PALA Investments and Their Journey to Better Communication 2021

Key take-aways

Pala Investments is a private investment firm that specializes in the mining and metals industry. The company was founded in 2007 and manages a portfolio of assets worth over $1.2 billion..
In 2017, Pala recognized the need to improve its communication skills, particularly in the areas of public speaking and presentation. The company understood that effective communication is critical to building trust and credibility with its partners and stakeholders. Moreover, Pala recognized that impactful presenting is not just about the content of the message but also the delivery and presentation of the message. As such, Pala decided to partner with Eric Molin of Impact Presenting, a public speaking consultancy practice based in Vienna, Austria, specializing in helping organizations improve their presentation skills. Based on the findings of the needs assessment, Impact Presenting developed a customized training plan that focused on improving Pala's public speaking and presentation skills. The program was tailored to Pala's specific needs and included modules on storytelling, body language, vocal delivery, slide design, and audience engagement. The training was executed with in-house workshops, private 1 on 1 training sessions on-site, 1 on 1 training sessions held virtually, and members of the management team attending our open-seminars in Zurich and Vienna One of the key challenges that participants faced was delivering complex financial information in a way that was more to the point for both internal and external stakeholders. Impact Presenting helped Pala overcome this challenge by introducing the concept of storytelling. They taught Pala's team how to use stories and anecdotes to make financial data more relatable and engaging. They also showed Pala's team how to structure their presentations in a way that made complex information easier to understand. Another challenge that Pala faced was engaging its audience during presentations. Pala's team was used to delivering technical presentations that were heavy on data and graphs - Eric helped the team overcome this challenge by teaching them how to use body language, questions, stories, and vocal delivery to create a more engaging and dynamic presentation. They also taught Pala's team how to involve their audience by polling their audience, inviting feedback, and encouraging participation. Impact Presenting's training program also focused on improving the team's slide design. They taught Pala's team how to create visually appealing slides that complemented their message and enhanced their presentation. They also showed the team how to avoid common design mistakes, such as overcrowding slides with too much information

Pala’s commitment to improving its communication skills paid off. The Impact Presenting training program had a significant impact on Pala’s team members, with many reporting feeling more confident and prepared to deliver effective presentations. Pala’s team members also received positive feedback from their audiences, with many noting that the presentations were engaging, informative, and easy to understand.

Pala’s journey to better communication is a testament to the importance of effective communication in business. As Pala discovered, effective communication is critical to building trust and credibility with stakeholders, particularly in the competitive world of investing. By partnering with Impact Presenting, P

Inspired by the group workshop, several Pala team members have been inspired to improve their communication skills.

John Nagulendran, 

Managing Partner 

“Eric’s programs have helped our organization immensely to identify and address challenges with respect to internal and external communications. In his workshops, he can uniquely not only connect on an individual level to each employee, but at the same time work to improve a collective team. We have seen the impact of his training on 1 to 1 communication between team members, internal meetings, and external presentations. Our sessions with Eric have made us individually more confident communicators, and together a better team.”

Testimonials of two employees

Martina Reber, 

Senior Associate Research 

“I always hated presenting in front of a group. As an introvert speaking up does not come naturally for me. However, after the training with Eric my presentations are more effective and have a clear structure. The call to action is a very powerful technique to ensure the audience knows what you need from them. Using hand gestures and moving in the room releases stress from me and makes it more enjoyable for my audience. Suddenly, my colleagues walk into my office to give me positive feedback on my presentations and tell me that I am a great storyteller. Most recently, I even held a keynote about my journey to presenting. Two years ago, I would have never thought that this is possible.”

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