It starts the way it always does. A hum of anticipation in the conference ballroom. A speaker is introduced — her biography heavy with global stages, big names, and bold claims. She takes the stage to applause, glides effortlessly into her message, and leaves the audience laughing, nodding, and, most importantly, remembering.
It looks effortless. But Sarah Bauling, the South African-born founder of Power on the Platform, wants you to know: it’s not. What looks like ease is the result of structure. Systems. Process.
“I’ve seen people crash on stage, not because they lacked talent,” she says, “but because they didn’t have a plan.”
Bauling has built a career helping professionals — from sales executives to startup founders — translate their thoughts into compelling, purposeful presentations. Her thesis is simple: public speaking is not an innate gift. It’s a skill. And like any skill worth mastering, it requires a system.
A Childhood of Observation, A Career of Precision
Raised in a family business in South Africa, Bauling first honed her speaking skills by necessity. Her father ran a thriving tourism company, and he needed his sales team to present more convincingly. When he asked Sarah to lead the effort, she hesitated.
“I thought, this is different,” she recalls. “Sales presentations aren’t keynote speeches. But my dad believed I could make it work. He believed in the psychology behind speaking. He saw what I hadn’t yet seen — that good speaking is good business.”
Her first protégé was a soft-spoken young woman named Michelle, whose fear of public speaking mirrored that of many professionals: dry mouth, blank mind, trembling voice. With Sarah’s guidance, Michelle transformed — delivering confident, polished presentations that eventually landed her a senior role in tourism far beyond what she thought possible.
That experience would plant the seed for Power on the Platform, Bauling’s training and public speaking business. Today, she’s delivered hundreds of presentations across Africa, Australia, and Asia, working with everyone from corporate teams to BNI members and small business owners. Her programs are known not for slick theatrics — but for solid, repeatable structure.
“We Don’t Rise to the Occasion. We Fall Back on Our Systems.”
Bauling’s signature training is built on what she calls “The Puzzle”: the presenter, the presentation, and the audience. But it’s the supporting pieces — the processes behind the scenes — that transform a presentation from adequate to unforgettable.
Her first rule? Begin with clarity.
“A presentation without purpose is just noise.”
To bring focus to the task, Bauling teaches the “5 W’s”:
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Who are you speaking to – clients, prospects, or team members?
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What is the presentation about – sales, updates, motivation?
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Where is the setting – boardroom, webinar, stage?
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When is it taking place – and are you ready for it now?
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Why are you doing it – what change do you want to create?
“When people skip this step,” she explains, “they default to repeating the same talk over and over, with the same results. It’s lazy, and it’s ineffective.”
The “5 P’s” of Professional Preparation
What follows is the kind of pre-presentation checklist you might expect from a military general—not a speaker. And yet, it works. Every. Single. Time.
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People – Know your audience intimately.
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Purpose – Are you there to inform, inspire, entertain, or persuade?
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Product – What is the one message or offer you’re highlighting?
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Period – Respect the time you’ve been given.
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Platform – Tailor your delivery for the stage, screen, or hybrid.
This structure, Bauling insists, is not optional.
“It’s not just about showing up and hoping for the best,” she says. “You need to show up with the right message, for the right audience, in the right way.”
Why Structure Is a Speaker’s Best Friend
The public speaking frameworks Bauling teaches aren’t just for keynote speakers or TED Talk hopefuls. They’re equally useful in the hands of salespeople, managers, consultants, and entrepreneurs. At the heart of her approach is the CRAFT method — a framework for building the body of a talk:
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Connect with your audience’s pain or aspiration.
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Reveal your core message or insight.
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Anchor that insight with stories, analogies, or activities.
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Frame the learning with reflection questions.
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Takeaway one big idea or action step.
Her advice is as pragmatic as it is poetic: use rhetorical questions. Cite data. Tell stories. Don’t speak in generalities. Deliver your message like a structured argument, not a stream-of-consciousness diary entry.
“You can’t lead people somewhere if you haven’t mapped the route,” Bauling says. “And that’s what systems do — they create a reliable route to results.”
Dismantling the Fear
Even with structure, many professionals dread public speaking. Bauling doesn’t diminish those fears — she dissects them.
“Nerves are biological,” she explains. “Thousands of years ago, when we stood in front of a group, it usually meant danger. That hasn’t left our nervous system.”
She offers five ways to shift from panic to presence:
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Normalize it – Nerves mean you care. That’s a good thing.
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Ground yourself – Breathe. Stand strong. Let your body feel safe.
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Focus on the audience – “This isn’t about you,” Bauling says. “It’s about service.”
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Start strong – A well-rehearsed opening builds momentum.
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Smile – “It disarms the audience and reminds your brain you’re okay.”
It’s not about chasing perfection, Bauling insists. It’s about showing up authentically — and prepared.
Public Speaking as a Tool for Change
Ultimately, Bauling’s message isn’t about becoming famous, going viral, or dazzling an auditorium of strangers. It’s about using your voice to drive change — in your career, your team, your community.
“You don’t need to be a TED speaker,” she says. “You just need to be heard. And for people to hear you, you have to speak with structure, purpose, and presence.”
It’s a philosophy that resonates in an age where attention is fragmented and communication often feels performative. In a world of noise, structure is clarity. And clarity is power.
The System Works — Because People Do
As her presentation comes to a close, Bauling circles back to where she began. She tells the story of the day she said “yes” at the back of a South African conference room, credit card in hand, determined to learn from the best. She recalls the mentor who took her under his wing, the nervous saleswoman who became a confident speaker, the father who believed in her before she believed in herself.
It is not a story of overnight success. It is a story of process. Of systems. Of structure.
“The structure is what allows the message to land,” she says. “It gives you the freedom to be present. And when you’re present, you’re powerful.”
What This Means for Your Business
At Way We Do, we often say, “Systems aren’t just for operations — they’re for outcomes.” The same applies to public speaking. Just as SOPs empower your team to deliver consistently, structured presentation systems help you connect, convert, and inspire—without the panic.
Because when you apply systems to speaking, you’re not just presenting. You’re leading.
Ready to put process behind your presence?
Whether it’s preparing team presentations, client pitches, or leadership keynotes — don’t leave it to chance. Document your public speaking system inside Way We Do and make confidence repeatable.
