Introducing Guest Speakers

Posted on by

Introducing a speaker, especially a high profile one, can be a harder task than what you might think. You might feel “well, the introduction is only a minute or two long and no one will remember me anyhow. I don’t need to put much into this.” In my opinion, this is a trap. Breaking down a given communication message to a concise 1, 2 or even 5 minutes can be a tricky and time consuming task. The risk of running over, and of taking valuable time from the main speaker (who the audience came to see) is very real. And as far as remembering (or not remembering) the person who introduces the speaker, I do remember those unfortunate speakers who have experienced an unfortunate gaffe or have gone well over the allotted time. And yes, I even recall a few especially good speaker introductions.

When I introduce speakers, I normally try to forge a connection with both the speaker and the audience. This may be via a story or example, or something that is personal. If the speaker is not someone who I know well, I try to read up in advance on the speaker and use some of his/her book (or other) material in my introduction.

The bottom line: Be well prepared and have a very clear idea of the time expectations of your introduction. Be concise and time yourself several times as you rehearse. Time yourself with the clock going up and the clock going down. In the speaker introduction video highlighted below, I needed to achieve multiple purposes and was given a very specific, set amount of time. I also had numerous names and facts that I needed to get right. As such, I used my notes more than I normally do, but I still worked very hard to connect with the speaker (General McChrystal) and the audience.

Business Storytelling

Posted on by

Storytelling not only plays a fundamental role in public speaking, but it is also one of the most powerful tools of influence that a business leader (or any leader) has at his or her disposal. When I train executives in leadership communication, storytelling is always a major part of the drill.

I work very hard to get my students (whether CEO or undergrad) to learn how to tell their own stories in a compelling manner. Creating and telling one’s own story is not easy, but I encourage you to try it. There are lots of Harvard Business Review readings on the topic. This would be a good place to start. I strongly feel that all present and future business leaders should work on and hone this invaluable skill. At least from my experience as a speaker, consultant, and professor, storytelling does not come easy to most. It can sometimes take a few sessions even for the most seasoned executive to get more comfortable with storytelling. But I have found it to be a very “trainable” skill.

The art of being able to tell stories effectively in a range of business contexts can also be very important. One well placed story can touch and influence in a profound way. When I train executives, I might ask them to tell stories about sharing company vision, aligning constituents along directives, introducing new products, gathering support for an idea, handling objections, conveying company initiatives, showing growth opportunities, and so on. Opportunities for leaders to communicate via storytelling are limitless, and the more you practice, the better you will get.

Leadership and storytelling aside (more on that in later blog entries), we all know that a well placed and well told story can often make all the difference in any presentation.

For example, just last week I spoke to roughly 200 international trade officials and exporters at a conference in the “Southland” (this is LA speak for the Los Angeles area). Right at the beginning of my presentation, I told a story. The idea was to grab the audience and link the story directly to my purpose. I think that worked well enough. But the interesting secondary result was that after the presentation probably a half dozen people approached me because I happened to mention the small state of Connecticut in the story. Some listeners found similarity in the story that I told about growing up in Connecticut, and they connected to my talk because of it. Don’t get me wrong – I am a firm believer that a presentation’s story has to first and foremost support the presentation purpose and be tied to the purpose (and here, the purpose was not about me). But what I was able to do was personalize a business presentation introduction and allow people to connect with me despite the large room setting. The audience – speaker connection is always a good thing, and becomes even more important when leading and/or trying to persuade.

Here is a link to a recent Forbes article, titled The CEO As Storyteller In Chief, which discusses the role of storytelling in business.

Bob

Clarity in Investor Communication

Posted on by

What do Netflix, Radiohead, and The University of Michigan Health System have in common? They have made a concerted effort to incorporate (and communicate) trust into their employee and customer practices. At Netflix, employees take whatever vacation they feel they need, while the band Radiohead released a recent album online, trusting fans to decide how much to pay. The result for Radiohead? Greater revenue generation than all its previous releases. For their part, The University of Michigan Health System has also taken the “radical” step of encouraging doctors to apologize when they make mistakes. UM is trusting its patients to forgive them – thus risking legal liability – but indeed the number of malpractice suits has dwindled. Other providers are now including similar approaches.

