Eight Secrets of Successful CEOs and Leaders Who Speak Well.......
“To speak, and to speak well, are two things. A fool may talk, but a wise man speaks.”
(Ben Jonson, British Poet and Dramatist)
“To speak, and to speak well, are two things. A fool may talk, but a wise man speaks.”
(Ben Jonson, British Poet and Dramatist)
When it comes to public speaking, speakers must technically speak well, but they must also have substance. They must look and sound like leaders—especially if they’re CEOs and executives.
Your first focus must be content. Technical skill alone is not enough. Your first concern should be what you say and then how you can make it clear and compelling. The leaders cited in this September Dish provide some guidance on powerful messages. Message is the foundation. Without that,
you’re just a speaker, not a leader.
Secret 1: Talk About Big Ideas
“He can compress the most words into the smallest ideas of any man I ever met.”
—Abraham Lincoln, 16th U.S. President
Every speech, presentation, or other communication needs one big idea. A big idea is all that most people can remember. A big idea has a life of its own. And it doesn’t require a big speech. It’s big because of its power, not its length.
No one likes long speeches. Personally, I never like it when I’m asked to give a forty-five-minute keynote—it’s too long! Short speeches, big ideas—that’s the secret. Another example of a big idea is President
Kennedy’s 1961 speech that inspired the United States to put a man on
the moon. At the time, the country had fallen behind the Soviet Union
in the space race and had made only a few successful manned flights.
Kennedy said we would go to the moon, and we did—we landed before
the decade was out. We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in
this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy,
but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize
and measure the best of our energies and skills, because
that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are
unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the
others, too.
Secret 2: Speak in the Moment.
No one likes a canned speech. Canned speeches turn people off. You
must talk to people about what is happening in the moment. “If you think
about the usual setting,” said one CEO, “you have an audience sitting
there saying, ‘Who is this person and why is he talking?’ That’s not a great
18 • Speak like a CEO
setting to start with. It appears somewhat adversarial.” Your message must
be about them and about what’s happening in the moment in order to
win over an audience that isn’t sure it even wants to listen.
Secret 3: Keep It Simple
One problem with many speeches is that they try to do too much. Your
message must be simple and straightforward to be remembered.
Roger Marino, founder of the high-tech giant EMC, grew up in a
working-class neighborhood on Boston’s north shore and got his electrical
engineering degree from a co-op school, Northeastern University. Yet,
Marino was a salesman at heart. EMC sold one of the least sexy products
or services you can imagine—storage systems for computer information—
but he and his two partners built a company that went on to dominate
the industry.
to be continued......
I love you all, enjoy your dish....
Your first focus must be content. Technical skill alone is not enough. Your first concern should be what you say and then how you can make it clear and compelling. The leaders cited in this September Dish provide some guidance on powerful messages. Message is the foundation. Without that,
you’re just a speaker, not a leader.
Secret 1: Talk About Big Ideas
“He can compress the most words into the smallest ideas of any man I ever met.”
—Abraham Lincoln, 16th U.S. President
Every speech, presentation, or other communication needs one big idea. A big idea is all that most people can remember. A big idea has a life of its own. And it doesn’t require a big speech. It’s big because of its power, not its length.
No one likes long speeches. Personally, I never like it when I’m asked to give a forty-five-minute keynote—it’s too long! Short speeches, big ideas—that’s the secret. Another example of a big idea is President
Kennedy’s 1961 speech that inspired the United States to put a man on
the moon. At the time, the country had fallen behind the Soviet Union
in the space race and had made only a few successful manned flights.
Kennedy said we would go to the moon, and we did—we landed before
the decade was out. We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in
this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy,
but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize
and measure the best of our energies and skills, because
that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are
unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the
others, too.
Secret 2: Speak in the Moment.
No one likes a canned speech. Canned speeches turn people off. You
must talk to people about what is happening in the moment. “If you think
about the usual setting,” said one CEO, “you have an audience sitting
there saying, ‘Who is this person and why is he talking?’ That’s not a great
18 • Speak like a CEO
setting to start with. It appears somewhat adversarial.” Your message must
be about them and about what’s happening in the moment in order to
win over an audience that isn’t sure it even wants to listen.
Secret 3: Keep It Simple
One problem with many speeches is that they try to do too much. Your
message must be simple and straightforward to be remembered.
Roger Marino, founder of the high-tech giant EMC, grew up in a
working-class neighborhood on Boston’s north shore and got his electrical
engineering degree from a co-op school, Northeastern University. Yet,
Marino was a salesman at heart. EMC sold one of the least sexy products
or services you can imagine—storage systems for computer information—
but he and his two partners built a company that went on to dominate
the industry.
to be continued......
I love you all, enjoy your dish....
No comments:
Post a Comment