Imagine this situation. You’re making a stand-up presentation and someone interjects with an aggressive statement. Think how you would move your body (if at all) to demonstrate confidence in this situation. (For this scenario, leave aside your verbal response). Read more…

Professional, knowledgeable, friendly. These adjectives describe a customer service person I interacted with at an Apple shop last month. Read more…

One of the key messages I share with my sales presentation and senior executive clients is, ‘Less is more’. That is, being able to convey your thoughts with less words, has more impact. (ie. than needing more words to convey your thoughts). William Strunk Jr. and EB White’s mantra around this idea, from their book, The Elements of Style is, ‘Omit needless words’. Read more…

As we start a new year, one way to be more effective in your work is to hone how you plan and deliver your spoken messages and presentations. Below is the my take on the key difference between the best and worst presenters.

Overall:

1.        The BEST presenters are Audience Focused in their planning and delivery.

2.        The WORST presenters are Presenter Focused in planning, and in delivery. It’s like they’re talking to themselves in the presence of others. Read more…

In last week’s post I listed survey responses to the question, ‘What’s the first job of a leader?’. In the form of a metaphor, let me elaborate on my response to that question. That is: to, ‘Be a beacon of hope’.

‘Be a beacon of hope’ is not only the first job of a leader – it’s the every day job, through to the last job, of a leader. Read more…

Last month I attended the the annual conference of MTAA (Medical Technology Association of Australia). During the conference breaks I surveyed delegates regarding the following question: ‘What’s the first job of a leader?’ Below are the responses to that question (in no particular order). Read more…

While I don’t agree with some of the suggestions and tactics in Robert Greene’s book, The 48 Laws of Power, Law 28 in the book entitled, ‘Enter action with boldness’, has some valuable ideas. In particular, Greene shares in Law 28, the suggestion: ‘Be bold – no one honours the timid’. Read more…

Robert Greene refers to the ‘Dignity of a king/queen in his book, The 48 Laws of Power’, Law 34: ‘Be royal in your own fashion – Act like a king to be treated like one.’ He maintains that acting with dignity is an ‘extremely powerful pose’. Read more…

While Barack Obama’s political star has dimmed since his 2008 U.S. presidential election victory, his oratory and personal communication skill is still a benchmark of excellence, and one to aspire to.

Obama’s most enduring skill is how he takes time – through exploiting pauses when he speaks; through his body movement and gesture (smooth & coordinated); through tuning into the rhythm of a moment and choosing an apt action or non-action; through being ‘light’ about himself while taking his job seriously (in a group photo of leaders at the recent APEC meeting, Obama joked with Julia Gillard about her hair preening in preparation for the photo).

Obama delivered a workman-like (for him) performance in his address to the Australian Federal Parliament today. Before he started his address he demonstrated intelligent listening to Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s address, conveyed through his attentive eyes and face. His actual speech, like many of his set piece performance, is like a dance – where he starts with an easy light aside (eg. the joke about his prior mangling of Australian slang).

Following the opening he shifts his body much like a jazz musician who is getting into his rhythm and finding his groove. He starts extending final consonants in words a fraction longer and starts exploiting pauses for effect. He shifts up a gear in voice energy and acceleration for key parcels of speech, as demonstrated in his ‘We never forget’ repetitive phrasing during the speech.

He closed the speech with measure and certainty. I give him an 8/10 for the speech. By the way, Julia Gillard’s face and body language during Obama’s speech conveyed deep feeling and resonance for Obama – almost at the level of ‘hero worship’ status. Her numerous head nods during the speech were expressions of this deep feeling.

The ‘how to apply’ for this post: In your sales presentation meetings and interactions over the next seven days, in the manner of Obama, on purpose, intermittently ‘exploit a pause’ in your delivery for a ¼ or ½ a second, and note its impact on the certainty that you feel, and its impact on your listener.

p.s. Here’s a link from where you can download an Australian Financial Review article with my 2008 deconstruction of Obama’s speech communication, listening and body language:

http://www.kellyspeech.com.au/2008/10/measured-manner-a-winning-way-afr/

Leaving aside whether you agree with Alan Joyce’s grounding of Qantas planes or his responses at the Federal Parliament Senate Hearing last week, his dignified performance under the lengthy, intense questioning at the Hearing, is worthy of comment. Read more…

“The most important thing about an actor was what he called ‘attitude. . . “. Howard Hawks meant the actor’s physical attitude, his bodily carriage – how he walks and how he moves.” Read more…

I recently reread an article that shared the following quote by John Kotter, leadership and change authority, delivered at the end of a 2007 Harvard ‘Leadership Best Practices’ program.

“You learn more watching great leaders on video for 10 minutes than you learn reading the 200,000 Amazon books on leadership. Read more…

“People will be persuaded by the depth of your conviction, more than by the height of your logic; more by your enthusiasm, than by any proof you can offer.” This quote is attributed to David Peoples. In many instances I believe the quote rings true. I’d add the following thought to it. Read more…

“Inmates who were shown video clips of people walking on a city footpath rated who would, and who wouldn’t, be good prospects to mug.”  I came across this quote when recently reviewing information from my body language research library. Read more…

John Wooden, legendary US basketball coach taught in chunks, using what he called the ‘whole-part method’. He would teach his players an entire move and then he would chunk the entire move into individual parts.

I read about this particular Wooden technique in the book, The Talent Code, by Daniel Coyle. (a good book I’d recommend). Read more…