Presentation is everything

Kansai Scene: Tell us about yourself and how you became a presentation coach.
Coach Kardan: I was born and raised in Iran. In 1980 our nation ended up in a violent conflict with Iraq, partly due to a string of bad decisions by our new leader. I remember watching his demeanour and thinking how it was overtly aggressive and lacked any elegance. After witnessing how disastrous poor presentation can be, I made a decision to become a master presenter and influence people to do great things; to create and not to destroy.

KS: How did you end up in Japan?
CK: Ever since watching the Japanese drama Oshin on television as a young boy, coming to Japan was one of the things on my list of 100 things I want to do, be & create in life. Oshin’s story inspired me to never give up trying and make something of my own life, despite the odds. I published a book in Japanese about my life experiences Jinsei wo kaeru – ketsudan no chikara and it became a best-seller. I hope to someday translate it to English for the foreign community.

KS: What is your business background and what does a presentation coach actually do?
CK: I am the CEO of Step Up Corporation, a corporate training company based in Minato-ku,Tokyo. Our expertise is in helping corporations achieve better sales and productivity by introducing our three major programs: Leadership Presentation, Productivity for Managers, and Sales Presentation. The core of all of our programs is about “influence’’ – how to empower people to take action and achieve their goals. We then tailor this core message to work differently for leaders, managers and the sales team.

KS: Who are some examples of your clients and how have you helped them?
CK: I work with people from all walks of life: business owners, to professional performers, to large corporations. One of my clients is a 22-year-old university student who is entering a Tokyo speech contest. The prize for the the winner is 20 million yen ($200,000 USD) which can be life changing for him. I am excited to help him achieve his goal and his dream to build his own business in the future.

KS: Can other, smaller businesses also benefit from presentation training – restaurateurs for example?
CK: Of course. This is a skill that all businesses need regardless of the size. If you look at the most valuable companies in the world like Apple, you can see that former leader Steve Jobs did an outstanding job of representing his company and his brand. The same is true for any business, no matter the size. In a restaurant, for example, customers probably won’t return if waitstaff don’t know how to communicate with them, regardless of how tasty the food is. But if you put the right food and the right team together to provide quality service, you won’t believe what will happen to the business.

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Coach Kardan is staging a presentation coaching seminar in Kansai this Spring: Three Steps to Mastering Presentation. Learn world-class presentation techniques that can change the direction of your business and life. Date: Apr 9 (Wed) • Time: 1–3pm (in English) 7–9pm (in Japanese) Venue: Osaka • Tickets: ¥8,000 at the door, ¥5,000 early bird (with a 100% money back guarantee) Register here at: www.kardan.jp/0409 For more questions: info@kardan.jp (English or Japanese)[/box]