The key to truly effective speaking of any form lies in the ability
of a leader to let his or her personality shine through
Our Athena Alliance partner is always amazed at people who h
ave the misconception that successful leaders have no trouble communicating
with an audience. These people argue that leaders who are charting a
course to continued prosperity for their companies couldn’t
possibly worry about making a speech or presentation. Yet not all
leaders are good speakers. Some may be thrust into a senior role with
little experience in public speaking. Others may be overly confident;
failing to realize that when they speak their audience isn’t really
paying attention.
This Alliance partner advises and coaches CEOs and senior executives on their presentation skills.
He has worked with politicians and senior executives from such
companies as ING, Rolls Royce, JP Morgan, Effem Inc. and Tim Horton’s.
This singular approach to speaking, in the context of
interviews and small meetings – helps leaders discover how to be less
self-conscious and more natural while communicating. The accepted
wisdom is that to be an effective speaker you must be smooth and
articulate. Our Partner believes that communicating
well requires going beyond being polished, or what he refers to as the
“pomposity of speaking. He helps people build on their unique
personality to become more informal and relaxed." He compares
it to having a conversation with a few close friends, a situation where
none of us worry about how we present ourselves.
Leaders must be prepared to communicate in a number of
different ways, and this Alliance Partner has helped many excel in very
difficult speaking situations. In 2006, this Alliance partner coached a client who went on to win a pitch for a $150 million contract.
He helps leaders succeed by getting them to understand that it is a
speaker’s responsibility to ensure that their listeners remember what
they’ve heard. That may sound easy, but think about it for a minute.
When you made your lastpresentation did you give your audience time to
reflect? Did people come up to you afterward to talk to you? Are you
sure you made an impression?
Helping Leaders Pitch their Companies to Investors
Some of the lessons from this session include:
