by Caroline Leach | Oct 30, 2016 | Corporate Communications, Leadership
Start with your key sentence. Your point. Your theory. Your ask.
Whether it’s a talk, a text or an email, lead with what’s most important.
Three things got me thinking about this.
First, how do we grab people’s attention from the start? I heard two days of incredible talks at TEDWomen 2016 this month. The speakers did not start with, “Hi, I’m glad to be here and I’m excited about what I’m going to share with you and I’d like to thank a few people before I get started.”
No, they grabbed us with their opening words. With a bold statement or a question or a story. Here are examples from some of my favorite TED talks.
“So I want to start by offering you a free no-tech life hack, and all it requires of you is this: that you change your posture for two minutes.” So begins Amy Cuddy‘s talk, Your body language shapes who you are.
“What makes a great leader today?” There’s no mistaking what Roselinde Torres will address in her talk, What it takes to be a great leader.
“It’s the fifth time I stand on this shore, the Cuban shore, looking out at that distant horizon, believing, again, that I’m going to make it all the way across that vast, dangerous wilderness of an ocean.” Diana Nyad grabs the audience right at the beginning of her story in Never, ever give up.
Second, how do we help busy people easily respond us? Quite simply, by putting the key information in the opening words of our emails and texts.
Beyond putting your main message in the subject line, use your first 10 to 12 words to make your point.
Many people have email preview screens that show these words. Make the most of that space by getting to the point. Because your recipient may not read anything else.
Third, how do we spot the key idea in any interaction? When a meeting ends, can you summarize the most important point in a single sentence? What’s the headline? The tweet? The snap?
Take a few minutes at the end of a conversation or meeting to identify the one key takeaway. Share it with your colleagues.
Given the complexity of many projects and the extensive collaboration that’s required to meet goals, this helps others see the forest for the trees.
This keeps a team focused on what’s most important. It guides their actions. And it increases the likelihood of success.
How do you keep your lead front and center?
by Caroline Leach | May 30, 2016 | Corporate Communications, Learning
Thrill your audience. Spark engagement with your ideas. Transform people’s views of the world.
That’s the promise of TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking, out this month by TED curator Chris Anderson.
And it’s also the new bar in public speaking. It’s no longer acceptable to under prepare, to meander or to bore your audience.
With so many people taking in a steady diet of TED talks to enlighten, educate and entertain themselves, the bar is sky high for anyone who speaks in public.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a keynote speech for an audience of a thousand or a tabletop presentation to your colleagues. Using the strategies in TED Talks will help spread your ideas.
Elements have come in handy for me in everything from town hall meetings and operations reviews at work to city committee meetings and inspirational talks in my community. Not to mention a decade of writing speeches and presentations for C-level corporate leaders.
Speaking effortlessly ties into my recent posts on grit and on sprezzatura, the art of making the difficult seem easy. In his book, Chris Anderson does a terrific job of outlining the hard work it takes behind the scenes to give a compelling talk. One that might change the world.
Take openings, for example. You have to grab people from the very first sentence. The opening words or a talk are similar to the way you need to think about headlines, subject lines and the first line of an email message. You only get a few words to pique people’s interest, or cause them to tune out.
This month I was presenting to a live and web-based audience in a town hall meeting. The topic? Our team’s annual scorecard – the priorities, initiatives, metrics and targets we’re striving for this year.
It had the potential to be boring. How to capture people’s attention? For that, I turned to the chapter on “Open and Close: What Kind of Impression Would you Like to Make?”
According to Anderson, “you have about a minute to intrigue people with what you’ll be saying.” He encourages readers to “script and memorize the opening minute.”
Here are 4 ways he offers to start strong:
- Deliver a dose of drama. Anderson suggests asking yourself, “If your talk were a movie or a novel, how would it start?”
- Ignite curiosity. Here you can ask a surprising question or give a little illustration that piques an interest to hear more.
- Show a compelling slide, video or object. These capture even more attention when you reveal something surprising about them.
- Tease, but don’t give it away. “Channel your inner Spielberg” and imagine what will make your audience want to learn more.
So how did I start my scorecard talk? My current work focuses on metrics and measurement. But numbers alone wouldn’t engage or inspire my colleagues.
I thought about how to link it with our bigger purpose. At our annual leadership kickoff meeting, our technology leader talked about the magic our team creates every day in marketing a storied, nearly 140-year-old company.
And there it was – the dramatic contrast of measuring magic.
“If you think you can’t measure magic,” I began, “I’m here to show you how we’ll do just that.”
Yes, the opening may have given too much away. But when a few people mentioned the magic reference to me later that day, I knew it had been a good way to start.
Equally important is how you close. And everything you do in between. I’ll explore those in future posts.
For a spine-tingling close, check out Brené Brown in her TED talk, The power of vulnerability.
by Caroline Leach | Feb 22, 2016 | Corporate Communications, Work/Life
What makes a great speech?
Humor. Brevity. Meaning. Emotion. Love. Those were the hallmarks of some touching remarks I heard over the weekend.
And no, it wasn’t a TED talk or a corporate retreat. It was a high-school soccer banquet. Seen through the eyes of a freshman parent.
The most impressive part was the level of preparation. Each graduating senior had a freshman talk about what they learned from that player.
And whether they pulled a piece of paper or an iPhone out of their pocket, they had all clearly put thought into what they were going to say.
After the freshmen had their say, some of the seniors shone the spotlight on their coaches.
