Really can someone tell me: Where are we going as a human race' What do you think' Take a moment .....
The CEO of a worldwide business asked me to help him develop a talk he planned to give to several hundred of his top executives. He said, "I feel as if I'm Daniel going into the lion's den."
Indeed, it was the business equivalent of a lion's den that he was entering. Hired from a competing firm, he was a stranger to the company, a company hobbled by declining market share and bad morale caused by the arbitrary actions of the previous CEO, an isolated dictator.
"This is the first time most of them will see and hear me," he said. "I'll give a presentation on the state of the business."
"Hold on," I said. "Don't give a presentation. Give a Leadership Talk instead."
Was I Talking To An Angel? I couldn't believe that I was all alone with part of the cross that Christ had carried .....
There is a difference, I explained, between a presentation/speech and a Leadership Talk. A presentation/speech communicates information, but a Leadership Talk not only communicates information but makes a deep, emotional, human connection with the audience.
Most leaders give presentations and speeches most of the time when they should be giving Leadership Talks.
"You're facing an important leadership situation," I said. "The old saying, 'You never get a second chance to make a first impression' applies here in spades. You've got a great Leadership Talk opportunity. But to have people believe in you and follow you, they must be emotionally committed to you and what you say. So understand what their emotional needs are."
I went out into the field and talked to a number of his managers and found out that they were feeling intimidated by the demands of increasingly sophisticated customers. I found out that they feared not being supported in the decisions they made in the field. I learned that they were angry at having to meet what they considered unnecessary reporting requirements. I learned that they didn't trust the top executives.
Intimidation, fear, anger, distrust . . . those emotions described the state of his audience and, in truth, the state of the business.
The CEO gave a Leadership Talk that spoke to and answered the needs of those emotions, a talk based on the single idea that he was a person that they could trust.
That Leadership Talk marked the beginning of a turnaround for that company.
1-800 I'm Calling Heaven To Talk To Mother How do we face a day set aside for Mothers when the woman who brought us into this world has been taken from this world. Ask those who have already been down this road .....
The lesson: Analyze and speak to the emotion of a situation, and you can become a dramatically more effective leader.
Make that analysis happen this way: * Know the difference between a presentation/speech and Leadership Talk then view every speaking situation you encounter as either a presentation/speech situation or a Leadership ......
