The Agile Speaker: Recent Episodes
Maryanne Johnston
Public speaking, presenting and pitching are usually considered stressful and uncomfortable situations whether you are presenting for the first time or have experience. There are so many unknowns… or are there? Communication expert Maryanne Johnston believes that presenting confidently and naturally is a science that anyone can learn and indeed become agile with. She shares tips and techniques on how to remain in control and come across as relaxed and natural in what can be an unnatural situation.
In this final episode of How to Resolve Conflict, Maryanne is joined once again by mediator and leadership expert Drew Drummond to answer real questions about handling conflict in everyday life and work. From dealing with people who take everything personally to knowing when (and how) to step into tension, this Q&A brings together grounded self-awareness and practical strategies.
Drew shares tools to help you respond rather than react, find perspective through trusted others and create the conditions for honest communication - even when emotions run high. Together, Maryanne and Drew explore how we can move beyond "winning" or "losing" a disagreement and instead focus on understanding, choice and humanity.
If you want a calmer approach to conflict, this episode is your toolkit for doing just that - with clarity, care and confidence.
If you found this episode useful, please like, share and subscribe! Even better, why not write a short review to help us spread the word.
Thank you for listening.
Self-Care in Conflict: Tools to Help Manage Stress and Stay Calm
Navigating conflict can be emotionally draining—but it doesn’t have to come at the cost of your wellbeing. In this episode, Maryanne and Drew share three practical strategies to help you manage stress and stay grounded: Self-Monitoring, Having a Hill Road, and Finding a Trusted Other.
Through personal stories - from dog walks to cold showers - they explore how these tools can keep you calm, clear-headed, and connected to what matters most, even in challenging moments.
Tune in for tips to look after yourself and those around you throughout the conflict process.
We'd love to hear your thoughts on the topic and address any questions or comments you might have in a bonus episode. Get in touch via email: mj@maryannejohnston.co.uk
If you found this episode useful, please like, share and subscribe! Even better, why not write a short review to help us spread the word.
Thank you for listening.
Navigating Conflict: Avoidance or Management?
Is conflict something to fear - or an opportunity for growth? In Episode 2, Maryanne and Drew explore the difference between avoiding conflict and managing it effectively. They challenge common perceptions, showing how conflict, when approached with perspective and patience, can be a positive and empowering experience.
You’ll learn their adaptable 4-step toolkit to navigate emotive, high-stakes situations step by step, helping you move toward a satisfactory outcome for all - even when the stakes feel high.
Join the conversation and let me know if the toolkit works for you! Email your thoughts and questions to mj@maryannejohnston.co.uk
If you found this episode useful, please like, share and subscribe! Even better, why not write a short review to help us spread the word.
Thank you for listening.
How to Resolve Conflict: Understanding Personality Traits
Resolving conflict isn’t about finding the “right” answer - it’s about fostering understanding, ensuring everyone feels heard, and moving forward with mutual satisfaction and calm.
In this episode, Maryanne and Drew explore four key personality traits that can be used as tools to navigate conflict effectively.
You’ll discover how recognising these traits and adapting your approach can lead to meaningful resolution, no matter the type of conflict. And when resolution feels out of reach, they’ll share advice on when and how to seek support.
Tune in for practical insights that will help you tackle conflict with clarity and agility.
Find out more about Drew and his work here.
We'd love to read your comments and experiences or feature your questions in our bonus episode! Get in touch here.
If you found this episode useful, please like, share and subscribe! Even better, why not write a short review to help us spread the word.
Thank you for listening.
In this episode, we explore how a lack of self-trust, not just confidence, can contribute to stress and anxiety in various situations like job interviews, career changes, or returning to work after family leave.
We also touch on how menopause can affect self-trust with symptoms like brain fog and low mood.
Joining me is Antonia Siegel, a mindset and behavior change coach from Healthy Habits, to discuss strategies for rebuilding self-trust and thriving through life's challenges.
If you found this episode useful, please like, share and subscribe! Even better, why not write a short review to help us spread the word.
Thank you for listening.
In this episode, we get hands-on!
Antonia explains to us how breathwork can regulate the stress hormone and reduce stress levels.
She takes us through a powerful breathing technique that can help to control the stress we feel and get us into the right headspace before presenting.
If you found this episode useful, please like, share and subscribe! Even better, why not write a short review to help us spread the word.
Thank you for listening.
75% of the population fears public speaking. Avoiding it isn't always an option though and imagine the opportunities you could miss if you aren't able to fully engage!
We can take control and we always have a choice.
In this episode, Maryanne and Antonia discuss Imposter Syndrome and practical techniques to control your stress levels. They chat about their experiences and what works for them.
You can learn more about Antonia and her work here:
Healthy Habits
If you found this episode useful, please like, share and subscribe! Even better, why not write a short review to help us spread the word.
Thank you for listening.