A few memorable mantras from the many vignettes –
- No matter what happens, you have to make the best of it
- Some of the biggest learnings happen off the field
- Someday I hope I can make people feel as special as my coach made me feel.
Whether they were talking about soccer, or life or both, a lot of great lessons had been role modeled, learned and shared.
What struck me the most was the level of poise these young athletes demonstrated. That’s what comes from having many opportunities to speak in group settings.
They showed how much inspiration – not to mention humor – you can bring to a very short speech.
There’s no need to hem or haw or spend a long time leading up to the punchline.
They simply shared what was in their hearts.
by Caroline Leach | Jan 10, 2016 | Corporate Communications
The Golden Globes is a great reason to gather with family and friends.
It’s fun to celebrate favorite movies and TV shows, rooting for favorite performers.
And if you’re a communicator and marketer, like me, it’s entertaining to listen for the best speeches of the evening.
The winners in my book? Sylvester Stallone for Creed and Lady Gaga for American Horror Story: Hotel.
Show emotion. Sly looked stunned when his name was announced, sitting in his seat for a few moments before he stood up. (The standing ovation may have begun before he stood up himself.) And his first words were about his genuine surprise.
Lady Gaga pulled her hand to her mouth, stopping time for a moment as the win sunk in. And among her first words were, “This is the biggest moment of my life.”
Shine the light on others. Sly endeared himself to the whole world when he said, “I am the sum total of everyone I’ve ever met.”
Lady Gaga said, “Because of you I was able to shine.” And, “Thank you for sharing your talent with me.” And, “You guys pick me up every day.”
Be brief. The best speakers leave you wanting more. Not wondering if they’re going to say something memorable (eventually), or wrap it up and be gone. Not so with Sly and Lady Gaga. I would have been happy listening to them speak for hours.
And that’s the art of a great acceptance speech.
by Caroline Leach | Dec 26, 2015 | Corporate Communications, Learning
What’s an upside to waking up in the middle of the night?
Here’s one: when a pre-ordered book from Amazon downloads after midnight on the publishing date.
A Christmas gift arrived early this week with Amy Cuddy‘s new book, Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges.
You may have been among the 30 million views of her TED talk, Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are.
If so, you know about “power posing.”
When you’re facing a challenge – whether it’s a big presentation or a job interview or an everyday interaction – strike a powerful pose for 2 minutes. Making your body big will make your mind feel more confident.
Two years ago I tried this for the first time. I was planning our Chairman’s annual leadership meeting. As I was meeting with my boss to finalize the agenda, he suggested I should speak at the meeting.
WH-A-A-A-T?
The terror and excitement of speaking before 200 of my leadership peers fought a valiant duel. In my mind. In seconds. And then I said, “Sure, I’d be glad to speak.”
The opportunity won out over the fear. But now I had to perform. And it had better be good.
I began with the usual speaking preparation I would bring to any C-suite leader in my role at the time leading corporate communications.
The topic? Leading Communications.
Or, how my fellow leaders could lead communications among their teams, cascading leadership meeting messages across the enterprise.
And perhaps not so coincidentally, it’s also the original title of this blog.
The brainstorming, writing and practicing began. The weekend before the event I set up my iPhone to record myself giving the presentation in the meeting room.
Two days before the event, I did a dry run for a few colleagues and team members.
And it it fell painfully flat. No connection. No spark. No magic.
They were nice about it. But their body language spoke louder than any words of encouragement ever could.
There were still 48 hours to redeem myself.
I remembered the time Mark Cuban came to speak at our company in the early 2000s. He drove all night to get there. He was friendly and engaging with our employees.
Most memorable were his words about client meetings and commitments. A client would ask for something, and the group would agree it would be delivered the next day.
Later, Mark and his colleagues would look at each other and say they had no idea how to do what they’d just committed to. But they had all night to figure it out. And figure it out, they did. Time and time again.
If they could do it, so could I.
Picking myself up off the metaphorical floor, I got to work. I revised my speech so it focused more on the audience. And what was in it for them.
But what made the most difference on the day of my speech was the simple, yet powerful advice of Amy Cuddy in her TED talk.
It was to adopt the Wonder Woman pose for 2 minutes, before my speech.
The only problem?
My talk was right after a few other speakers, so I couldn’t power pose in private, as Cuddy recommends. So I did the next best thing. I took up as much space as I could, without violating too many social norms.
I sat up straight. I stretched out one of my arms across an adjoining chair. I put another hand on my hip. I planted my feet solidly on the floor. I took deep breaths.
The audience body language post speech? Smiles. Applause. Fist bumps.
Yes, power posing really works.
Two of my work colleagues screened Cuddy’s TED talk at a Lean In circle last year. It was a great session, with ideas like jumping into group conversations one beat after the current speaker’s last word.
So I couldn’t wait for Presence when it came out this week. I wanted to know more secrets to bringing my best self to the challenges of life.
What is presence? Cuddy defines it as “the state of being attuned to and able to comfortably express our true thoughts, feelings, value and potential.”
And what did I find? A well-researched, highly entertaining, inspiring and actionable book. Most of all, it reminded me to do the following:
- Start each day with a power pose
- Stand up straight
- Take up space
- Breathe deeply
- Share the power of presence with others.
The book also underscores the importance of personal power – an infinite resource that’s always available to you. It’s yours for the taking.
As Cuddy describes personal power, “it’s about access to and control of limitless inner resources, such as our skills and abilities, our deeply held values, our true personalities and our boldest selves.”
As a new year dawns, I hope you’ll bring your boldest self.
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