Seven Secrets of Successful Business Leaders Who Speak Well
by Suzanne Bates
This article is reprinted from the February 2006 issue of The Independent Consultant.
When it comes to public speaking, consultants and actuaries must technically speak well, but they must also have substance. They must look and sound like true leaders—especially if they’re on the front lines, whether reporting on a project’s results or explaining new trends in the insurance arena. To do this well, they can learn from business leaders such as CEOs, executives and other types of leaders who had to learn it themselves.
What exactly must you do? Your first focus must be not only what you say, but also how you say it. Your content must be clear and compelling, not just technically competent. Without that you’re just another speaker but not a leader.
Secret #1: Talk about big ideas
Every speech, presentation or communication needs one big idea. A big idea is all 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. Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is 271 words, and it’s one of the best speeches ever given.
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. Your message must be about them and about what’s happening to them RIGHT NOW in order to win over an audience that may not even be sure it even wants to listen to you. To achieve this, act natural and put away the script.
Secret #3: Keep it simple
One big problem with many speeches is they try to do too much. Instead, to be remembered, make your message simple and straightforward.
Roger Marino, founder of the high-tech giant EMC, says he learned early on how important communication is in business—especially when it comes to keeping things simple. Marino considered the brilliant professors when he was in school to be the ones who could actually communicate the ideas in ways people could understand. “Communication is everything,” he says. “You really have to hammer a message home.”
Keeping it simple is how he has learned to keep people interested and absorbed in the subject at hand. “I just explain the steps,” he explains. “An [actuary] has to do the same thing: take people from A to B to C.”
Secret #4: Be a straight-shooter
A survey my firm once conducted on communication found that the number one quality people want in a leader is honesty and integrity. Thus, your message must ring true. Audiences want a leader to be more than a good speaker; they want a leader to tell them the truth, no matter what. In today’s business environment, with so much distrust and scandal about, consultants of any stripe must be viewed as trustworthy to a fault!
Secret #5: Be an optimist
As a financial consultant, leading your clients through good times and bad, you must balance reality with optimism. The true leader must perceive and talk about what’s possible.
When Bill Ford, Jr. ousted CEO Jacques Nasser at Ford Motor Company in 2001, the company was losing billions of dollars. But at that quarter’s news conference in June 2003, Ford responded to each question with unbridled optimism. “We are back on firm footing,” he said. “I feel good about where we are today and where we are headed.” Within 20 months, Ford had turned optimism into reality by turning the company completely around.
Secret #6: Focus on the future
In difficult times, we look to leaders for hope. New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was in midtown Manhattan when the first plane hit the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. On that morning, his political career was on thin ice; his wife, who was furious after publicity about a mistress, had kicked him out of the house.
But that day, Giuliani knew what he had to do. At the scene of the disaster, he literally risked his life, trapped in the rubble at ground zero for 15 minutes. But through it all, he focused on hope. “New Yorkers are just the most wonderful people in the world,” said Giuliani, “with the best police department, fire department and the best emergency workers [anywhere].”
His message was potent. New Yorkers, and the world, made it through that frightful day, thanks in no small part to Rudy Giuliani’s message.
Secret #7: Be real
At times your position as a financial consultant may put you at a distinct disadvantage with many audiences. Again, because of past scandals and because their own money is involved, they may start out feeling skeptical about what you have to say. This is obviously a lousy way to start a speech, meeting, or even a conversation. Yet your job is to find a way to make a connection. So to connect… be real!
Dan Wolf, CEO of Cape Air, has a reputation for doing this, drawing on his background and eclectic interests to connect. In town meetings with employees he can relate to all individuals—pilots, mechanics, business folks. “I use self-effacing humor,” he explains. “And my organizational skills are not great, so that’s great material for humor, too.” Good leaders find ways to humanize themselves and still maintain their authority.
Business leaders who succeed as speakers don’t get to the top because of luck. Most leaders who speak well became great speakers because they chose to be. By heeding these seven secrets, any actuary or financial consultant can follow in their paths.
This article is adapted from Speak Like a CEO: Secrets for Commanding Attention and Getting Results by Suzanne Bates, president of Bates Communication (Wellesley MA), a presentation skills consulting firm that helps consultants and other business leaders project an authentic voice and thus gain a competitive edge. An award-winning television news anchor and reporter, Suzanne can be reached by phone at 800-908-8239 or by visiting www.bates-communications.com.