Truly compelling presenters are indeed a rare breed. People who have the ability to empathise with an audience, command their full attention and communicate a message clearly are few and far between.

An ideal candidate would combine the charisma of Meryl Streep and the sales flair of Steve Jobs.

A big ask, but one person who may well fit the bill precisely is the Reverend Teresa Munro. Teresa’s uniquely well-honed presentation skills have also not gone unnoticed by those of us who have a rather more commercial agenda. We recently brought in the Reverend Munro to run intensive presentation workshop sessions for us, or as she describes the sessions herself: “I’ve used Drama skills and games throughout. We’ve looked at relaxation and confidence, audience awareness, active listening and body language.”

Many ad agencies invite actors in to teach presentation skills, we wanted to choose someone who really believed in what they were communicating either in work or in life. Someone who we felt could teach not just presentation technique but also empathy, respect for and understanding of the people around us.

Of course, the world of advertising has seen more than its fair share of motivational speakers, but the Reverend Munro brings a uniquely empathetic perspective to her sessions: “some people will need more space and it’s about giving everyone the opportunity to speak and being aware of that within the team. I think that’s a skill much more to do with being a minister than being a Drama teacher.”

What’s more, although the Gospel according to Matthew and an advertising sales pitch may seem spiritually worlds apart, the Reverend feels as though her approach to communication can provide invaluable tools for today’s ‘Mad Men’: “I think they can learn a lot about interpersonal relationships and that a pitch is not just about content, it’s about relating to the people you’re trying to sell to. They can learn an awful lot about watching for an audience reaction, for instance.”

As Sam our MD says “Yes, the content is quite different but the parallel is that fundamentally we’re both trying to communicate ideas that we believe in to other people – there’s an art in making them engaging, relevant and interesting.”

Asked to sum up her unique approach, Teresa comes up with an answer that’s direct and well-honed enough to be the envy of many a marketing strategist: “I talk about it as ‘walking alongside people’, being there to journey with people, that’s what I do as a teacher and it’s probably what I do as facilitator in the workshop. I say to the guys today, it’s not about me having the right answers, but giving them the facilities to get where they want to go.”

Teresa was a big success and already we are seeing our people putting into practise the skills they have acquired from these sessions.

Jo Smith

Sales and Marketing Director Baber Smith