Michael Philpott coaches people to speak and present. In this episode he works through how health and safety people can win over a room that has already decided what safety training is going to be like.
It starts with the preframe: what your host says about you before you open your mouth and the first words you choose yourself. Michael explains why "because I said so" lands with adults the same way it does with children, why he splits people up so they learn from someone they don't know and why he'd have you script a talk word for word before you cut it back to bullet points. We finish on the state of conferences in New Zealand and what speakers and organisers could do better.
What we cover in this episode
- Health and safety's public relations problem
- The preframe and how your host sets you up
- Two ways to open a session
- Reframing a reluctant audience
- Getting people talking to each other
- Why images beat dense slides
- It's always about the audience
- Scripting and how long good preparation takes
- What's wrong with conferences
Episode chapters
- 0:00 Catching up with Michael Philpott
- 2:02 Health and safety's PR problem
- 3:02 The preframe
- 7:16 Working with your host or MC
- 9:17 Two ways to open a session
- 12:23 Reframing
- 17:28 Because I said so
- 19:32 Getting people talking to each other
- 24:39 Framing leadership training
- 28:43 Splitting up the room
- 37:38 Hearing your own voice
- 41:45 Images and simple content
- 45:48 It's always about the audience
- 49:53 Story
- 54:58 The state of NZ conferences
- 58:02 Script every word
- 1:09:14 Workshops and wrap up
Connect with Michael Philpott
Follow Michael Philpott on LinkedIn.
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This episode sits in the Leading people and culture collection. Browse every episode or follow the show on Spotify so you don't miss the next one.
About the host
Matt Jones is the founder of Advanced Safety and a HASANZ-registered health and safety consultant. He's a Professional Member of NZISM, holds a Graduate Diploma in Occupational Safety and Health and founded the New Zealand Health and Safety Professionals community. His book is Raise the Standard: Why Good Organisations Go Blind and How Leaders Restore Visibility.
Guests share their own views and experience. This page is general information, not legal advice. Latest update: 13 November 2026
