Presentation Persona Spotlight: Saul Goodman

Since AMC’s Breaking Bad went off the air, there’s a new anti-hero that everyone is rooting for: Saul Goodman. The beloved crooked lawyer from the series is now at the center of his own story on Better Call Saul. In this scene below, we see Saul (known during this time by his real name, Jimmy McGill) pulling out all his tricks to influence a client.

Saul is cunning, confident, and passionate. These are qualities of a strong presenter.

Based on our Badge assessment, I would score Saul as an Activator. Based on this scene, Saul scores high in two of the four quadrants which include Exploration, Sharing, Response, and Durability.

Presentation Persona Spotlight: Saul Goodman

Here’s my break down:

This is a low score for Saul because of his tendency to act on his emotions and not prepare his statements. Saul puts too much on his personality and ability to work in white lies to resolve situations, instead of taking any responsibility. We see in this see that his tricks are not working on the Air Force captain, and Saul becomes vulnerable. As a presenter, with more research and preparation Saul could have come up with a more professional way to get his point across.

A high score for Saul. The Sharing quadrant is where the Activator shines because of their charismatic personality. Charisma is one good way to describe Saul, but he is also filled with ulterior motives. Saul is a natural at talking his way out of a crisis, and manipulating others to join his side. Does it make him a good person? Not all the time, but it is his strongest talent.

Generally, the Activator scores high in this quadrant. But for Saul, it’s hit or miss. For the most part, Saul’s clients like him because he is helping them get back their money. But he definitely has his enemies, like the Air Force captain seen in the clip, and his older brother who is constantly trying to sabotage him. So, I would say that Saul falls in a halfway range for the Response quadrant.

This is a low scoring quadrant for the Activator, that stems from their low Exploration score. If Saul put more thought into his words and actions, maybe he could craft a stronger message to stand the test of time. And maybe it would fix his sour relationships.

Saul Goodman is a methodical, sly and charming lawyer, and that makes him an ambitious Activator.

Find out your presentation persona with our Badge assessment.

More from the Ethos3 Blog:

Presentation Tips from Breaking Bad

All Hail the Unexpected: Storytelling Tips from Breaking Bad

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