The Fifteen Leading Types of Professional Presentations

Sean Moffitt - Connector of Dots seanmoffitt.com

11 min readFeb 5, 2023

Key differences between personal motivation/celebrity keynotes and practitioner/professional keynotes, what professional audiences really want, the gap that currently exists and the fifteen types of preferred keynote prsentations (first of fourteen posts based on Business Stage Act™ study)

Author: Sean Moffitt, Managing Director, Futureproofing

There is something very wrong in the ripple of the time continuum called the professional stage. As we wake up from COVID and lust to connect in real life at conference centres and hotel offsites again, I am seeing extroardinary weak delivery and impact on professional stages. It’s even worse than a bad 2019.

I am seeing the same personal power and motivation hyper-energy types, the same let me tell you about my story narcissists, the same corporate shills that say a lot without saying much, and the same let me land on some big bold words or turns of phrase carnival barkers, occupying the live and virtual stages of the professional landscape. Egads! I though three years away would want us to hunger for more.

I truly have no horse in this race. My stuff will still hunt in any competitive space. I work harder than most at my craft and, in my estimation, that still matters. I do worry about important voices that we aren’t hearing. People that are doing absolutely brilliant and leading edge work, being passed over for these silky stage lions, who are all roar and bluster, but have little substance. Speaker bureaus would be wise to measure the distance between the real person and the stage personality — the shorter, the better.

I consciously make it a point to not spend more than 20% of my time doing what I call thought leader work. There is a grey line here, but if you are spending over half their time as “professional speakers”, you are more likely trading in a game of performance than brokering in any type of real knowledge, insight or guidance exchange. But onto the main point...

If you need a lot of personal power beyond your own self-initiative in professional spheres, more power to you. If you need the volume level turned to eleven in order to hear a salient message clearly, who am I to tell you otherwise? If you like the conforming to your world view half-fact storytellers and my truth observers, just limit the damage to the hour of rhetoric.

Perhaps that’s it — I am defining the difference between the pursuit of truth, opinion and rhetoric in this preamble. Truth is the state of being in agreement with reality. Opinions are a person’s view on something perhaps not necessarily grounded in fact or knowledge. Rhetoric is the art of persuasive speaking, especially the exploitation of figures of speech and other compositional techniques to move masses. Too much personal experience is masquerading as absolute truth, generally accepted opinion, where frequently it’s simply juiced up rhetoric. It’s certainly harming audiences. My hope is the industry wakes up to its credibility challenge. Alas, different strokes for different folks, pithy soundbytes under stage lights, memes & schemes for keynote themes. Okay, rant over.

The Professional Arena — A Different Game

“There are three things which inspire confidence in the orator’s own character-the three, namely, that induce us to believe a thing apart from any proof of it: good sense, good moral character, and goodwill.” Aristule

Fully two-thirds to three-quarters of what I now see at professional events falls way short of my professional grade meter. Insta-experts are being shot out of a TED Talks cannon (more on that in my next post). More and more Olympians, activists and full time professional speakers are plying their wares, attempting to parlay some modicum of success or experience in one space, to the high stakes arena of professional life. Some are passable, most are awful.

Thankfully I am not alone in my thinking that the professional stage can be a wasteful time suck for audiences. Both in studies I’ve accessed and also my own study conducted right before the pandemic The Business Stage Act™, point to the fact that business and professional audiences are tired and more than a little frustrated.

A 2018 Study on “The Value of Thought Leadership” conducted by Grist made us think, maybe we’re not unique in our disdain for some of today’s business soothsayers and oracles. Check out their top six list of what turns business executives off from thought leadership on stage:

1. Unsubstantiated opinion (58%)
2. Lack of original insight or ideas (45%)
3. Too conceptual in content, without recommendations (43%)
4. Promoting the advisor/producer, rather than addressing my problems (42%)
5. Badly designed (41%)
6. Too generic, not directly relevant to me (39%)

My study’s list was quite similar in terms of professional keynote turnoffs and mishaps:

Results from Futureproofing’s Business Stage Act Study — Ranked list of Keynote Turnoffs and Mishaps

If you look at this recent infusion of celebrities and B-listers on the professonal speaker stage, in my experience, they are most likely to offend the top three hair-pulling principles of bad professional keynotes: shameless self-promotion, panache > professional substance and slogan-rich delivery.

