Lydia Wan works as a digital product owner at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, currently looking after the Bills and Upcoming payments feature on the CommBank app which assists over 2.9 million customers with money management. Though Lydia has previously worked in the consulting field, her obsession with technology and meaningful digital delivery work has led her to banking. Her personal mission as a product owner is to empower customers to efficiently manage their daily banking with ease, and to achieve their financial goals with confidence through personalised digital experiences.
What did Lydia say after attending our Persuasive Presentation Skills Training?
“Goodbye to boring presentations. I can’t wait to kickstart my presos with pacing and leading. I loved all the techniques and appreciated the template. Michelle taught us practical, tangible techniques that will equip us moving forward to be amazing presenters. I enjoyed her enthusiasm and appreciated the structure of her program. It was packed, but she coordinated the lessons in a fun, creative and engaging manner. Off site training would be fun for future participants.”
Lydia Wan, Product Owner, Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Lydia received a standing ovation after presenting in our masterclass!
Here's our interview with Lydia - enjoy!
What kind of presenting do you do at work?
I present all the time! As a digital product owner I present on a daily basis in agile ceremonies, meetings, workshops and showcases in both informal and formal settings. I liaise with various stakeholders such as developers, UX designers, product managers, and other relevant teams. These presentations could range from updates on the feature’s development progress, user feedback and insights, new feature ideas, and future plans for improvement. I often present findings from data-driven insights and metrics to showcase the future’s performance and impact on customers.
What prompted you to study with Michelle?
An opportunity came up to attend one of Michelle’s 2 day persuasive presentation skills training courses and I jumped at the chance. From the research I conducted on Michelle, I knew I would be in safe hands due to her breadth of experience in the area of career development and her unique way of storytelling. I am very grateful for the opportunity to attend such a personalised and hands-on course!
How did Michelle’s teaching change your attitude to presenting in business?
Michelle Bowden’s teaching has transformed my attitude towards presenting in business for the better! With her guidance, I have learned the importance of storytelling, engaging my audience, and delivering persuasive messages that resonate with my stakeholders. Michelle demonstrated the importance of visual aids (less is more!) and I now approach every presentation with confidence, knowing that I have the tools and techniques to make a lasting impact.
In general, what positive outcomes have you achieved from improving your presentation skills?
Since attending Michelle’s 2 day masterclass, I have already presented in a company showcase to over 500+ attendees and have been confident when communicating the value of my feature. I have also received positive feedback from many colleagues and managers, who have noted my ability to convey complex information in an engaging, clear and concise manner.
Overall, improving my presentation skills has made me a more effective communicator, enabling me to pitch ideas more persuasively and influence key stakeholders more effectively – ultimately bringing people on board with ideas they may have been resistant to before.
In what specific ways have your presentation skills improved since learning with Michelle?
I feel more assured in my ability to deliver a compelling message. Michelle’s emphasis on storytelling has allowed me to ‘hook’ my audience in, craft interesting narratives that engage my audience and convey my message, making my presentations more memorable and impactful.
I feel more in control using the tools provided in the masterclass.
I’m confident that I can deliver a clear and effective message by structuring my presentations in a way that is easy to follow and understand, ensuring that my audience leaves with a clear understanding of my key ideas.
What were your top three take-aways from Michelle’s masterclass?
– Less is more for slides! Michelle helped me understand the importance of keeping the content on the slides to a minimum to enhance the story I tell to my audience and keep their focus on my message. Excessive content and too many slides will lead to ‘split attention’ and dilute the effectiveness of a compelling message.
– ‘Pace Pace Pace ….Lead’ was a new concept I learnt from Michelle and it has transformed the way I connect with my audience, particularly in the beginning of my presentations.
By stating universals and truisms up-front at the start of my presentation before leading with a strong starting statement, I am able to establish common ground and build rapport with my audience.
– The 4MAT framework has been such a powerful preparation tool as it gets to the heart of how to structure a presentation in a clear and meaningful way so that it leaves a lasting impression on my audience.
You can achieve instant presentation skills outcomes like Lydia too! Simply book here.
©Michelle Bowden 2023
MICHELLE BOWDEN CSP is an authority on persuasive presenting in business. She’s run her Persuasive Presentation Skills Masterclass over 950 times for more than 12,000 people over the past 23 years and her name is a synonym for ‘presentation skills’ in Australia. She’s a multi-million-dollar pitch coach to her client list that reads like a who’s who of international business: banking and finance, IT, pharmaceutical, retail, telecommunications plus many more. Michelle is the creator of the Persuasion Smart Profile®, a world-first psychological assessment tool that reports on your persuasive strengths and weaknesses at work, the best-selling internationally published author of How to Present: the ultimate guide to presenting live and online (Wiley) and her new book is called How to Persuade: the skills you need to get what you want (Wiley).