It’s deadly to fall in love with your own voice, but the higher you go, the more you need to talk effectively.
Brevity with clarity is gold in a frenetic world.
The top 10 rules for talking like a leader:
- The only reason to open your mouth is to make something better. (If you only remember one rule, make it this one.)
- Be brief. The longer you talk, the less effective you become. The Gettysburg address was 272 words.
- Be brief and ask, “What else would you like to know?”
- Stay present with others. Presence is “going with” even when challenging ideas. You aren’t present when pushing your own agenda at the expense of others.
- Ask people what they need to know, before telling them what they need to know.
- Stay on topic. Chasing rabbits is for dogs.
- Explain yourself. Don’t give people the benefit of your conclusions without explaining how you found them.
- Include purpose when giving direction. Busyness is a fog that obscures the big picture.
- Tell stories. (Remember rule #2.)
- Stay calm if you expect to connect. Strong emotion intimidates.
The power of brevity:
7 short questions to help others reflect:
- If you could?
- What isn’t working?
- What worked best?
- What’s the purpose?
- What energizes you?
- What drains you?
- What matters now?
4 short sentences to help others find solutions:
- What might work?
- Who might know?
- Tell me more.
- And what else?
5 short sentences that ignite forward movement:
- What’s next?
- Why wait?
- Do it now.
- Go for it.
- What’s stopping you?
3 short – life changing – sentences leaders avoid:
- I don’t know.
- I was wrong.
- Please forgive me.
Powerful Leadership Wisdom in only three words:
- Behavior is destiny.
- Make things better.
- Eject energy vampires.
- Leverage your strengths.
- Find a coach.
- Learn from failure.
- Serve your team.
- Say something positive.
- Ask more questions.
- Build strong relationships.
What one thing from this post could you implement today?
What three word sentence could you add?