The Fifteen Most Sought After Professional Keynotes & Presentations (reverse ranked)

I have gone back into my Business Stage Act™ research study to pull out a ranked list of what professional audiences really want from their speakers. Here are the 15 types of preferred presentations and their speakers (in reverse order ranking):

Ranked #15: The Celebrity

Defined by: Using fame, notoriety, personal brand appeal and access to celebrity
Strengths: Star factor, Accomplishment, See and Be Seen With
Weaknesses: Translatable Insights, Arrogance, Depth/Breadth of Domains of Knowledge
Examples: Actors, YouTubers, Influencers, Models, Personal Brands

Ranked #14: The Emotive

Defined by: Using strong emotions and human instincts
Strengths: Call to Actions/Rallying Cry(s), Human Connection, Cause Association
Weaknesses: Polarization, Rationale/backup, Missing the Audience Mark
Examples: Activists, Humorists, Humanists

#13 The Contrarian

Defined by: Opposing, outspoken and non-mainstream points of views
Strengths: Power of Argument, Plainspeak, Reappraisal of Thinking
Weaknesses: Demonizing the Enemy, Stark Black & White Points of View, Rants > Solutions
Examples: Authors, Artists, Rebels

#12 The Insider

Defined By: Deep insider access, intimate witness to key events or privileged knowledge
Strengths: Proximity to Power Brokers, Insider Info, Lived Experience
Weaknesses: Personal Bias/Prejudice, Playing it Safe, Settling Grievances
Examples: Politicians, Current & Ex-CxOs, Founders & VCs

#11 The Entertainer

Defined By: Humour and Comedic Performance, Props or Gags
Strengths: Likeability, Disarming Truths, Memorability & Interactvity
Weaknesses: Credibility, Actionable Takeaways, Political Insensitvity
Examples: Comedians, Musicians, Magicians, Unique Physical Talents

#10 The Motivator

Defined by: Inspirational paths, limitless potential and optimistic outlooks
Strengths: Hope , Belief In a Better World, Willingness to Take Action
Weaknesses: Head in Clouds/Not Pragmatic, Tone Deafness, Substance
Examples: Motivational Speakers, Leadership Coaches, Trainers, Athletes

#9 The Conversationalist

Defined by: Engaging dialogue, exercises and answering questions
Strengths: Interactivity, Personalization (every presentation is different), Quick on feet
Weaknesses: Missed Coverage Areas, Questions> Answers, Opinion & Arguments > Facts & Presenting Both Sides
Examples: Journalists, News Commentators, Interviewers/Hosts

#8 The Relevant

Defined By: Deep expertise, specialist genius or relevant content
Strengths: Depth of Knowledge, How Tos & Watchouts, Implementation
Weaknesses: Lack of Context & Macroperspectives, Longevity of Insight Relevance, Tied to Specific Platforms or Applications
Examples: Scientists, Technologists, Professional Specialists

#7 The Freshmaker

Defined By: Harnessing new ideas, innovative concepts or fresh perspectives
Strengths: New Paradigms & Break from Status Quo, Loosening Mindsets, Unlock New Value
Weaknesses: Unproven Track Record, Little Validation or Peer Review, Here Today, Gone Tomorrow Subject Matter
Examples: Entrepreneurs, Change Agents, Think Tank Rsearchers

#6 The Storyteller

Defined By: Strong narratives, rhythm and flow
Strengths: Execitment-Take People on a Journey, Case Study/Experience Friendly, Emotional Resonance & Empathetic Learning
Weaknesses: Truthiness/Falsehoods, Over-Simplification, Translatable Actions, Feels Rehearsed
Examples: Authors, Icons & Role Models, Cause Advocates

#5 The Observer

Defined By: Keen Insight, Breakthrough Discovery and Pursuit of Truths & Knowledge
Strengths: Supporting Evidence & Experimentation, Key Factors, Deep Ethnographic Study with Target Group
Weaknesses: Soft Implications & Actions, True Causes vs. Symptoms, Projectable Conclusions for All Audiences
Examples: Behavioral Scientists, Academics, Statisticians, Economists & Opinion Pollers

#4 The Persuader

Defined By: High Energy, Confidence, Charisma and Strong Points or View
Strengths: Passionate Relatability, Subject Matter Authority, Invite Debate and Unwavering Commitment
Weaknesses: Manipulation with the Truth, Does Not Recognize Nuance and Polarization with Audience
Examples: Policy Shapers & Opinion Leaders, Lawyers, Sales People

#3 The Futurist

Defined By: Sharp understanding of future signals, trends & countertrends and foresights
Strengths: Applied Imagination & Creativity, Connecting a Fusion of Key Influences, Plausible Impact on Planning Cycle, Open Up New Possibility
Weaknesses: Backcasting to Action Now, Dealing with Timing & Probability, Frequently Speculative Opinion>Current Proof
Examples: Innovators, Designers, Multidisciplinary Polymaths

