain information and prepare them for decision making. By telling stories you help the people around and save time. 

In this week's episode, Karen talks about the importance of thinking about your audience before the story, to keep your model simple and tell the story in a way that works for you, and how to incorporate storytelling into the daily workings of your organisation.  

Subscribe to the Message Machine newsletter and become an unstoppable founder yourself. 

https://www.eoipsocommunications.com/newsletter/

Sep 15, 202341:23
205: Communications is more important than CEOs think. Yannis Niebelschütz, CoachHub

205: Communications is more important than CEOs think. Yannis Niebelschütz, CoachHub

“Communications is more important than most CEOs and founders think,” says Yannis Niebelschütz, co-founder of CoachHub - the world’s largest digital coaching platform. 

As the leader of a global tech company, he is focused on scientific research and AI, and building a holistic approach to coaching that is unparalleled. 

His goal is to transform the workforce, rethink how people work together, and increase productivity. All through digitally available coaching packages with more than 3500 coaches worldwide. 

Internally, as the leader of a 600-strong team across the globe, Yannis focuses on creating a shared culture and team unity through internal communications, feedback, and willingness to change. 

In this week's episode, Yannis talks about the importance of internal communications, receiving outside coaching, and building a great company culture. 

Subscribe to the Message Machine newsletter and become an unstoppable founder yourself. 

https://www.eoipsocommunications.com/newsletter/



Sep 08, 202334:49
204: StartUp Insider: Build Your Message Machine - Repost

204: StartUp Insider: Build Your Message Machine - Repost

This week I share with you the podcast episode I recorded with Startup Insider (in German) about my latest book ‘Message Machine: How Communications Will Make You An Unstoppable Founder’. I share insights from decades of experience working with founder and CEO communications and provide practical tips on how to develop a growth story and how a startup can gain visibility in oversaturated markets. 

Aug 31, 202350:24
203: School of Hiring, The Art of Letting People Go. Oliver Aust & Konstanty Sliwowski

203: School of Hiring, The Art of Letting People Go. Oliver Aust & Konstanty Sliwowski

Today we are sharing the repost of an insightful episode from the ⁠School of Hiring podcast⁠, hosted by Konstanty Sliwowski. Oliver and Konstanty dive into a topic that might not be the cheeriest, but it's undeniably one of the most critical aspects of running a business, especially in challenging times: letting employees go, dealing with redundancies, and navigating the turbulent waters of layoffs.

In a year that has seen hundreds of thousands of tech workers lose their jobs, the gravity of this issue couldn't be more apparent. The stakes are sky-high, and how a company handles these delicate situations can make or break its future.

Handled correctly by the leadership, the team will understand why the reduction was the right thing to do to ensure that the company has a future. They will double down and focus on the mission. 

Handled badly, layoffs can trigger a crisis that leads to revenue loss, which in turn requires more layoffs – a downward spiral some companies never recover from.

As much as we would all like to avoid this topic, it's an inescapable part of being a great leader and founder. In this episode, we'll explore the nuanced strategies, empathy-driven approaches, and crucial insights that can make all the difference when facing the challenging task of letting employees go.

Connect with Konstanty Sliwowski on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/sliwowskik/

Listen to the School of Hiring Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/21lu1coKVNYQPZ718puRUl

Get the 'Message Machine' Newsletter and receive communications insights in your inbox every Friday: https://www.eoipsocommunications.com/newsletter/

Aug 23, 202336:04
202: Becoming a Place Where People (Really) Want to Work. Repost with Oliver Aust
Aug 16, 202343:58
201: Mastering the Art of Founder Communication. Jag Singh & Oliver Aust
Aug 09, 202301:21:07
200: Put Community First. Gülsah Wilke, 2hearts

200: Put Community First. Gülsah Wilke, 2hearts

This week's podcast guest holds an impressive list of credentials. 

She is an investor, board member, speaker, and co-founder and managing director of 2hearts. She was also awarded the title Impact Entrepreneur of the Year in Germany in 2023. 

Gülsah Wilke shares her unique journey in the tech & startup industry as an immigrant's granddaughter with Turkish roots. She has a simple but impactful mission: to build tomorrow's tech society with cultural diversity. To this end, she co-founded Europe’s largest platform in the tech space for talent with a migration background. 

2hearts is a success story of community building. Grown solely based on reputation and word of mouth, they have yet to spend a single euro on marketing. On this week's episode, Gülsah shares how the team at 2hearts grows and expands the community, and what we can learn from it about connecting, communities, and the future of tech. 

