Great Speaking Coach

Find Inspiration for Your CEO Speech

CEOs shoulder many burdens. One of the heaviest is the expectation that you are always "on your game" when you're in front of an audience. How do you stay inspired yourself so you can deliver an inspiring message to those who expect it?

Look around you at the news of the world. In tragedies and in triumphs there are stories of human nature that should spark your thinking. How do parents go out in front of their communities when they're overcome with grief? Thousands of activists will travel miles at their own expense to share their message. There are sports figures, and political leaders and business executives who face difficulties and turn them into opportunities.

I'm not recommending that you tell these stories, because they are not your own. I am recommending that you let your mind wander over your own life and you'll suddenly be reminded of a time when you experienced something similar and acted in an inspiring way. Think relevance rather than replication.

The three essential elements of a story are:

1. Crisis
2. Obstacles to overcoming the crisis
3. Resolution

When you remember your own stories, identify the three elements. Craft your story using dramatic language, short phrasing and the active voice. Then end the story with a quick lesson learned. Now you've found an inspiring story you can take to your audiences.

How do you find inspiration and incorporate it into your business speeches? Share your ideas through out comment link.

Three Steps to Create Speeches that Stick

I talk to business people everyday who tell me they can get up in front of an audience and give a speech without a problem. They are expressing self-confidence and a high comfort level, both of which I admire.

When I ask how their audiences respond to their presentations, they pause. They haven't really thought about audience response. They've never had an audience rise up against them. However they also haven't had audience members remember them for years, and testify that listening to a particular speech made a difference in their lives.

Making a difference in people's lives must be the goal of every person who speaks to any audience, no matter the size and no matter the topic. Is this a high bar? Yes, and deliberately so. How can a speaker not care about providing a benefit to the audience when the audience has made an investment of the most limited resource--TIME--to be there.

Being comfortable and confident is a great foundation. You must build on that foundation by crafting a presentation that has three sticky elements:

1. A strong and meaningful call-to-action. Answer the audience question "What do I do next?"
2. Two or three key points that drive to the call-to-action. Lead up to these key points with exceptional language, including stories, quotes, humor, references to popular culture, a few images, and lots of creativity.
3. Grab their attention with an opening that glues them to the edges of their chairs. You want the audience to be thinking immediately "wow, I'm already glad I'm here."

From your opening through your key points to your call-to-action close, the audience should be enthralled. Nothing less will do.

What content and delivery tactics work for you to meet this high standard? Post your ideas in our comment link.

Social Networking Ties to CEO Speaking Skills

Executives and leaders should take to heart a lesson learned from research about how to reduce smoking. What am I saying?

In Social Networks' Sway May be Underestimated, Washington Post reporter Rob Stein writes that the behavior of others, even those three degrees of separation away from an individual, has a powerful effect on smoking behavior. If someone is so strongly influenced in an area as difficult and personal as the decision to smoke or not, imagine how powerful the influence of your behavior is on your colleagues, managers and employees.

You're reading this because you have an interest inspirational and motivational business public speaking. I have long seen that when leaders change their public speaking/presentation behaviors, others in their organization become willing to change their own presentation behavior. When you, the CEO, stick to the "way I always do it" and believe that "good enough is good enough" you reinforce poor presentation skills all the way through your organization.

Jim Collins proved that "good is the enemy of great" and that applies in public speaking as well as other business areas.

As CEO you must continually improve your public speaking skills to become great. When you do so, your new dynamic and memorable speaking style will encourage others who are watching to fix their own behavior.

It's not optional. How you appear to your public, whether internal or external, affects your company's market value. Use the natural inclination of people to imitate successful behavior to improve the speaking habits of your company.

Public Speaking: Put the Right Expressions on Your Face

An executive asks: how can I be sure my facial expressions don't turn the audience off? I can't actually see my own facial expressions. I can see my gestures, feel my movement and hear my voice...

The Great Speaking Coach answer: Facial expressions totally reflect how you feel about your presentation--the topic, how you've crafted what you're going to say, and how comfortable you are saying it.