#2 The Creative

Defined By: Out-of-the-Box Thinking, Surprising Insights and New-to-the-World Creations
Strengths: Involves the Novelty and Unexpected, Instills Unrecognized Wants & Needs, Excitement to Put Into Practice, Visuals or Prototypes Bring to Life Concepts
Weaknesses: Esoteric Communication, Intuition, Gut & Feeling > Learning, Brain & Knowing, Boastful Independence > Collaboration
Examples: Inventors & Builders, Hackers & Engineers, Web Builders & Content Producers

#1 The Thoughtleader

Defined By: Special expertise, elite domain skills and early vision.
Strengths: Commanding presence on subject(s), Forward-thinking problem solvers, Articulate speakers and listeners, Depth of experience
Weaknesses: Over-defending previous work or mistakes, Lack of practitioner or market testing, Could have siloed thinking
Examples: Discipline/Industry Experts, Journalists & Analysts, Consultants & Advisors

We’ll provide thirteen follow up posts on our Professional Keynote Presentation series:

II — What I Love and Hate About TED Talks

III — Top Six Ranked Presentation Ingredients & The Presentation Venue

IV — Professional Presentation — Preferred Formats

V — Professional Presentations — Establishing Credibility

VI- Professional Presentations — Most Requested Topics

VII- Professional Presentations — Presentation Content

VIII — Professional Presentations — Presentation Delivery

IX — Top 10 X Factors in Professional Presentations — #6–10 Special Sauces

X — Top 10 X Factors in Professional Presentation — #1–5 Special Sauces

XI — How to Not be Tone Deaf — Reading Audiences and Cultural Difference for Professional Presentations

XII — A Professional Presentation Canvas — 16 Elements to Get right

XIII — A New Offering in the Professional, Practitioner Friendly Space

XIV — Speakers Corner — Professonal Presentation All-Stars & Rebels Have Their Say

Futureproofing Keynotes 55

Futureproofing produces and performs 55 different keynotes across 10 relevant core topics. No one trick ponies here. The commonality?:

We produce the best thought leadership for professionals and practitioners on the most sought-after subjects
We credible provide fresh content, new evidence, helpful tools and breakthrough canvases behind our work
We provide high energy, bespoke delivery to your audience that always rates over 4 out of 5 in impact
We architect you a full framing, factoring, fluency and actions behind critical professional knowledge, experience and skill gaps
We construct presentations in a variety of formats — executive & board-level briefings; conference, staff & customer keynotes; team workshops; leadership development training; and issue roundtables

Featured Keynote I — The Corporate Innovation Playbook™

As part of our nine-fold Innovation series, The Corporate Innovation Playbook™ is not just what we think might be possible but what real life corporate practitioners believe are inside truths and market-tested insights about their innovation efforts. Now in its third edition, it provides a snapshot and movement in time of where the world of innovation has shifted, and where it’s headed.

Get in touch with us now for our updated 3rd edition of the most authoritative guide to corporate innovation process, mindset, features and impact.

About Sean Moffitt, Futureproofing and the Grey Swan Guild

I connect the dots. It’s what I do. It’s what today marketplace, technosphere and culture demands. It’s what I’m passionate about and good at. And it’s what some people and companies pay me for. I spend a disproportionate amount of time living and breathing change and “the future” and connecting them both.

I have four big professional passions:

I love to build companies value the right way and get to the future beyond innovation (my corporate shingle Futureproofing)
I love to make sense of today’s biggest challenges and tomorrow’s Grey Swans (my collaborative shingle Grey Swan Guild)
I love to help out passionate startups/scaleups, people with a cause, institutions making a difference, students eager to bite into the change apple, anything Canadian and anything that marries sports & fitness with technology & trends (see various boards, universities and incubators I work with)
I love to share the freshest perspectives and what I know with others through books, webcasts, research projects, keynotes and guest lectures (look under my personal website SeanMoffitt.com)

Plus I’m a real person, trying to minimize BS & pretention, avoiding wasted time and leaving things better than when I first arrived. When not staying up to speed with the many facets of the new economy, I can be seen around Toronto and some world capitals either cycling, running, travelling, brunching (rhe forgotten fourth meal), enjoying a finely crafted beer, sifting through a page-turning book, Wordle-ing, rooting for my favourite sports teams, chewing on classic films or Netflix’s hidden gems and playing ice hockey (it’s a Canadian patriotic ritual).

Contact me if you find any of the above interesting.

SeanMoffitt.com : http://www.seanmoffitt.com/ and https://medium.com/@seanmoffitt