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Summary: Most leaders communicate through speeches and presentations. But there is a much more effective means of communication: that's The Leadership Talk. The Leadership Talk not only communicates information as presentations/speeches do, but it does one thing more: It establishes an all-important deep, human, emotional connection with audience.
DUMP YOUR SPEECHES FOR LEADERSHIP TALKS! by Brent Filson
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 lion's den."
Indeed, it was business equivalent of a lion's den that he was entering. Hired from a competing firm, he was a stranger to company, a company hobbled by declining market share and bad morale caused by arbitrary actions of previous CEO, an isolated dictator.
"This is first time most of them will see and hear me," he said. "I'll give a presentation on state of business."
"Hold on," I said. "Don't give a presentation. Give a Leadership Talk instead."
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 audience.
Most leaders give presentations and speeches most of 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 field and talked to a number of his managers and found out that they were feeling intimidated by demands of increasingly sophisticated customers. I found out that they feared not being supported in decisions they made in field. I learned that they were angry at having to meet what they considered unnecessary reporting requirements. I learned that they didn't trust top executives.
