Civiello Communications Group Blog

When Collaboration is a Weakness

Anyone who has admired Barack Obama's ability to communicate has to be baffled at his inability to explain his healthcare plan.  As a professional communication coach, I think part of the President's problem has been his collaborative nature..Recently I was working with an executive who'd quickly risen to the top of his organization in part becuase of his interest in considering others ideas. But when he got up to deliver marching orders in a big speech, like the President, he came across as tentative. In times of change, leaders need to unequivacably let people know what they think..what they want and expect. Collaboration works in smaller groups but when its time for the big stage, its time to be firm.

Gestures should Illustrate

Gestures are one of the easiest things to do when you aren't thinking about them, and one of the hardest things to get right when they matter most: when you are giving a speech or interview. Many execs despair the way Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) in Talladega Nights did: "I just don't know what to do with my hands." You don't want to chop incessantly. That's irritating. And you shouldn't give up and tuck them in your pockets. To do so is giving up a key tool in your communication arsenal. Instead use them to illustrate i.e. to number points or to chart direction and use them to boldface big points. Using a variety is key and using what is natural for you is as important. It's authentic.

Analogies - a Tool for Persuasion

Senator Chuck Schumer was on one of the many Sunday morning talk shows, all  debating health care reform, but in one line he helped sooth the jitters better than anyone I've heard. Referring to the Obama plan to provide a public healthcare option, Schumer said, "It's like a state college system. There are public and prate institutions. You choose the one that's best for you, and the competition makes both better." Whenever you are trying to persuade people to do something new, and that's sometimes freightening..it's helpful to find a comparison to something that is familiar and comfortable.To find a good analogy you have to think outside your world and ask: "What is this like?" Sometimes it's a challenge but the payoff is often persuasion.

A Crystal Ball for Crises

It is human nature to look at a competitor's crisis with a little smile. "Hey, might be an opportunity to pull ahead of them!" The German word for this is schadenfreude: enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others. But in fact, the competition's crisis is often a crystal ball for your next one. Look at the growing scandal over expenses in the British parliament. While they aren't competitors, when that news broke every U.S. lawmaker here should have been thinking what would happen if his expenses fell under scrutiny. In fact front page news in the Wall Street Journal today is a call to make House and Senate detailed spending records avialable online. Today they are contained in printed volumes with vague descriptions such as "purchased equipment." My corporate clients often say they wish there was a way to predict trouble. There is: Look at the news as smoke.. Remember "where there is smoke, there's fire" and fire spreads.

Um, ah, the President does it too!

If public speaking tops the list of what people fear most, fear of uttering ums and ahs when you speak is close behind. Fear not. Fight it. First, understand it is common in every culture. Look at Barack Obama, one of the best speakers ever, and in his Q&As, "ahs" precede virtually ever A! And that is key. Obama has a flawless delivery in speeches..when he knows what he is going to say. It is when he is answering questions that he uses what is termed disfluencies...ahs and ums that fill pauses, distract the audience and damage credibility. They make you look UNSURE. So here are 5 FIXES:

1) Be sure. Know what you want to say and practice it out loud.

2) Work from detailed notes rather than a word for word script. Witha script, you'll be tempted to read which avoids ums but you still sound uncertain.

3) Mentally reframe questions. View a question as a topic. You can anticipate most topics you'll get and should prepare message. You can even restate it to give yourself more time to connect to your message.

4) Connect to 1 not all. When answering a question make eye contact with one person and have a brief conversation. You're less likely to um in a conversation than when trying to deliver an impromptu speech.

5) Silence is golden. If you are stumped, pause vs. umming. You can even say "let me think a minute."

People will think you are a stronger leader!

