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Miguel Ángel Ballesteros

Maker, using software to bring great ideas to life. Manager, empowering and developing people to achieve meaningful goals. Father, devoted to family. Lifelong learner, with a passion for generative AI.

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Game 12: Present and Defend

Game 12: Present and Defend

Objective: Simulate the pressure of a public presentation with hostile questions, training composure under fire.

Players and Roles

  • Role A (The Speaker): Presents an absurd topic (e.g., “Why ducks will rule the world”) in 1 minute.
  • Roles B, C… (The Hostile Audience): Make gestures of boredom, look at mobile, and throw trap questions.

Quick Set-up: Absurd Topics

The Speaker must defend one of these topics with total professional seriousness.

Absurd Thesis Key Argument (Example)
“Cats are alien spies” “Their purring is a data transmission frequency.”
“Pizza with pineapple is haute cuisine” “The acid-salty contrast is the gastronomic summit.”
“We must go back to writing in stone” “The cloud is insecure; granite is eternal.”
“Sleeping is a waste of time” “I propose micro-naps of 3 seconds every minute.”
“The Earth is flat, but only on Tuesdays” “It is a weekly quantum phenomenon that no one investigates.”
“Ban shoes” “Direct contact with the ground increases GDP.”

Mechanics

  1. The Speaker must stay upright, slow voice and gaze 60-70%.
  2. In the face of an interruption or face of disgust, the Speaker must:
    • Pause.
    • Look at the person.
    • Breathe.
    • Continue (or answer briefly if it is a question).
  3. Wins if they reach the end of the minute without accelerating speech or shrinking.

Debriefing (Closing questions)

  • What destabilizes you the most (mobile, yawn, question)?
  • How does the pause help you regain control?

Train this theory