If you're a company with Scottish connections, looking to scale up then you might want to listen to this podcast. Ken Whipp is the Programme Director of Scale Up Scotland. Their ambition is to support fellow entrepreneurs to build world class, scalable businesses by sharing experience, access and networks to drive dynamic growth.
Maryanne has delivered workshops with their cohorts and enjoyed asking Ken about how important being a good speaker is to leaders who are scaling their businesses.
Scale Up Scotland
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenwhipp/
The Hunter Foundation
If you found this episode useful, please like, share and subscribe! Even better, why not write a short review to help us spread the word.
Thank you for listening.
The World Health Organisation deems stress to be the health epidemic of the 21st Century.
In this episode, Antonia and Maryanne discuss what stress is, where it comes from and how it manifests itself within us.
If we can understand our stress response, we can find ways to manage it.
Healthy Habits
If you found this episode useful, please like, share and subscribe! Even better, why not write a short review to help us spread the word.
Thank you for listening.
Caroline Barelle is a force of nature.
She is also the CEO and Founder of Elasmogen, a biopharmaceutical company in Aberdeen, Scotland. Elasmogen is rapidly progressing a pipeline of next-generation, differentiated soloMER products for the treatment of solid tumour cancers and auto-immune inflammatory diseases.
She has won the Scottish Life Sciences Award for Rising Star – Extraordinary Talent, Entrepreneurial Scotland’s Summit Award for Academic Entrepreneur of the Year and Most Innovative Company at BioFit2018’s Start-up Slam.
Be prepared for entertaining stories of her experiences of presenting throughout her career to all sorts of audiences.
Elasmogen
https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-barelle-94631032/
Scotland's Life Sciences Awards
Entrepreneurial Scotland
BioFIT
If you found this episode useful, please like, share and subscribe! Even better, why not write a short review to help us spread the word.
Thank you for listening.
Converge has supported 600+ entrepreneurs, since it started in Scotland working with staff and students at universities.
300+ companies have been created, 1000+ high value jobs and £320m+ follow on funding has been raised.
I chatted with Claudia about some of the challenges founders have when taking to the stage for the first time to pitch their business to investors.
https://www.convergechallenge.com
https://www.novosound.net
https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-renouf-16b20086/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-barelle-94631032/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-reid-2b89ab203/?originalSubdomain=uk
https://mirna-diagnostics.com/en
https://www.linkedin.com/in/eve-hanks-703108199/
If you found this episode useful, please like, share and subscribe! Even better, why not write a short review to help us spread the word.
Thank you for listening.
I chatted with Hayley and Emma about the programme we delivered, the impact it's had on their speakers, as well as on the Marketing Team who support the speakers at these events.
As Head of EIE Programme Delivery & Investor Relations, Danny Helson has been involved in EIE since the start.
He shares some great stories about some of the 500+ companies who have been through the programme. $1.5bn investment has been raised so far, teams have grown, they have scaled internationally and some have successfully exited.
For more information on the events, accelerators, programmes & companies we mentioned during this episode, here are the relevant websites:
https://www.eie-invest.com/
https://www.ed.ac.uk/
https://guykawasaki.com/
https://www.fanduel.com/
https://www.currenthealth.com/
https://www.strath.ac.uk/
https://www.krotosaudio.com/
https://www.appointedd.com/
From being an Agile Speaker to a Conscious Speaker.... Ana Gallardo shares some thought provoking takeaways in this episode.
Ana is the Entrepreneurial Development Team Leader at Scottish Enterprise. Scottish Enterprise have organised and funded many programmes to help businesses and their people grow. Maryanne has delivered several of these programmes so we talk about the impact these programmes have had in giving business leaders confidence, helping them on their journey to raise millions in investment. We also discuss working with Ana and her team when they were establishing relationships, speaking at events and how she handled a very last minute speaker slot.
For more information on Scottish Enterprise, Informatics Ventures, Scottish Edge, RSE, Young Enterprise Scotland and Elevator, here are the relevant links:
https://www.scottish-enterprise.com/
https://www.informatics-ventures.com/
https://www.scottishedge.com/
https://rse.org.uk/
https://yes.org.uk/
https://www.elevatoruk.com/
In Episode 3 Maryanne chats with Ewan Anderson, Associate Marketing Director of Eden Scott.
Whilst Ewan's full time role is with Eden Scott, he is involved with several organisations including Snowsport Scotland and the Chartered Institute of Marketing. This means he is communicating with a diverse range of audiences, using different tools on a regular basis. Ewan describes the very personal journey he has been on in developing his communication skills throughout his career.
For more information on Eden Scott, TalentSpark, the Chartered Institute of Marketing and Snowsport Scotland, here are the relevant websites:
https://www.edenscott.com/
https://www.edenscott.com/talent-spark
https://regions.cim.co.uk/scotland/home
https://snowsportscotland.org/
In Episode 2 Maryanne chats with Barbara Mills, Deputy Programme Director of CivTech.
