Science, scepticism and public speaking | Simon Raybould

Are we living in a post-truth world?

Do facts even matter anymore?

In a world where people are so easily persuaded by emotions over facts, how can we turn the tide and make facts matter again?

I first heard my guest Simon Raybould speak at a PSA (Public Speaking Association) online conference.  I then heard him on another podcast challenging some of the conventional wisdom around storytelling, which was an interesting conversation for a podcast that is all about storytelling (Francisco Mahfuz's Story Powers podcast). That was when I knew he'd be a great guest on Speaking Influence and after listening, I am sure you'll agree.

In this show we got onto a lot of my favourite topics:

• Debunking learning myths
• Challenging conventional wisdom
• Why what you believe doesn't need to be true
• What to do when the facts don't do it
• The reasons we all must live with cognitive dissonance
• Why bullet points on PowerPoint don't work
• What not to do on a stage, ever

If you want to understand what Simon means when he talks about scars not scabs, you'll need to make sure you stay tuned to the end but since it's an interesting and fun conversation that I have been getting added value from just by editing it and re-listening, I'm pretty confident you too will enjoy the show.

To find out more about Simon, you can visit presentationgenius.info where you can sign up to Simon's almost weekly newsletter, check out his recent TEDx talk and find out more about how he helps non-speakers (ie. not professional speakers) to speak and present in public. You can also connect with Simon on LinkedIn. Simon's book is called Presentation Genius and is available in places where people sell books. His book recommendation for the show was A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin.

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