Interviews This Month's Episodes

Making National Security Meaningful with David Van Bennekum - 286

Mar 29, 2024

When I met David Van Bennekum on Linked In and he told me he’d written a self-help book on National Security, I thought ‘That’s a bit unusual, followed by blimey he’s got some guts … that’s a challenging topic’.

My curiosity was well and truly piqued though, so I had a look at his LinkedIn profile and saw that he was a former United States Marine Corps Infantry and Logistics Officer. He was a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan and he’d retired from active service as a Lieutenant Colonel.

Then I saw that besides that, he had a law degree and also a Masters in National Security Law from Georgetown University.

He obviously had the knowledge, but as I messaged him back to find out more, I’m not going to lie … based on previous conversations with some ‘experts’, I was fully expecting him to bore the pants off me!

But … the opposite happened. When he started sharing about it, he didn’t waffle on about facts and stats, no … he made me laugh and even better, gave me a light bulb moment about something truly important.

And that’s when I knew I had to get him on the show, because being able to make something complex, technical and difficult, engaging and relatable to an audience, is a key skill for writers and speakers.

If you want to get a different perspective on how to make your subject more entertaining, then sit back and listen ‘cause you’ll love this show.

What you’ll discover:

Why David decided to write the first self-help book on National Security
How he decided on the big idea of the book
Why people are sceptical about it and how he addresses that.
Why the six degrees of Kevin Bacon game is relevant to National Security
David’s definition of National Security and why he thinks it applies universally.
What he means by ‘true community’
How he approached making the topic entertaining and relatable, and why this was so critical.
Some examples of his approach in action.
Where speaking fits into the picture.

All things David:

https://store.bookbaby.com/book/searching-for-true-community

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dvanbennekum/

X: @dvanbennekum

Books & Resources*:

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Resources:

The Hookology Workshop - Making Sure Your Talk is Captivating From the Start

Grab Your From Blank Page to Stage Guide and Nail the Topic for a Client Winning Talk

Get a Powerful Talk Structure - Join the Masterclass

Want to get better at finding and sharing your stories then check out our FREE Five Day Snackable Story Challenge

Practice your speaking & test your content in a safe space in The Speaking Club ‘Live’ Membership