Helping discussion leaders adapt when the conversation changes.

The challenge

Preparing a team for uncertainty.

For Tiffany Malmquist, Program Manager, EMEA Discussion Leader Bureau at Dell, preparing discussion leaders means preparing them for uncertainty. They need to communicate a clear message, respond to customer interests, and make good use of the time available—even when the session unfolds differently from the plan.

“In an Executive Briefing, you never know for certain what the customer wants to hear or how much time you will have on the agenda until it happens.”

Tiffany attended both the London and Paris Conversational Mastery workshops. The challenge she described was central to the work: helping discussion leaders stay flexible while keeping the customer’s interests at the forefront.

A new approach

A clear message creates room to adapt.

A key idea in the workshops was identifying a “north star” message: what the discussion leader most wants the customer to understand. That clarity gives the speaker a foundation for adapting the length and depth of the session.

“If you know your north star message, you can deliver it in 10 minutes or deepen the conversation to 45 minutes.”

The preparation still matters. Instead of planning to fill the available time with slides, discussion leaders use questions to understand what the customer wants to explore, then draw on the relevant content.

For Tiffany, this represented a shift from familiar presentation habits.

“I think this goes against how we’re traditionally taught to present, so it was a new way of thinking.”

Putting it into practice

Working with content the team already knew.

To connect the approach to the team’s everyday work, Spencer used a presentation Dell’s discussion leaders regularly deliver. He showed how familiar material could become the basis for a conversation shaped by the customer, the session’s objectives, and the time available.

The team could see how the approach applied to content they already knew—and how preparation could support flexibility.

Taking it forward

A skill that matters in every briefing.

Tiffany’s perspective brings the story back to the responsibility other EBC managers share: equipping discussion leaders to respond effectively in the moment.

“Flexing on demand is one of the most important skills for a Discussion Leader in the EBC and conversational presenting can help with this.”Tiffany Malmquist · Dell Technologies

For briefing programs facing the same challenge, Conversational Mastery offers a practical focus: know the message, ask purposeful questions, and build the conversation around what matters to the customer.