In a time when trust in corporations, and at some level trust in anything “big” is at a low, companies need to think much harder about how they can increase their own credibility via transparency in their communications with investors. There are many ways to do this, but one of the very simplest involves communicating to investors in a more audience centered manner.

In a study by Feng Li, an associate professor of accounting at the University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business, Dr. Li found that in the 55,000 annual reports examined, the average Fog Index for these annual reports was 19.4 (a score of 12-14 is ideal and higher than 18 is unreadable), while the annual report readability score on the Kincaid Index was 15.2 – about twice as high as the optimal score of 7-8. Quite simply, the annual reports of many companies in this study were found to be completely unreadable, or at a minimum very difficult to read.

From research in the area of credibility and language, we know that clarity of communication is viewed as more trustworthy than unclear language. Not surprisingly, Mr. Buffet and Co. seem to understand this – just look at Berkshire Hathaway’s (Warren Buffet) recap of their 2008 successes where he focuses his explanations to the audience. Buffet even goes so far as to explain what a “float” is in everyday language.

“Our $58.8 billion of insurance “float” – money that doesn’t belong to us but that we hold and invest for our own benefit – cost us less than zero. In fact, we were paid $2.8 billion to hold our float during 2008. Charlie (Munger) and I find this enjoyable.”

For corporations who wish to take easy and small steps down the road toward more credible investor communication, clarity in spoken and written communication is a doable start.

Bob

Introversion, Extroversion, and Communication Effectiveness

Posted on by

Let’s use both Goldman’s “Big Five” trait theory description of introversion-extroversion (e.g., extroverts as assertive, talkative, bold, etc), and Jung’s “psychic energy” take on the same phenomena (e.g., extroverts feel an increased sense of perceived energy when interacting with a large group of people, while introverts feel an increase of energy when alone), to describe introversion and extroversion.

For me, the key to “communication effectiveness” for those on both ends of the introversion-extroversion scale is to first and foremost keep one’s authenticity (being consistent with one’s true self). Whatever you do, don’t lose that. Nothing kills communication like the perception that you are a phony.

That said, I feel that there are things that both introverts and extroverts can do to enhance their communication effectiveness. First, I would start by focusing on the receiver centered side of your communication. For example, I would try to find ways to forge a connection with the person you are communicating to. Doing so can be as simple as looking for similar interests (sports, schools, travel spots, etc.) and listening more actively. It is always helpful to make a concerted effort to focus more on the other person. Of course, introverts tend to do this quite well already, but extroverts not necessarily. Extroverts may thus want to focus more in this area. I see effectively listening as one of the most crucial skills in business communication. Unfortunately, people often spend so much time thinking about what they will say, that they lose valuable clues about what may motivate the person they are talking to.

This is certainly not to say that you should stay quiet (especially for introverts), but I see listening as an incredibly valuable skill. While my Dad may not know it, listening was one of the most important skills that he ever taught me.

Now, for introverts, there are different solutions that come to mind in terms of forging relationships, connecting with others, and ultimately communicating more effectively. The first, which is right out of the persuasion literature, is to find ways to fulfill others needs. I personally feel that networks are earned, and not built. There are a multitude of opportunities for introverts (and extroverts) to go the extra mile and “earn” these networks. For example, you might provide extra assistance, provide people avenues for recognition or visibility, or even help others with learnings that someone else desires. I remember one of my former students who went out of his way to offer golf instruction to his superiors on his internship, and this ultimately paid him huge dividends.

Still, for introverts, perhaps the most important piece of the puzzle in effective communicate is to simply to get yourself out there “in the mix,” even if it may be uncomfortable to do so. For me (speaking as a proud introvert who worked in extrovert heavy media communication and relationship marketing), I remember many a conference or dinner where I naturally gravitated toward a corner, to my friends, or even out the door in record time. Interacting with strangers seemed so exhausting to me. But over the years I have learned to push myself into situations that may at first be uncomfortable. While I still need to do this more, I am almost always glad when I do.

Introverts may too want to prepare a variety of situational elevator pitches, and practice things like targeted storytelling.

Bob