262 Stop Killing Your Professional Presentation with Terrible Amateur Slides
The Japan Business Mastery Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Release Date: 08/03/2025
277 From Invisible to In-Demand: Speaking Grows Your Brand
The Japan Business Mastery Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
How To Use Speaking To Promote Your Personal Brand We live in a publisher’s world. If you want speaking gigs that grow your brand in Japan, stop waiting to be discovered and start creating searchable proof of expertise. Q: Where do I start with speaking if I’m not a writer? A: List ten buyer problems you hear repeatedly. Record short answers if writing is hard; transcribe later. Clarity beats polish. Mini-summary: Begin with your clients’ questions and answer them clearly. Q: What is a flagship article and why create one? A: Stitch related posts into one...
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Hire Hunters, Not Hope: Setting Realistic Sales Expectations
The Japan Business Mastery Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Really Understand Your Expectations Of Your Sales Team We hire people, expect instant results, then churn the headcount when numbers lag. In Japan’s tight market, that revolving door is costly. Here’s how to realign expectations with reality. Q: Are you hiring farmers when you need hunters? A: Farmers maintain; hunters create. In Japan, farmers are more common. Ask candidates where their current clients came from. Leads, handoffs and orphan accounts signal farming; proactive prospecting and conversions signal hunting. Neither is “better”—mismatch is expensive....
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275 Delegate Outcomes, Not Tasks: The Accountability Playbook for Japan
The Japan Business Mastery Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Accountability In Your Team We all want accountable teams, yet deadlines slip and quality wobbles. People don’t plan to fail—but vague ownership and weak rhythms make it easy to miss. Here’s how leaders in Japan turn “own it” into a daily standard. Q: Where should leaders start? A: Start with time. Time discipline sets tone. Make planning visible, prioritise crisply and protect deep work for the tasks only you can do. When leaders respect time, teams respect commitments. Mini-summary: Your calendar sets culture; model time discipline. Q: Why do leaders become time-poor?...
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274 What Is The Right Length For Your Speech
The Japan Business Mastery Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Why Do Speeches Often Go Too Long? Speakers love their words, but audiences only want what matters. The danger comes when speakers keep talking past the emotional high point. Once engagement peaks, attention begins to fade. Mini-summary: Speeches lose power when they drag past the point of maximum engagement. What Is the Risk of Having No Time Limit? When organisers set a limit, discipline is forced. But when speakers control their own slot, they often run long. Without boundaries, self-indulgence creeps in, and the speech becomes tiring. Mini-summary: Lack of limits tempts speakers into...
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273 Presenting Manufactured Products
The Japan Business Mastery Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Why Are Industrial Product Presentations Often So Dull? Industrial products are technical and specification-heavy. Salespeople often present them in dry, functional ways that mirror catalogues. Buyers tune out because they don’t just buy specs—they buy confidence, trust, and belief. Mini-summary: Specs alone don’t sell; buyers connect with confident, engaging salespeople. How Can Salespeople Move Beyond Features? Features are important, but benefits are what matter. A durable machine saves downtime and repairs. An easy-to-install product reduces disruption and costs. Linking benefits...
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272 Why Bosses Must Keep Learning to Lead
The Japan Business Mastery Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Education doesn’t end with graduation. Leaders may attend induction sessions, compliance programs, or even prestigious executive courses overseas, but these experiences are too infrequent to sustain long-term growth. In Japan and globally, too many bosses stop learning once they hit senior ranks, focusing only on routines that keep the business running. But standing still in today’s world is as dangerous as making mistakes. Continuous learning is not optional—it’s the fuel that keeps leaders, teams, and companies alive. Why isn’t one-time executive training enough? Business schools...
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271 Avoid These Mistakes in Online Presentations
The Japan Business Mastery Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Video conferencing is now standard in business, but that doesn’t make online presenting any easier. Thanks to Covid, platforms like Zoom, Teams, and Webex are familiar, and technology has improved dramatically. Audio and video sync well, slides are easy to share, and features are stable. But while the tools have caught up, presenters often haven’t. Delivering with impact through a screen requires discipline, planning, and technique. Why isn’t online presenting easier despite better technology? The technology may work flawlessly, but the presenter still makes or breaks the session. Poor...
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270 Why Salespeople Can’t Wait for Marketing
The Japan Business Mastery Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Marketing plays a vital role in generating leads—through SEO campaigns, databases, white papers, and ads. But for salespeople, relying solely on marketing is a recipe for starvation. In Japan, where competition is fierce and decision-makers are shielded by layers of formality, sales professionals must take control of their own destiny. Success doesn’t come from waiting—it comes from disciplined activity, persistence, and a clear understanding of the numbers that drive results. Why can’t salespeople rely on marketing for leads? Marketing is powerful, but from a sales perspective...
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269 The Silent Killer of Leadership: Poor Listening
The Japan Business Mastery Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Dynamic leaders get results. They are resourceful, relentless, and often admired for their energy. But their very drive can hide a fatal weakness: poor listening. In Japan, where leaders must push hard against resistance to get things done, the risk of steamrolling staff and clients is even higher. The result is lost opportunities, frustrated teams, and organisations where only the boss’s voice is heard. Real leadership is not just about vision and energy—it’s about creating space for others to contribute. That begins with listening. Why do dynamic leaders struggle with listening?...
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268 How to Balance Relaxed Style with Professional Authority
The Japan Business Mastery Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan
Introduction We’re often told that presentations should feel like chatting with a friend—relaxed, natural, and conversational. That sounds appealing, but does it really convince a CEO in a Tokyo boardroom? Will a casual tone carry weight with industry experts or win over a cautious client? The truth is, a one-size-fits-all “chatty” approach is risky. In Japan, where formality and credibility remain essential in business, presenters must strike a balance: relaxed enough to engage, but professional enough to earn authority. Why can a conversational style backfire in business...
info_outlineWhen we are on stage, the visuals can make or break us. People often ask us at Dale Carnegie: how much is too much when it comes to slides? Let’s keep it simple: your visuals should support you, not compete with you. We want the audience’s attention on us, not the screen. That means stripping it back. Paragraphs? No. Sentences? Preferably not. Bullet points, single words, or strong images work best. Say less, so you can talk more.
Follow the two-second rule. If your audience can’t “get it” in two seconds, it’s too complicated. Think clean, punchy and minimal. The six-by-six rule is a good anchor: no more than six lines per slide, and no more than six words per line. And fonts? Go big. Try 44-point for titles and 32-point for text. Then test it from the back of the room. If you can’t read it, no one else can either.
Use sans serif fonts like Arial—they’re easier to read than fancier serif fonts. Avoid shouting at your audience with all caps. Use bold, underline and italics sparingly. These are tools to emphasise—not to overwhelm.
When it comes to builds and animations, either reveal one idea at a time or present all the information at once. But be consistent. Don’t make your content jump around. Confusion is not a learning style.
Images are gold. A sharp, relevant photo can say what three slides can’t. Once your audience sees the point of the picture in two seconds, you can then talk to it. Use bar graphs for comparisons, line charts for change over time, and pie charts for parts of a whole—but keep it simple. Too many variables and even a pie chart becomes a mess.
Colours are the trap most presenters fall into. Black, blue, and green work well. Stay away from red, orange, and grey—especially red, which often disappears on screen. The contrast is everything.
Slide decks reveal the pro instantly. The polished know what works and why. The rest, the great unwashed? They give the game away before they even open their mouths. Let’s not be in that camp. Let’s keep it sharp, tight, and professional.