{"id":3971,"date":"2022-11-14T13:19:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-14T12:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stretch-coaching.com\/?p=3971"},"modified":"2024-07-23T10:52:39","modified_gmt":"2024-07-23T08:52:39","slug":"the-language-of-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stretch-coaching.com\/en\/2022\/11\/14\/the-language-of-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"The language of leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"
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My Corporate Survival Hacks series draws on experiences of working in local, regional and global life-science communications to offer some little tips for enjoying a big business career. This post looks at the amazing ability of some leaders to inspire and ignite action through their speeches, while others seem unable to mobilise despite a perfect script.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Speaking at a digital health conference in Italy recently, I was pleased that audience members commented after the session that the panel had been perceived as openly sharing tangible, honest perspectives \u201cwithout the usual industry fluff\u201d often associated with company representatives, as one participant put it.<\/p>\n

The feedback prompted me to reflect: why is it that some speakers are able to \u2018touch\u2019 people, igniting true listening and action, while others seem to fail at engaging listeners no matter how hard they try?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s in the delivery<\/strong><\/p>\n

Preparation is key in delivering an impactful speech, presentation, or interview. However, in my observation, the difference between delivering high- versus low-impact talks rarely lies in the mere accumulation of interesting data or other content. It\u2019s in the delivery.<\/p>\n

Before any audience will embrace your expertise and the facts you\u2019re sharing, they\u2019ll want to connect with you. Before they can trust your data, they need to be able to trust you, find you credible and likeable. Without exception, no compelling speaker I ever experienced cut straight to their topic of the day. Instead, they always establish an emotional connection with the audience first, to create a basis for an amazing talk.<\/p>\n

How leaders speak<\/strong><\/p>\n

Studying closely outstanding leaders who were also compelling public speakers, I noticed two things they had in common: an instinctive ability to, first, create a strong emotional bond with their audience, before then remaining authentic, personable, and occasionally vulnerable throughout the talk.<\/p>\n

One of the most impressive speakers I worked with would always start from a place he knew the audience would be passionate about, before bridging to the formal topic of the day. It went like this: \u201cDid anyone watch the Bruins\u2019 game last night..? Oh my God did they give the Maple Leafs a good thrashing. What did you think..? You know, as I was sitting there in my hotel room with a pizza and beer, watching the match, I thought what outstanding leadership by the Bruins coach when he\u2026\u201d<\/i> And off he would go into a talk about leadership, culture, the importance of collaboration, and showing up as one team to achieve outstanding results.<\/p>\n

That simple. That effective. By connecting with people\u2019s known passion for the local hockey team, using plain language, and sounding like one of them eating pizza and drinking beer, this leader had most listeners in the room instantly hooked, liking and trusting him. He\u2019d shown he cared about what\u2019s important to them, therefore, they cared about what else he was going to share.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be a talking head<\/strong><\/p>\n

The best speakers don\u2019t bend over backwards to sound polished, slick, and flawless \u2013 who really is? They permit themselves to be vulnerable and human. They go off script occasionally. They seek and react to audience input. They don\u2019t sound like scripted talking heads, but like real people having a real conversation with a real person or larger audience.<\/p>\n

They speak plain, active language using verbs and accessible phrases, rather than stale nouns and complicated jargon \u2013 making it fun and interesting to listen to. They form simple sentences that you can follow, rather than complex, lengthy constructs that are hard to remember.<\/p>\n

Work the audience<\/strong><\/p>\n

Their gestures are natural and fit their personality. They look at individuals in the audience, not over their heads or down at a teleprompter; they usually pick someone, look at and speak to that person for a few seconds, then move focus to the next individual. Over time, this makes the audience feel the speaker has interacted with each of them personally.<\/p>\n

When they have a conversation with you one-on-one, they look you straight in the eyes, with genuine interest. They make you feel no other person on the planet is more important to them just now.<\/p>\n

One senior global business leader, at the end of an intense media programme we hosted for him at the company\u2019s largest R&D facility, thanked me for the hard work. When I pointed to my assistant who\u2019d relentlessly worked on most of the project\u2019s details, he went straight over to her, shook her hand with serious demeanour and repeated his sincere thanks. His simple, heartfelt attention in one short moment gained not just our full attention and future support, but lasting loyalty that\u2019s hard to achieve through other means or actions. Plus, years later, he successfully hired me over to another company, based on my genuine trust and respect, as well as a curiosity to continue to learn from this leader\u2019s great example.<\/p>\n

