Civiello Communications Group Blog

An F for Examples

Cathie Black, the former Conde Nast exec who NY Mayor Bloomberg picked for Schools Chancellor resigned today. It wasn't much of a surprise. She'd had a tough go from the get go. But top execs everywhere should take note of what did her in. Black couldn't relate to her audiences. There's no question that not for profit chiefs, and politicians..let alone the parents of city school children...were not a natural for this corner office queen, but she might have bridged the gap with examples, specific stories of what she did and didn't like in the system. Reporters who covered her 3 month tenure said she constantly spoke at a "high level"..the importance of management, accountability..blah blah to most ears. She was unable or unwilling to give examples. Examples or stories make people picture, help them relate and thus remember what you say. This is one of the biggest challenges for many of my clients. They're concerned granular stories are fluff. Stories could have turned an F for this schools chancellor into..well, a chance to a make a go of it.

HOW TO SMILE MORE...WIN MORE SUPPORT.

You should SMILE more. Smiling is one of the easiest ways to warm an audience to you and your message but many speakers find it difficult to do. Clients, from the CEO talking to his employees to a print reporter gearing up for an appearance on the TODAY show, tell me ‘I’m not smiling because there isn’t much to smile about much less laugh.’ I get that. As a newscaster for many years I was often sharing serious news. We’ve all seen guests on TV suddenly flash a big smile where it seems inappropriate or inauthentic, and you just know they’ve been told to smile more. So, here’s the fix:  Make finding the lighter side of any presentation or interview part of your due diligence. Ask yourself “what is counter intuitive, surprising or, yes, amusing?” Can you share a story or deliver a soliloquy? Saying what you’ve often said to yourself or quoting someone else often prompts a natural smile. Even if you are sharing news about layoffs you should be talking about how you care and how you’ve assembled a team to help. That doesn’t merit a big smile but should be delivered with a warmer look that can lead to a warmer reception and show a different side of you as a leader.

Summaries don’t steal thunder they spark memory

In summary, summarize more often. It guarantees people will stay engaged longer and remember what you’ve said. Recently I worked with an executive planning a day long briefing on her company. The CEO was going to open up the day and then speaker after speaker would provide updates on their departments. The CEO was given a "high level" but colorless script saying that they are going great guns..but no proof..no examples of success. The executive explained that she didn’t want the CEO to steal the thunder of upcoming speakers. All you have to do is look at a newscast to know that’s wrong. The anchorman opens with a “tease” of what’s coming..a brief preview of top stories to make sure you stay up for another hour. If you look at a graph of audience attention span over the course of a 20 minute business presentation, it looks like a cross between a V and U. It’s highest at a presentation open, sinks gradually over time and then returns as you close. Why? Because you’ve signaled you’ll summarize. Just saying ‘in summary’ or ‘inclosing’ causes people to tune back in because in this information overloaded world, it sounds like you’ll give them the essential take away. What you should takeaway from this is that you should summarize more frequently. If you have 3 points of differentiation, say its your superior people, products and processes..after each, summarize. If you are opening a day’s program give me the highlights without worry of repetition..people can’t remember what was said a few minutes ago let alone an hour ago.

Fear of Public Speaking – the Royal Fix

The King’s Speech is a contender for Best Picture when the Oscars are announced next month, and it offers us more than great entertainment. In the business world, just about everyone has to present and many dread it. While the world isn’t listening as it was to King George in the late 1930s, it can feel like it. And while most of us don’t stammer like “Bertie,” we share the fear behind his affliction, the fear that others will judge us harshly. How the King overcame his speech problem can help us commoners speak better:

1)    Focus on your audience: Like many CEOs, the King didn’t mix with his audience. They were like a sea of faces. His coach had the King look at him, speak to him as he spoke to millions about going to war. It’s always easier to speak to someone you know and like, so if you are speaking on a phone paste a few pictures of your employees on your desk, and on stage, pick 3 encouraging faces in different parts of your audience and speak to them.

2)    Pause: You’ve heard the saying, “take it one step at a time.” The King slowed down and began to take his speech just a few words at a time versus looking at an eternity of copy. He marked his script for those frequent pauses, slash lines for breaks. Frequent pauses allowed him to breathe more regularly and that in and of itself helped calm him. Pausing can help you become a smoother and more effective speaker; it adds gravity, and allows your audience time to digest what you’re saying.

3)    Project: Speak up. The King’s coach would provoke him, rile him until he shouted even swore. The provocation prompted him to project. It uncapped and tapped the energy he was holding inside. It smoothed his speech, and again, improved his breathing. Before taking the stage many professional speakers will stand in a room, speak loudly, do a few pushups, versus sitting quietly mouthing words. So speak up. You’ll speak better.

