Meet The Coaches–Benjamin Apfelbaum

Benjamin Apfelbaum is a communications trainer and freelance creative from Berlin. From October 31, Benjamin will be passing on his extensive knowledge of presentation and storytelling as a coach in his two-day intensive course Story Meets Design at the think moto Academy. But we’d rather let the charismatic stage man introduce himself…

👋 Hi Benjamin, please describe yourself in no more than five hashtags.

enthusiasm #stories #ramp #energy

What inspires you? What drives you?

Inspiring people, myself included. That means discovering new things and also constantly rediscovering yourself, pushing and trying new things. And islands. Islands are the best.

Can you briefly tell us something about your career? How did you get to where you are today?

I started as a designer in 2000 and over the years I’ve taken on more and more conceptual and strategic issues. I have always enjoyed presenting in any form. In particular, I found pitches for clients terrific. Later, when I was responsible for larger and larger teams, I was incredibly happy when I could help and watch people grow. Almost two years ago, I decided to get my business trainer license and have been working as a freelance consultant and trainer ever since.

“After all, all theoretical knowledge doesn’t help you if you can’t apply it under time pressure.”

Benjamin Apfelbaum

What can people learn from your training?

In one sentence. You learn how to present better and have fun at the same time. A bit more: You learn what makes a good presentation – and how to get there. From understanding briefings, to developing ideas, to being convincing in front of an audience. What is incredibly important to me: Always based on understandable exercises and methods that can be used in day-to-day business. All theoretical knowledge is of no use if you can’t apply it under time pressure.

Can you give us a must-have tip or an absolute no-go for presentations in advance?

All right 😉 Must-have tip: If you don’t do dress rehearsals before presentations, you shouldn’t be surprised when things don’t work. Time pressure or not.
Absolute no-go: Mega-full PowerPoint slides and then reading everything off.

How did you hear about the think moto Academy? How did the collaboration come about?
I bought the first issue of Branded Interactions years ago and worked with it a lot – that’s how I heard about think moto. When I heard on LinkedIn that Marco and Katja had founded the Academy, I simply wrote to them. We met for a coffee, hit it off and now we’re working together.

If people want to know more about you, where is the best place to search?
Either on www.benjamin-apfelbaum.com. Alternatively, you can just meet me for a coffee 😉 .
You can also find out more about Benjamin’s course “Story Meets Design” at the think moto Academy.