***

Subscribe to the Message Machine newsletter and become an unstoppable founder yourself. 

https://www.eoipsocommunications.com/newsletter/

Aug 02, 202333:27
199: As CEO, Steer Your Own Message. Oliver Kaltner, Cherry

199: As CEO, Steer Your Own Message. Oliver Kaltner, Cherry

As a CEO, you want to own your message. Thanks to technology and social media, this has never been easier. 

This is according to Oliver Kaltner, the former CEO of Leica, the iconic camera brand, and current CEO of Cherry - a leading manufacturer of computer equipment. Both are listed companies at the forefront of technology and engineering.  

His mantra is that business is not about talking, but about doing - so how does that fit in with communications? Leading in a hybrid work environment is all about over-communicating and making sure everyone is onboard with the messaging. 

Only when your people are with you, can you get sh** done. In this week's podcast episode he talks about the importance of being relevant, transparent, and not overpromising. 


Subscribe to the Message Machine newsletter and become an unstoppable founder yourself. 

https://www.eoipsocommunications.com/newsletter/

Jul 27, 202342:51
198: From Rugby Champ to Intuitive Leadership. Erik Podzuweit, Scalable Capital
Jul 19, 202337:32
197: Diversity Drives Better Communication. Stephanie von Behr, Founderland

197: Diversity Drives Better Communication. Stephanie von Behr, Founderland

Founderland is Europe’s fastest growing community of women founders of colour. In this week's episode of Speak Like a CEO, Oliver hosts Stephanie von Behr, Managing Director of Founderland. 

Founderland is not your average community. Stephanie, together with experienced founders Deborah Choi and Alina Bassi (our guest in E94) have been highly intentional about building the brand, deepening the community and making a real-life impact.

Stephanie urges everyone to branch out and to hire from different segments, rather than just sticking to warm connections. One of the reasons: diverse leadership teams tend to be better at communications. 

Diverse teams are challenging because of cultural nuances you need to consider, and demand a more vulnerable and self-aware team. This improves culture, communications and the business at large. 

To find out more about the incredible work at Founderland, check out https://www.founderland.org

Heres the link to the Personal Operating Manual TEMPLATE: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z7D9U3b5CPZsbZ2C4wu1x5vgjKJUKZGkDMkkucXx1wM/edit


Jul 13, 202325:58
196: Ask Me Anything: Transparency Dilemma, #NotBoring, Changing Founder Communications. Oliver Aust
Jul 06, 202323:05
195: Reviving America's Oldest Retailer. Ken Ohashi, CEO Brooks Brothers

195: Reviving America's Oldest Retailer. Ken Ohashi, CEO Brooks Brothers

His company has dressed 41 out of 46 US presidents, is the oldest apparel brand in America in continuous operation, and was the first brand to introduce ready-to-wear. 

Brooks Brothers is nothing short of a legendary brand, and Ken Ohashi is the man behind its revival. He took over as CEO after the company had to file for bankruptcy during Covid. After an impressive turn-around, the company had a record year in 2022 and paid out bonuses to its employees for the first time in over a decade. 

What is the recipe for success? According to Ken, he has an inside-out and a 360 degree approach to branding, marketing and communications. Instead of first focusing on the customer, his focus is on the company culture. The customer will buy if you practise what you preach. You also need to be everywhere at all times. 

In this week’s episode, Ken talks us through how he transformed Brooks Brothers and revived the brand, how change is not about abandoning the past but building on it, and the importance of listening.

Subscribe to the Message Machine newsletter and become an unstoppable founder yourself. 

https://www.eoipsocommunications.com/kontakt/

Jun 30, 202338:43
194: How to Make Change Happen. Jörg Hellwig, Founder & Investor

194: How to Make Change Happen. Jörg Hellwig, Founder & Investor

Most people abhor change. But without change, your business will never succeed. This is why Jörg Hellwig puts change at the centre of everything he does – from digitalising companies, building new businesses, and adapting communication processes.

 

Jörg is the former CDO of multi-billion Euro revenue company LANXESS, founder of CheMondis, and angel investor.

 

According to Jörg, any success should be followed by change. When things are going well you are in the best position to change because it leaves room for failure. Fail fast, adapt, and keep the pressure on to become successful.

 

And how does he convince people of change? He tells stories to motivate his teams to come with him on the journey, and he gives them the licence to prompt him to change him too. 

