If you are looking for an expert on cyber security, Peter Zinn is the speaker for the job!  He is able to talk about cyber security to both technical and general audiences.

As a professional speaker, Peter also delivers great trainings on the art of making a speech! He as a long record as a speech coach for beginners. He was awarded nine times at the Dutch Speech Championship!

The Inspiring-Speaker Team interviewed the one person that makes cyber crime easy to understand. Discover the portrait of Peter Zinn through our exclusive interview:

• When I hear >Inspiration< I think…about stories. Stories show the human side of our complex and data driven world. We need that side. Data is worth nothing without interpretation, and that is exactly what stories do: they play with the facts in search of the meaning. And it’s this meaning, this deeper drive, that inspires me. I love hearing people’s personal journeys, their successes and struggles. I always try to incorporate stories in my own keynotes, as everybody can understand them and relate to them, and they bring the cyber world into a human focus

 

• When did you know becoming a speaker was your calling? I have played theater since a young age, and have been an improv’ player for 7 years. My first time as a speaker – as myself – felt uncomfortable and naked, but once I got over that I loved it. In 2009 I won the European speech championships and knew that I had found my calling.

• You made a change of careers going from the computer science world to law enforcement. Tell us more about it! – The change is a lot smaller than you might think, as I joined the high tech crime unit, which means a strong focus on everything binary.  I joined law enforcement after a bit of soul searching – I wanted a job where my knowledge and expertise could mean something for other people. It might as well have been creating improved algorithms for weather prediction, but I’m happy that it turned out the way it has.

 

• You have a passion for computer science and keynote speaking. You won the Dutch Speech Championships 9 times. How do you juggle with both? What is challenging about that? I have always had a technical and a social side. I can talk to technical people and understand what they are doing, and get excited about it. Then I’m able to translate what they say to the language of decision makers. Speaking is a skill everybody needs to hone – communication is the only way to bridge the gap between the myriad of specialism we have today. I don’t see these two parts of my life not as conflicting but as complementary. Of course, doing both sometimes I tend to get too busy.

 

• Do you have a personal motto? My current motto is: If you’re in control, you’re not going fast enough. Being comfortable and leaning back may feel nice for a little while, but you will miss the opportunities that matter.

 

• What is your greatest motivation in life? People and ideas. And if the two come together, magic can happen.

 

 

Wednesday Coffee Break with Peter

More about Peter Zinn

 

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