It´s not magic. It´s work. John Chambers is today one of the most prolific, compelling and charismatic speakers on business stage, well known for connecting emotionally with employees, customers and investors. His speeches, body language, stamina and visual content have become a benchmark in communication and presentation skills not only at Cisco, but on corporate stages worldwide. How does he do it ?

1. JOHN CHAMBERS
CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF CISCO
COMMUNICATION
TAKEAWAYS
FROM LEADERS
Curly Films Storytelling Office

2. IT´S NOT MAGIC.
IT´S WORK.
John Chambers has been the Executive CEO of Cisco for the last
20 years. When John joined the company, Cisco was making $ 70
million in sales. Today, sales are about $ 48 billion.
GREAT SPEAKERS
MAKE BETTER LEADERS.
John Chambers is today one of the most prolific, compelling
and charismatic speakers on business stage, well known
for connecting emotionally with employees, customers and
investors.
His speeches, body language, stamina and visual content have
become a benchmark in communication and presentation skills
not only at Cisco, but on corporate stages worldwide.
How does he do it ?

3. TACKLE
PERSONAL
CHALLENGES
Even right now, when I
talk about dyslexia, my
hands sweat.
1

4. LEARNING DISABILITIES
STAY WITH YOU THROUGHOUT YOUR ENTIRE LIFE.
John was a good student, but struggled in language, partly because he suffered from dyslexia. Initially as a marketing manager at IBM
and 10 years later as the President and CEO of Cisco, he developed a Spartan work ethic, focusing extra hard on his communication
skills and becoming obsessed with the idea of shaping himself into a pristine communicator. His disability forced him to prepare his
presentations more thoroughly than most speakers - and the result is a captivating, proactive and accessible leader.
WITH DYSLEXIA, YOU CALL PEOPLE THE WRONG NAME, YOU GET YOUR NUMBERS MIXED UP.

5. TELL A
RELATABLE
STORY
What gets companies in
trouble is to be too far
away from customers.
2

6. Customer-centric stories enhance the leader´s
communication and shape the vision your company wants
to convey. The story is what people want. Don´t let
PowerPoint kill visual poetry.
HAVE A STORY
TO TELL
BE A STORYTELLER,
NOT A POWERPOINT JOCKEY.

7. DEVELOP A
PERSONAL
STYLE
Don´t try to be someone
you´re not.
3

8. AUTHENTICITY
DEMANDS PREPARATION.
Embrace your personal style, own your quirks
andtwistsanddevelopyourpresentationskills
to your best potential .
Logical speakers communicate with data. Visual
speakers spark strong imagery. Interpersonal
communicators make each member of the audience feel
as if they´re having a direct conversation with them.

9. We care so much about how well we serve
our customers that we’re holding executives
accountable for how well they perform in front
of customers.
LEADERS AT CISCO
MUST BE
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATORS
Every Cisco executive who presents to a
customer gets rated from 1 to 5 on 2 items:
CONTENT - my audience understands how this solution
can be applied to their business
DELIVERY - the presentation was delivered
clearly and effectively

10. THE MOST IMPORTANT
THING
I´VE LEARNED IS THAT
EVERYONE HAS
AN INDIVIDUAL
COMMUNICATION
STYLE.

11. BECOME
THE AUTHOR
OF THE FUTURE
Make the change before
it´s obvious to others.
4

12. THINK EXPONENTIALLY,
NOT LINEARLY.The best leaders aren´t afraid to be bold. They paint a vision
to where their industry is going. They embrace the adventure
and choose the right casting to endure the journey, even when
success is not a given.

13. YOU´VE GOT TO BE ABLE
TO SEE AROUND CORNERS,
BUT YOU ALSO HAVE TO
SEE WHEN THERE´S AN
INFLECTION POINT THAT
WILL COMPLETELY THAT
TRANSFORM
EVERYTHING.

14. Cisco sells hardware that we cannot see .
Routers and switches that link networks
and direct traffic over the Internet.
But John Chambers sells a better world,
where the Internet improves the way we live.
SHOW,
DON´T TELL .
THE INTERNET OF EVERYTHING
WILL CHANGE THE WAY WE WORK, LIVE, LEARN AND PLAY.

15. I don´t go down the path of routers and switches.
It´s all about job creation, inclusion , a new generation
of education and health care.
SELL THE DREAM

16. DISRUPT OR BE DISRUPTED.
Just because you won the last information age, it doesn´t
mean you´ll win on this one.
Radical changes and moments of disruption can be scary and often
uncomfortable. But when you get out of your comfort zone and tackle
new opportunities and identify the market gaps that you can fill, you often
succeed. - John Chambers

17. SET THE
BENCHMARK
FOR QUALITY
5
Tell me 3 things Cisco
could be doing better.

18. CONNECTION IS WHAT PEOPLE WANT. SIMPLIFY.
DON´T LET POWERPOINT OVERWHELM YOUR STORY.

19. STORYTELLING
FOR LEADERS
Cisco´s case study is part of our custom executive education in Storytelling and Business Narrative
Curly Films Storytelling Office
Curly Films Storytelling Office www.curlyfilms.com
story training business communication presentation design digital stories
More information at curlyfilms.com

20. WE ARE A STORYTELLING OFFICE
We love our job and we love to work with clients who
challenge us to tell amazing stories.
COMMUNICATION
TAKEAWAYS
FROM LEADERS
story training business communication presentation design digital stories
hello@curlyfilms.com
curlyfilms.com