 

In this week’s episode, Jörg talks us through how he transformed a massive company, why the 2008 financial crisis was the best thing that could have happened to him, and the importance of having fun to succeed.

Subscribe to the Message Machine newsletter and become an unstoppable founder yourself. 

https://www.eoipsocommunications.com/kontakt/

Jun 22, 202346:02
193: The Secret Language of Leadership. Simon Lancaster, Top Speechwriter

193: The Secret Language of Leadership. Simon Lancaster, Top Speechwriter

Has a speech ever changed the way you see the world?


Now imagine being able to write a speech that has this effect on people.

That is what Simon Lancaster does. As one of the best speechwriters in the world, author of several books, and multiple TedX speaker, Simon knows all the secrets to captivate an audience with words. And the secret dates all the way back to ancient Greece and Rome, and the rhetoric art of ethos, pathos, and logos. It is all about establishing credibility, portraying emotion, and using logical arguments. 

In this week’s episode, Simon talks us through the crisis in corporate communication, how to communicate to the instinctive and emotional brain, and the key to relaxing when you speak. 

Simon also shares the challenges and trends in speech writing and communications, and how he uses TikTok and ChatGPT to great effect. 


Subscribe to the Message Machine newsletter and become an unstoppable founder yourself. 

https://www.eoipsocommunications.com/kontakt/

Jun 15, 202350:26
192: Be everywhere where your customers are. Sven Lackinger, Co-founder of Sastrify

192: Be everywhere where your customers are. Sven Lackinger, Co-founder of Sastrify

How many digital tools do you use? Chances are you’ve already used at least a dozen by the time you got to the office today. Now imagine managing the digital tools for a company of several thousand people…

As the company and team grow, so does the number of tools we use and need to manage. Software is now in the top 3 of expenses for many companies. 

This is the problem Sven Lackinger is solving with his company, Sastrify, that just raised a €30m Series B round. He helps companies make sense of the software they have within their enterprise. 

When Sven and his co-founder Max sold their first company to a large corporation, they realised the challenge big businesses face when managing their software stack. From this realisation, Sastrify was born – a scale-up that helps companies make sense of their software.

How did Sven and Sastrify successfully navigate the rapidly changing world of software? By knowing their customers and being everywhere where their customers are. According to Sven, it is all about reaching the correct people and putting all sales efforts towards this select group. 

Today Sastrify is a global brand with around 150 employees based in over 18 countries. Thanks to focus on transparency, company culture, and hiring good people they are just getting started. 

Subscribe to the Message Machine newsletter and become an unstoppable founder yourself. 

https://www.eoipsocommunications.com/kontakt/


Jun 08, 202334:40
191: The Future is Internal Communications. Benedikt Ilg, CEO of Flip

191: The Future is Internal Communications. Benedikt Ilg, CEO of Flip

80% of the global workforce are deskless employees. 

They don’t have email or Slack, they don’t respond to calendar invites and won’t attend conference calls. But they are the biggest part of the workforce. Keeping them informed, engaged and aligned is a major challenge for businesses. 

While working at Porsche, Benedikt Ilg noticed how hard it was to reach his colleagues in production.

The solution that Benedikt and his co-founder came up with is Flip – an app that allows deskless employees to receive information and connect. Their goal: to change the future of deskless work. 

Your workforce is the heart of the company. In times of crises or times of rapid change, it is the labour force that drives the positive change. This cannot happen if they are not engaged. 

Flip aims to make engagement easy. With a roster of impressive clients such as Porsche, Rossmann, McDonalds, Flip under the leadership of Benedict Ilg is changing the future of deskless work. 

In this week's episode of Speak Like a CEO you can listen to Benedikt talk about the future of internal communications, the importance of honesty, and why you should always keep it simple. 

Subscribe to the Message Machine newsletter and become an unstoppable founder yourself. 

https://www.eoipsocommunications.com/kontakt/

Jun 02, 202349:40
190: Start with Building a Brand. Johannes Reck, GetYourGuide

190: Start with Building a Brand. Johannes Reck, GetYourGuide

How many entrepreneurial journeys have started with a wrongly booked ticket to China? Alone in a hotel room in Beijing, Johannes Reck realised how a city is transformed when you have access to tour guides and experiences. 

Two years later, with a failed student tour guiding company behind them, the two university friends took a leap of faith and launched GetYourGuide – a platform that unlocks unforgettable experiences. 