4)    Practice: I know you’ve heard “practice makes perfect,” but who has the time? Well, the king of England knew that to lead effectively, he had to speak like a leader. He committed to daily practice, speaking more slowly, pausing, and projecting. It worked for Bertie. Ironically, his father lamented, “We kings used to have to simply look good and wave,” but then came radio. Now there is 24-7 TV and social media.

Make 2011 the year you’ll become a communication king.

Making training stick

Big business spends big money on training. As a communications trainer nothing makes me happier than hearing an executive tell me it was the most valuable 3 hours they'd experienced in years. But training, really, is only worth it if there is a follow up strategy. Here is an easy game plan: Regardless what kind of training identify 3 learnings / ways you can take it up a notch. Then identify 3 settings in which you can practice your new strategies and log the outcome. Finally, review what did or didn't work with your coach or manager. This is the best way I've found to better ensure the training sticks...and you get the bang for your buck.

Webinar Wisdom

Webinars, seminars via the web, are becoming more and more popular. They are a great way to reach a lot of people in a way that is more engaging than a conference call and more economical than a meeting. But successful webinars have to be done with this in mind:

-Personalize - They can’t see you, only your PowerPoint, so add a slide that introduces YOU..people like to have an idea who they are listening to.

-Make sure your PowerPoint works – I have a lot of videoclips in mine which can’t be shared. The audience can hear but cannot see them. When you click, a black box pops up, so you have to have an appropriate still shot and explain the technology limitations.

-Have extra questions and slides - I advise clients to limit their PowerPoints to 20 minutes and then open to questions. Even better break up the PowerPoint by taking questions midstream. But what happens if you don’t get questions? Have a few in your pocket positioned like “I am often asked how this works if…” “The other day an executive asked me what he should do…” and when that runs its course you may have to go to additional slides to cover more turf.

-Pack extra enthusiasm – You cannot feed off the audience because you can’t see them. I think it is more difficult than staring into a camera as in a satellite TV interview because you have nothing to look at other than your slides. You have to be your own energizer bunny.

 

If a Christmas tree falls in the forest...

It’s the holidays so think about this as you are wrapping your gifts. If you bundle and tape something so tight that the recipient can’t open it, have you given her a gift? No. The same is true of communication. If you have a message for the public, maybe it’s what you’re selling, and you mask it in language that people don’t understand, you haven’t communicated. You’ve thrown away all the money you spent on the paper and the PR people who cooked the lines up. I recently worked with a manufacturing company that insisted on calling itself an “innovation company.” While it was true that their packaging and products were innovative it hardly describes what they’re doing and definitely is not unique. The Wall Street Journal recently wrote that convoluted language is getting more prevalent in part because with mergers and advanced technology, what businesses do is becoming less easy to explain. They gave the example of a company who described themselves in a press release as “leveraging innovative, outcome based managed services engagements with committed productivity benefits.” When the reporter challenged the PR woman to explain, she chuckled and said her customers understand. Rather than give up, I urge every business leader to explain what you do to a 5^th grader. Simple is never simple but it simply makes sense if it means that you are able to deliver the messages you develop.

 

The Key to Executive Presence: Being You

Newly promoted, he came across as smart and funny, perfect for the big leadership job. He presented like a stiff. When I asked why, he sighed that he was aiming for "executive presence": lower voice, serious, using the words and syntax you find in print but never in conversation. Being what you are not always misses the mark. Nobody wants to follow a fake. That doesn't mean you say and do what you did with friends this weekend. You have a range and you have ideas that are better than the average bear. Think Warren Buffet, Indra Nooyi at Pepsi or Ken Chennault at AMEX..In conversation or behind the podium you see what you get..a leader.

Dealing with a Dud Deck

On the 5th slide, I had to stop my client and ask, "Where the heck ARE you?" She'd been rehearsing her presentation for several minutes, flipping through pages of her PowerPoint deck without really looking at, or referencing the dense material on each slide. It wasn't the first time I'd seen executives ignore a deck they didn't like..PowerPoint that had been forced on them by the organization. But you know, 'ignoring it won't make it go away,' and by doing so you cause confusion. The solution is interpreting each slide. Tell the audience what specific point you'd like to focus on, pause and elaborate. You can even step aside, or click "B" on your keyboard to take the PowerPoint down for a minute and remove the distraction. That's the way to deal with the deck that's been given you!

Humility and Honey

Post election, President Obama just publically acknowledged failures. There are lessons for all of us. Sure, there's "don't take on too much," and "make sure you communicate well." But beyond that, there is a lesson in his personal style. Leaders all experience defeat and disappointment, and most are reluctant to admit it, let alone say how it feels. Obama did all that with a bonus: He used a little humor. In the end, it was a winning speech.