Eye Contact Says You Care

I couldn't believe it. The Fed chairman was looking everywhere but AT the ccollege student asking him a good question about the economy. Sitting on the dais with cameras rolling, Ben Bernanke looked up, down, out into the audience, and only occasionally at the young man at the microphone. Yes, the student's question was long, but Bernanke's lack of eye contact with that student and those that followed, made him look uninterested andeven disrespectful. Onlywhen the camera shot switched to the students at the mic did I understand Bernanke's behavior. You see the students were all READING their questions. They weren't looking at Bernanke so he, as is human nature, responded in kind. To him, it felt like radio. He was getting audio information so could look anywhere and still focus on the question. But this was not radio, it was television. Every anchor person knows the importance of looking engaged when the camera is one you even when the person you are talking to is rifling through notes or even gesturing to someone else. If there are cameras in the room, it is safest to assume you always are ON camera.  Bernanke's appearance at Morehouse is part of what the Wall Street Journal calls the fed chairman's new "public relations offensive," a turnaround for a  who took the post saying he wasn't going to be in the spotlight as much as his predecessors. The economic crisis has forced him center stage, and the realities of television should prompt him to change his performance when the cameras are rolling. After all, eye contact says you care.

Click B for Better Story Telling

President Obama was under the gun from Clinton to Colbert to moderate his tone a bit, to exude hope as well as reflecting the reality that things are bad. He did it with the help of a short story about kids at a poor southern school who wouldn’t give up hope of doing great things despite the odds. Little stories always help make big points. But what do you do when you’re making your points on PowerPoint? A linear, fact filled PowerPoint deck doesn’t always lend itself to the aside. For example, stories are best when they are based on what the speaker has experienced and often executives are working with slides that many are sharing. However, you can get around the obstacles if you just click on the letter B. Literally, if you click on B your screen will go Black allowing you to deviate for a moment to tell a little story /give an example without the distraction of the graphs or lines of information on your slides.  I advise clients to announce your intention i.e. “I’m going to take this down for a moment to give you an example..” This not only explains the departure but adds an important D…drama!

Body Language didn’t Stimulate Confidence

The treasury secretary’s testimony was designed to build essential support for the administration's economic stimulus plan, but it didn’t work, and the stock market plummeted. Critics said there simply weren’t enough details. But I believe it wasn’t just the message that was lacking, it was also Tim Geithner’s body language. Most of the time he sat off center, his head cocked with an unsure expression on his face and in his gestures. One commentator remarked that he "...sure isn’t General Patton." Most of us aren’t and don’t want to be, but if we are trying to persuade we must come across as persuaded ourselves. We must use the lower range of our voice, square up to the audience and look firm. This is not the time to appear as if you are floating an idea...not when most feel like the ship is sinking.

Master the Soundbite or Miss the Opportunity

President Obama has been praised for his ability to give a great speech, but Mr. President, a speech shouldn’t follow every question. In his first presidential press conference, Obama’s answer to every question ran far too long. For instance, the answer to his first question asking for a clarification on whether he thought we could find a way out of the economic mess, ran 7 ½ minutes – the average TV sound bite runs more like 10 to15 seconds. The result was impatience, confusion and/or boredom. Now some may argue that the president of the United States or any person of substance, shouldn’t be confined to snippets, but like it or not, we live in a Blackberry world. Attention spans are shorter than ever. Less is more likely to stick. Sure, you can carry on but you just won’t carry the audience with you. Remember the “where’s the beef” commercial? That’s what people will be thinking before they lose their appetite for an answer and head off for a burger. Far better to give them a soundbite they can digest.

Sorry so hard to say..Works so well

In the wake of the Tom Daschle fiasco, Barack Obama did what few Presidents and chiefs of business do. He said he was sorry unequivocally: “I screwed up.” “I messed up.” The President said it simply as each network anchor demanded to know what he was thinking in nominating a Washington big fish with big tax problems. As a result, the national conversation moved on. When confronted with missteps, many leaders make excuses, find wiggle room: “It depends on what your meaning of is, is.” A straightforward apology diffuses criticism because everyone makes mistakes. Everyone understands Obama has a lot on his plate. It doesn’t mean he can get by with saying, "oops sorry" everyday, but we are in the honeymoon period, and people love humility.