Fifteen years later, the app offers more than 70.000 unique experiences worldwide. 

How did they continuously grow for over a decade and survive a global pandemic as a travel company? 

The answer is hard work, trial and error, patience, and a positive mentality.  

The key to unlocking your potential as a leader is through training. By continuing to train himself rigorously as a speaker and communicator, and always searching for ways to grow as a leader and human being Johannes Reck has done what most founders dream of.  

GetYourGuide has built a global brand with strong word of mouth, product-market fit in multiple countries including the US, and continues to innovate for the future.

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May 25, 202355:31
189: Communication is the new sales strategy. Viktoria Lindner, Mindsurance

189: Communication is the new sales strategy. Viktoria Lindner, Mindsurance

Viktoria Lindner is a former model, psychiatrist, CEO and founder of digital mental health startup Mindsurance.

Mindsurance is an all-in-one solution for organisations to streamline their entire employee mental healthcare operations. They help to analyse employee mental health, find and match the right care provider, and deal with the bureaucratic parts of insurance providers.

Improving mental health among employees is essential, also because absence rates in organisations are increasing from year to year due to mental health challenges. 

Viktoria is a big believer in the role of communications in scaling the business: “There is no bad communication. Get started, and you will become better and better over time. When you never start, you never give the world the chance to learn about you and your product.”

She sees it as a key to unlock growth. “How people purchase products and services has changed.” They don’t want to be flooded by sales messages. They ignore most inbound. Instead, they want to educate themselves. When the time is right for them, they come to you. When that happens, they are ready to buy - unless you screw it up. 

Her analysis is spot-on. Demand generation is now so much more powerful than lead generation. That’s why the best companies focus on pre-suasion and pre-sales through communications. It creates the demand that makes sales a piece of cake. 

Viktoria decided to strategically position Mindsurance as a safe space that acts as a guide on an employee’s mental healthcare journey. To create trust with employees, Mindsurance does not offer a white-label solution. However, this poses challenges, as their customers would like to see data to understand what initiatives are effective, for instance, in decreasing absence levels.   

   

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May 19, 202333:27
188: Zero to 150 Million Users. Daniel Stammler, Co-Founder Kolibri Games

188: Zero to 150 Million Users. Daniel Stammler, Co-Founder Kolibri Games

What an entrepreneurial journey: three college friends decide to build a gaming company. Their two biggest challenges: they have no clue about creating games or building a startup. Games bomb, investors decline, failure seems inevitable. 

Just a few short years later, Idle Miner Tycoon counts 100+ million users and the three founders sell Kolibri Games for 100 million. 

Daniel Stammler - entrepreneur, co-founder of Kolibri Games and a Forbes 30 under 30 laureate - shares his unique insights into how massive success does not need outside investment.  

How they did it does not match preconceived notions about gaming companies. There were no literal or metaphorical ping-pong tables, just hard work and dedication. 

This took them on an unlikely journey from their student apartment cum office in Southern Germany to 100+ employees in an office in Berlin (that was robbed twice, as life likes to throw in some extra challenges).  

The key to unlocking growth: a great product that was improved weekly. Paired with spot-on marketing, branding and communications. Growth was slow until they got their marketing right. 

Within 3 months, they 10x’d their profit and revenue. Then went on to create word of mouth and created a magnetic employer brand that attracted thousands of applications. 

Subscribe to the Message Machine newsletter and become an unstoppable founder yourself. 

May 10, 202347:30
187: Boost Your Body Language. Martin Brooks, Body Language Expert

187: Boost Your Body Language. Martin Brooks, Body Language Expert

50% of our personal communication is non-verbal. Yet most business leaders never train their body language. 

That’s a huge oversight. Boosting our body language gives us more confidence and makes us more successful in business, says Martin Brooks

Martin is the author of Body Language Decoder and a leading expert and what our bodies say. 

In this highly actionable episode, he gives founders and CEOs a body language tool box on everything from speaking to the team to pitching to investors. Some highlights: 

Job interview: You can detect if someone over-embellishes their CV. Take a baseline of the interviewee’s body language by asking simple questions like “where did you go to school”. When questions get tough, someone who is deceitful would deviate from their baseline by making either more eye contact or avoiding it.  

Leading the team: Stand tall, smile warmly and make eye contact to signal that you are comfortable and certain about what you are about to say. Apply confidence gestures such as “the chop” or “the pinch of salt”. 