So the fix is easy. Make your speech a great one in all the ways that count and your facial expressions will warm the audience, communicate your passion and authenticity, and support your call-to-action.

Three steps will help you do this:

Only speak about topics you have passion about. You may have to dig deep to find a perspective that works for you, and if you can't find even that, say 'no' to the speech.

Craft the content so it is meaningful for you. You know how you think, how your brain works and what organization makes sense. If you're worried about remembering your content, your face will show that.

Practice and rehearse a lot. The goal is to 'install' the content in your head so that it comes to mind and mouth without a lot of thinking. This is not the same as memorizing. Once you have installed the content, you relax and have confidence. Your facial expression will reflect that, inspiring the audience to listen and respond to your call to action.

How have you handled requests for presentations about topics you're not passionate about? Share your thoughts through our comment link.

Public Speaking: Great Content, Great Impact

The speaker you just heard had great style and you laughed at his humor. Twenty minutes later, a colleague asks "What did you think?" and you suddenly realize that you can't remember any of the content. You think you enjoyed it, but you also think it was totally fluff. And that means it was a waste of your time.

As a leader with an appreciation for how time is money, you want to be sure that your audiences don't think listening to you is a waste of time. Then focus on your content first and don't be blindsided by the 7%/38%/55% "rule". Too many people who call themselves speaking coaches rely on this rule as a way to focus on delivery style and avoid the hard work of crafting great content.

The research that lead to this conclusion didn't end with the numbers. It goes on to say that the words or content count for only 7% of the message when the tone of voice and body language conflict with the content.

If you're telling your audience that the coming merger is going to be a piece of cake but you stand stiff and unsmiling and your voice is dull and boring, they won't believe you. That's how the tone of voice and body language overcome the importance of the words.

Craft your content first and spent more time on it than on anything else. Then work on your delivery style by allowing yourself to be natural, passionate and authentic. Polish off the rough edges only.

Share how audiences have responded to your great content through our comment link.

Leadership:Enhance Your Brand with Stories

You face a critical choice as you craft your business speech content: do I use facts and figures or should I deliver my unique stories? As an executive speaking coach, I always recommend the stories for these three reasons:

• Stories are unique (assuming they are your own stories, which they must be)
• Stories are efficient: a few well-crafted lines convey huge amounts of meaning and the key point in a way that facts, figures and logic-based reasoning cannot
• Stories are sticky--they enter the right brain where creativity thrives and then the meaning and the key points are transferred to the left brain to serve as long-term resources.

As you develop your personal leadership brand through what Susan Hodgkinson identifies as the fourth P of promotion, use your stories to help you. Let's say that you want to promote to your marketplace (your boss, your peers, your customers) that they can count on you for quality work delivered on time and on budget. Tell a story about how you have done this for another customer rather than just making the statement that you are committed to quality products delivered on time and on budget.

Your story consists of a 1) crisis (an emergency comes up that requires your product/service quickly). 2) There are obstacles (policies, lack of funds, lateness of the hour, whatever). 3) You overcome the obstacles by innovative approaches (all within the rules) and deliver to a happy customer who in turn makes their deadline and sings your praises to others.

What success stories have helped you promote your leadership brand? Post your thoughts on our comment link.

Leadership:Who Are You and Why Should I Care?

Leaders are often known in the sense that their names and positions or titles are known by their audiences. These are just facts about you however and it takes a lot more to help your audiences know you. You can achieve this feeling of "knowing you" through your public speaking.

Knowing a person means that others can attribute some values and personality qualities to you as in: "Margaret is honest in her deals, loyal to her employees and listens so attentively that she remembers details the speaker often forgets."

As you identify your call-to-action, three key points and attention-getting opening for your speech, incorporate a story or two that demonstrate your values and personality. It's not enough to state that you are loyal and honest--you must tell stories that demonstrate your loyalty and honesty from the perspective of the person or people who experienced it. This way the audience learns that others believe you are honest and loyal and they're motivated to believe it as well. They can then say "I know her" and believe it.

