pablo-presentation-voice

name: pablo-presentation-voice description: Pablo presentation voice guide. Use for client-facing copy Pablo will say aloud, especially decks, proposals, talks, warm anecdote-first writing, humor, discomfort, and ENAC voice quality gates.

Pablo's Presentation Voice

This is NOT the company marketing voice. That's for brand content. This is how Pablo talks when he's in the room.

The Core Distinction

Voice DNA: From His Writing

1. Anecdote Before Argument

Pablo never opens with the point. He opens with a story. He wanders into it: on purpose. The detour is the trust-building.

Pattern:

Story with specific detail
→ "So what does this have to do with [X]?"
→ "I promise you. I'm getting there."
→ The actual point, now earned

2. Self-Deprecation as Disarmament

He names his own flaws before the audience can.

Examples from his writing:

• "I'm not the best JS developer"
• "I went to public school, so it's true that I'm a dumb dumb"
• "I suck at this too"
• "And I wasn't disappointed. I read what I expected to read"

On slides: this shows up as honesty about limits, not chest-beating. "We don't have all the answers. But we know which questions to ask."

3. Humor as Entry Point

Jokes are not decoration. They lower the room's defenses. The uncomfortable truth lands harder after a laugh.

Signature moves:

• Parentheticals for personality: "(Soapbox over)", "(sparingly)", "(like this)"
• Pop culture callbacks: The A-Team, 80s references, things people recognize
• Exaggeration for effect: "blah. Blah blah. Blah blah"
• Self-aware commentary on what he's doing: "I know, I know: I'm the buzzkill"

On slides: humor lives in the Hello slides and the closing. Not in the Unspoken Truths.

4. Direct Questions as Conversation

He doesn't deliver information. He invites people into a question.

Examples:

• "Does any of this sound familiar?"
• "How would you define a thriving organization?"
• "What if this isn't a services problem?"

On slides: the question IS the slide. One clear question. No answer on the same slide.

5. Specific Numbers as Anchors

He uses real statistics, not vague superlatives.

Examples from his writing:

• "84% of software projects are completed late and over budget"
• "87% of digital transformations fail"
• "$3 billion in revenue"
• "30 hours a year"
• "20 hours... 40 today"

On slides: If there's a stat, it's the entire body text. Not buried in a bullet.

6. Italics for Rhythm

He uses italics as voice marks: not for emphasis, for cadence.

Italics = a moment of honesty or self-awareness: "I promise you. I'm getting there." "There! I've said it in public." "Hey! I can be reflective too, ya know"

7. "I Know, But..." Structure

He acknowledges the obvious objection before the reader has it. Then he continues anyway.

Pattern: "I know. I know. [But here's why it matters anyway]."

On slides: this is the Unspoken Truth format. "Everyone knows X. Nobody says it."

Sentence Rhythm

Varies between:

• Short. Sharp. Done.
• Longer sentences that build a scene with enough detail to make the reader feel present, then break it.
• And sentences that start with "And" or "But." Because that's how people talk.

NOT:

• Three short sentences in a row (feels like marketing, not conversation)
• Corporate paragraph structures (topic sentence → evidence → conclusion)
• Anything that would fit in a Deloitte deck

What Pablo Doesn't Sound Like

Even though he's direct: he's not aggressive. Even though he's provocative: he's not hostile. Even though he's blunt: he's not cold.

Specifically avoid:

• "STOP doing X" (too aggressive)
• "You MUST" (preachy)
• Manufactured urgency ("NOW is the time to...")
• Performative provocation ("Here's the HARD TRUTH")
• Any word that sounds like it belongs in a HBR article abstract

Banned Language (Same as Company Voice)

leverage, synergy, best-in-class, solutions, stakeholder engagement,
circle back, move the needle, transformation journey, ideation session,
landscape, delve, realm, tapestry, unlock, empower,
Furthermore, Additionally, Moreover,
We believe..., Perhaps..., It could be argued...,
Potentially..., It's worth noting...

Never use em-dashes. Pablo does not write with em-dashes. Use a period, comma, colon, or parentheses instead. This applies everywhere: headlines, body, notes, captions.

Presentation-Specific Rules

Slides Pablo will present in the room have different requirements than marketing content:

1. The slide is a prompt, not a script. Pablo talks off the slide. Copy is the anchor, not the speech.
2. Short enough to read at a glance. Longer body text belongs in narrative.md, not on the slide.
3. Conversational headlines. "Everyone knew" not "Organizations face significant challenges."
4. The Unspoken Truth slides are the exception. These CAN be slightly longer: they're the moment the room goes quiet.
5. Hello slides sound like Pablo talking. First person. Specific. Warm.

Quality Tests for Pablo's Voice

Reference Phrases (Use Sparingly, When Earned)

From his actual writing:

• "I promise you. I'm getting there."
• "Does any of this sound familiar?"
• "I know. I know."
• "In my twenty-plus years..."
• "And here's the thing."
• "Everyone knew. They'd say it in hallways. But in the meetings where decisions got made? Silence."

The Golden Rule

Sound like Pablo talking. Not like ENAC publishing.

If you can't hear his voice reading it: rewrite it.