Speak like a real person<\/strong><\/p>\n

Throughout my career, I also had ample opportunity to observe trained-up speakers stoically following script. Don\u2019t get me wrong, these are usually extremely smart and accomplished leaders, too. And sticking to script is not necessarily a bad idea.<\/p>\n

However, those leaders I\u2019m thinking of seem to lack a knack for communicating in real-speak, on eye-level. You hear scripted, memorised, written messages that sound fabricated when someone actually says them out loud. A moment later, you\u2019ve often forgotten these, as they don\u2019t speak to you. They don\u2019t stick.<\/p>\n

A good written text does not equal a compelling speech. In text, writers tend to carefully weigh every word, avoid duplications, remain totally factual, build accurate sentences, and use correct tenses, technical jargon, complex expressions, and watertight definitions. All of these we typically avoid in a conversation with the neighbour over the fence. If you wish for an audience to remember \u2013 and to act upon \u2013 your presentation, why use language you\u2019d never use in real life?<\/p>\n

Or which of these statements will you remember better?<\/p>\n

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  1. \u201cThe Holland Tunnel connects Manhattan to New Jersey. I recently decided to traverse it.\u201d<\/i><\/li>\n
  2. \u201cI drove to Manhattan through that long, eerie tunnel\u2026 What\u2019s the name..? Ah yes, the Holland Tunnel.\u201d<\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Don\u2019t be perfect<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u2018Perfect\u2019 communication is an empty shell. What makes us trust others are empathy, emotions, authenticity, integrity. In the absence of that, people may sense, often subconsciously, that you\u2019re hiding something, trying to sell them something they don\u2019t want, or otherwise manipulating them.<\/p>\n

    This also goes for the visuals and illustrations used in talks or presentations. Perfected photos and videos may work in advertising, and sales pitches where customers \u2018wish\u2019 to be convinced of the flawless product or service they\u2019re about to purchase. However, perfect images typically don\u2019t resonate too well with ordinary people. To create trust, interest, followership, and action, then consider showing real-world scenarios, diversity, and emotions. Be real, not perfect.<\/p>\n

    Without the ability to foster trust, organisational leaders won\u2019t be able to establish lasting credibility and loyalty. Their leadership over people will only work for a limited time. After a while, a disenchanted workforce, as well as external stakeholders, will stop listening and following.<\/p>\n

    Or would you be inspired by someone who keeps serving up factually accurate, yet unmemorable speeches? Someone who keeps demonstrating how much they know, but never shows how much they care?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Impactful speaking tips<\/span><\/h4>\n
      \n
    • \n
        \n
      • Create an emotional connection with the audience<\/li>\n
      • Show that you care about what\u2019s important to them<\/li>\n
      • Remain authentic and personable<\/li>\n
      • Permit yourself to be vulnerable and human<\/li>\n
      • It\u2019s okay to go off script occasionally<\/li>\n
      • Seek and react to audience input<\/li>\n
      • Have a real conversation, don\u2019t sound like a scripted talking head<\/li>\n
      • Speak plain, active language, using verbs and accessible phrases<\/li>\n
      • Avoid complicated jargon<\/li>\n
      • Form simple sentences, rather than complex, lengthy constructs<\/li>\n
      • Look individuals in the eyes, not over their heads or down at a teleprompter<\/li>\n
      • Be real, not perfect<\/li>\n
      • Use language you\u2019d also use in real life<\/li>\n
      • Underpin your talk with real-world images, show diversity and emotions<\/li>\n
      • Show how much you care before showing how much you know<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Why can some leaders inspire people and ignite action through their speeches, while others seem unable to mobilise despite a perfect script? Read about how to deliver a high vs low-impact talk, presentation or interview.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"0","ocean_second_sidebar":"0","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"0","ocean_custom_header_template":"0","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"0","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"off","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-allgemein","entry","has-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stretch-coaching.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stretch-coaching.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stretch-coaching.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stretch-coaching.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stretch-coaching.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3971"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.stretch-coaching.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3971\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6208,"href":"https:\/\/www.stretch-coaching.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3971\/revisions\/6208"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stretch-coaching.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stretch-coaching.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stretch-coaching.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stretch-coaching.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}