Pitching for funding: Know your audience and practise your answers to their toughest questions. Reassure with body language. Apply confidence gestures, but avoid signals of nervousness like rubbing your hands or fiddling with objects. 

Public speaking: On stage, come out from behind the podium, inject lots of energy so it feels over the top as you fill the room with energy. In a virtual setting, move away from the camera, then raise your hands to chest height so people can see your body language. Get the angle right and don’t look down on people. Don’t talk to the camera, talk through it. 

Power play: If someone is trying to elevate their status at our expense, show them it is not working. Look them in the eye and give them a warm smile.


More about Martin: https://successthroughimpact.com

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May 03, 202301:06:16
186: Winning with Word-of-Mouth. Tim Dettmann, founder and CEO of BEAT81

186: Winning with Word-of-Mouth. Tim Dettmann, founder and CEO of BEAT81

Tim Dettmann is a former badminton champion and the founder of sports tech startup BEAT81

He is inspired by a simple idea: to deliver happiness and lasting wellbeing to people via fitness, tech & hospitality.

To make BEAT81 as big and relevant as Crossfit, Tim and his team need word-of-mouth.

Word-of-mouth is the most powerful marketing tool there is. 90% of people are much more likely to trust a recommended brand (even from strangers), and it is more effective than paid ads. 

Unfortunately you don’t have the time to sit around and wait until people start to talk about how great your product is. You need to kickstart word-of-mouth. 

Tim and Oliver discuss how a growing company can trigger word-of-mouth, both digitally and in real life. 

WOM is a strong signal for message-market fit. On the show, they also craft the messaging that could take BEAT81 to the next level. 


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Apr 28, 202333:04
185: Become a better leader in 2 minutes. Darja Gutnick, Bunch

185: Become a better leader in 2 minutes. Darja Gutnick, Bunch

I'm a former academic and psychologist. Our answer to everything is ‘it depends’. But in the business world, that's just not how things work,” says Darja Gutnick, the co-founder and CEO at Bunch

She is on the Business Punk Watchlist, a “rebel psychologist” (Forbes) & podcast host

Her Berlin & NYC-based startup is on a mission to unlock the potential in every professional. Their aim: help you become a better leader in 2 minutes a day with AI-powered coaching that is personalised and scalable.  

Darja is no stranger to challenges, quipping that the company deserves the “cockroach medal” for surviving many crises. 

What helped Bunch overcome challenges has been strategic agility and effective communications. “Messages have to be boiled down to simplicity. And it's still like a big challenge for me personally.” 

Her best communications advice? Simplify, simplify, simplify. And she says it “as an entrepreneur who has always struggled with simplicity.” 

Bunch follows a freemium model and is free to download. It is kicking off in the US big time where 70% of their premium customers are based. 

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Apr 19, 202349:54
184: Be Edgy, be controversial. Tanja Bogumil, founder and CEO of Perfeggt

184: Be Edgy, be controversial. Tanja Bogumil, founder and CEO of Perfeggt

In this special Easter episode, we give you eggs without chickens. 

Tanja Bogumil is the CEO and founder of Perfeggt, a food innovation startup that changes what people eat by taking the animal out of the food system. They created plant-based eggs that may do for eggs what Oatly did for milk - provide a true alternative and create a new product category. 

 

Their approach is remarkable for several reasons: 

Perfeggt builds hardware with the speed of software by applying the lean startup approach of continuous optimisation. “Even in food, speed is of the essence.” 

Their go-to-market is also truly innovative. Instead of getting a new food product on supermarket shelves hoping that it will sell, they opted for food services such as restaurants. 

This allows them to use storytelling to explain a product and category consumers are not familiar with. “With our partners, we work out the best fitting story for their guests so it is seamlessly integrated with multiple touchpoints to understand what works best, so that guests actually get it,” Tanja Bogumil says.  

“It’s all about telling the right story that’s not only catching people’s brains but also touches their hearts. Food is so emotional, we can’t just talk about numbers.”  

Perfeggt is positive and uplifting at the point of sale. But the team also learnt to talk openly about what’s wrong. 

“It’s ok to communicate in a way that will also p*ss people off. It’s ok that some people will never understand that we need to change what’s on our plates. What matters is the increasing number of those driving the change.” 

When it comes to fundraising, Tanja’s advice is to focus on answering three questions: “Why this? Why us? Why now?” Investors need to sense “this unapologetic determination to do what it takes - this is part of good and strong communication.” 


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Apr 03, 202344:00