In just a few years, the CivTech Programme has grown from an interesting experimental idea delivering a handful of projects a year to a programme with over £40 million of Scottish Government funding behind it and a significant contributor to the Programme for Government National Strategy for Economy Transformation. Barbara's role has changed from developing their system and supporting individual projects to scaling their approach, building the team and systems they use - so that they can scale as a programme and deliver real impact. We chat about how her role has changed, how her presenting style has developed and discuss some great top tips.
For more information on CivTech please go to https://www.civtech.scot/
And for more information on the events, accelerators, programmes & companies we mentioned during this episode, here are the relevant websites:
https://forestryandland.gov.scot/
https://amiqus.co/
https://www.silvibio.com/
https://www.gov.scot/
https://ukcop26.org/
https://www.treegrowers.co.uk/
In this episode Maryanne chats with Callum Murray, CEO of Amiqus about his experiences of presenting - raising investment, building up an impressive client list, growing his team and presenting to the board.
For more information on the events, accelerators and programmes we mentioned during this episode, here are the relevant websites:
https://www.eie-invest.com/
https://www.scottishedge.com/
https://www.convergechallenge.com/
https://www.civtech.scot/
https://www.scottish-enterprise.com/
A video call is different in many ways to a face-to-face meeting. In the final episode of this mini-series, Maryanne and Colin discuss tactics to make your video call run more smoothly: how to run the call, maintain focus, manage the meeting and ensure everyone gets something out of it. They cover areas such as useful software tools, feedback signals, body language, following up and recording calls.
Online meetings can be intense and draining. In Episode 2, Maryanne and Colin give you tips to help run your online meeting to time whilst ensuring that you cover the necessary content. They talk about the etiquette of online calls and how it can differ from face-to-face meetings. Effective use of screen sharing and best practice use of your slide deck to impart information and retain focus in an online scenario is discussed.
Our first episode looks at the logistics of video conferencing. What is the best software to use? Are there any limitations? Should you consider specific equipment?
We deal with the practical aspects of setting up your meeting as well as how your image comes across on screen; are there any hacks to present yourself well?
In this final episode of season 2, Maryanne takes you through her 5 top tips for getting your Elevator Pitch right. She discusses the most common mistakes she comes across and how to avoid the pitfalls.
In Episode 3, Maryanne talks about how best to put your pitch together in order to make a positive impact on your audience.
Which elements should you include - or indeed leave out - so that your audience remembers who you are, what you do and that they want to follow up? How can you ensure that what you say is clear, concise and relatable without compromising your credibility? Do you need to consider a secondary audience? Can you use a memory aid and still deliver your pitch in a comfortable, conversational style?
Preparing your elevator pitch - where should you begin? In Episode 2, Maryanne guides you through the 6 elements of any good pitch. She shares golden nuggets on how to prepare well in order to pitch with clarity, relevance and agility whoever your audience might be.
In this first episode of Season 2, Maryanne discusses the high-stakes game of the Elevator Pitch: it's something we're all doing frequently but it can be hard to get it right.
Whether it's at a conference, an exhibition stand or a dinner party, we use the Elevator Pitch formally and informally so it's important to make it work for your audience and work for you.
How do we create a structure that is clear and creates impact for everyone? Is there a formula for getting it right?
In the final episode of the series, Maryanne addresses handling questions (Q&A): the area that often feels the most out of our control. She shares tips on planning the questions you would like to be asked and best practice in formulating your answers. You can turn Q&A into an opportunity to take control, demonstrate your credibility and ultimately be a more agile speaker.
'Death By PowerPoint'. We've all experienced it. In Episode 4, Maryanne talks about the rules of using visual aids. She discusses the pitfalls and suggests ways to use fewer VAs but make them work for you to support your message and control the attention of your audience.
In Episode 3, Maryanne addresses the science behind the art of speaking. She touches on common pitfalls and how to avoid them and explains how researching your audience, your competition and even your surroundings can empower you and ultimately make you a more agile speaker.
What is your 'model of excellence' and how can you achieve it?
In this episode, Maryanne discusses the elements you need to consider to ensure that your delivery is authentic and engaging.
What is the science behind pace? How can silence draw in your audience? How does adrenaline affect your delivery? How much eye contact should you use? How can you keep your audience on board?
Maryanne shares tips and techniques on how to stay in control and be yourself when the pressure is on.
Public speaking, presenting and pitching are usually considered stressful and uncomfortable situations whether you are presenting for the first time or have experience. There are so many unknowns… or are there?
Communication expert Maryanne Johnston believes that presenting confidently and naturally is a science that anyone can learn and indeed become agile with. She shares tips and techniques on how to remain in control and come across as relaxed and natural in what can be an unnatural situation.