Persona is a word that is popping up on more business literature these days. David Meerman Scott used it in his book The New Rules of Marketing and PR as a way to help you think about your target markets. Susan Hodgkinson says that persona is the first P of personal leadership branding.

I understand persona as the collection of personality traits, including values and behaviors, that make each person unique and differentiated from others. Susan Hodgkinson says you are in control of your persona and your personal brand. I say, make it a great one, and let it shine through all your presentations.

What are your thoughts about 'persona'? Post your ideas in our comment link.

Public Speaking: Body Language Speaks Loudly

You're a public speaker even when you're not on a platform in front of an audience. When you're representing your company or your position, you're a public speaker. The good news about this is that you can gain the same advantages from one-on-one public speaking as you can from more formal presentations. The bad news is that you can lose a lot too.

I went into a book store to return a book. The manager of the store was leaning against the wall behind the cash register desk. He looked at me and asked what he could do to help me. So far, so good. When I told him I'd like to make a return, he apologetically told me that their computer system was down and I'd have to come back another day to return the book. His words were fine and his voice was fairly sincere. (I have to wonder if the company could really be without a computer system for a whole day but that's another matter.)

He never stood up and moved towards me--just carried on this whole conversation leaning back against the wall. Combined with a very casual dress appearance my impression of him is much more negative than it should be. Without the body language to go along with the words, the spoken message is lost.

You've heard that only 7% of the meaning of the message comes from the words. This is only true when the body language and tone of voice conflict with the words. Then the words diminish in meaning to nearly nothing.

When you're a public speaker in any setting, take care to match your body language and tone of voice to the content.

What dissonances have you experienced lately? Post your thoughts on our comment link.

Business Storytelling: Stories, Stickiness and Key Points

You've selected 2 or 3 story triggers from your lists of story ideas. Let's say that the key point you want to illuminate is about differentiating your company from the competition. This would be a great time to tell at story that transmits your company brand.

Your company brand is the promise you make to your customers. Promises include tangibles like high quality products, and intangibles such as feeling great (energy drinks), making friends (sharing food at a restaurant), elevating your status(luxury products).

You're the CEO speaking to an audience of senior directors. Your call-to-action at the end of your speech is to go back to their direct reports and work to achieve stretch revenue goals for the coming quarter.

One of your story triggers is about a time when you had to stand out from the crowd. The context of this could be personal or professional. Your story should include the decision to stand out, what obstacles you faced in achieving this goal and that you finally did by staying true to your brand or promise.

You were crystal clear about the brand promise, and then you evaluated your options based on whether they met or deviated from the promise. You selected only those that supported the brand. You went deep into what the brand promise really meant, identified the tangible and intangible elements of the promise and then pushed forward to reach the goal.

When you craft this story, put yourself back into the time and place to re-live it rather than reporting it in hindsight. You can tell a story with impact and 'stickiness' in only 5 or 6 simple well-crafted sentences.

Post descriptions about your own experiences telling stories though our comment link.

Business Storytelling: Using Your Story Lists

Never deviate from the number one rule for business stories--use your own stories! You must not repeat other people's stories, repeat stories you've seen floating around the internet, or make up stories. Your own real stories have inherent credibility in them and they are always unique because you and your experiences are one-of-a-kind.

You've got your 4 lists of story triggers. Now what?

Start the process of crafting your stories by answering these 3 questions:

1. What call-to-action do I often conclude my speeches with?
2. What 2 or 3 key points drive my presentation to the call-to-action?
3. Which of the 7 story types best makes my key point or points?

Examples:

For a key point about: overcoming obstacles ahead, use a springboard story or a story about collaboration.

For a key point about: what they can expect from you in your new leadership role, tell a story about who you are an an individual.

(For more examples of matching key points to story types see the continuation of this post.)

Now look at your 4 lists and pick 2 or 3 story triggers that pop out at you as being good matches to the types of stories you need for your key points.

Check back for the next post (or subscribe to this blog in the upper right corner) for your next steps to using stories in your business presentations.