“We speak like leaders. Now our people can follow.” Peter Hill, CEO, Billy Casper Golf
You want to lead your team.
You know your purpose.
You wrote your mission statement.
You want to make a difference in the world.
You’ve called your team and investors together. You lay out your vision with lots of words, but who’s listening? You see the audience leaning back, looking down. You get blank stares – some non-committal ‘uh-huhs”.
It’s embarrassing. Confusing. Frustrating, isn’t it? You change the words and try again, but get no change in the audience response.
BOLD SPEAKING
The only way to guarantee that your purpose will make it into the world is to speak BOLDly! Speak ON purpose. You are speaking WITH purpose, because you are full of passion about what you do. It’s so much “blah, blah, blah” until you speak BOLDly ON purpose.
NOT JUST ABOUT THE WORDS
I’ve coached 35 TEDx speakers. One has more than 2,000,000 views. Another has almost 500,000. Others have barely 1000. The difference I see: the more successful ones focus on more than words. BOLD speaking is delivering the words in a deliberate way. Plenty of research has shown that how you speak makes all the difference in whether your audience gets your message – or not.
AUTHENTICITY OR PRACTICE?
BOTH! You’ve heard this: “Just be authentic. You’ll be fine.” BOLD CEO Speaking requires the total you – words and actions together. You may bring your authentic voice, but it falls flat. Now what?
- Plan exactly when and how you are going to move, as you say specific words.
- Practice the walk to make a certain point.
- Plan deliberate actions with your hands, your face, or your head.
- Let the words tell your body how to move.
In his talk, one of my clients used the word, “Magical”, but his body didn’t change from the rest of the sentence. We didn’t see or sense “Magical”. It garnered no response. Another used the word “Thrilled”, but still had a deadpan face. Your body needs to enhance those words. This deliberate whole body practice does not make you fake! It enhances and augments your authenticity.
THE FIRST REAL TEST
Video yourself. Does your speaking LOOK BOLD, deliberate, on purpose? As you watch yourself, do you FEEL your “visual rhythm” on the screen helping you, the viewer, see a BOLD CEO? The video should give you feedback about what you need to do to speak more BOLDly with your authentic passion. Continue this practice until you believe yourself!! Your audience will believe the BOLD CEO, too.
Next, you might want to have a look at the BOLD speaker win-loss checklist.
