Executives

Artful words have changed history…

“I have a dream.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Mr. Gorbachev, Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” President Ronald Reagan

“My model for business is The Beatles. They were four guys who kept each other’s kind of negative tendencies in check. They balanced each other and the total was greater than the sum of the parts. That’s how I see business: great things in business are never done by one person, they’re done by a team of people.”
Steve Jobs, Interview with 60 Minutes, 2003

Each of these powerful statements represents complex ideas, challenges and calls-to-action.

MLK Jr. wanted to change the hearts as well as the minds of the country. His eloquence, the rhythmic propulsion of his ideas, the quotes that rolled off his tongue–these are what memorable, life-changing speeches are made of.

Ronald Reagan used four simple words to initiate one of the most significant political and systemic nation-changing moments in all of time.

Steve Jobs used the Beatles as a metaphor for a technology company’s vision and behavior.

You too can create artful and memorable speeches. Just because you’re an executive doesn’t mean that every word you speak has to be factual, logical and complicated.

What success would you and your company achieve if your speaking was as artful and memorable as these three leaders?

I’d like my clients to answer that question:

“Susan has a ‘way with words’ and can transform virtually any subject matter into interesting, understandable, and actionable material. She can help craft presentations resulting in a story that audiences will remember long after the presentation is over. She is gifted in dealing with her clients and inspires creative approaches with her calm yet passionate desire to see others succeed. I am grateful to have benefitted from her knowledge, skill, and ability, and encourage anyone seeking to improve their speaking skills to consider Susan.” K.W., Defense contractor

“Susan, you’re helping me grow my business through presentations to prospects that focus on their results. After getting excited about how they will prosper, they’re more interested in learning about my company.” J.B., CEO Aviation industry

“Susan, since working with you on my keynote, I’ve used the same principles and new skills on subsequent speeches and every one of them has been well-received.” T.D., Leadership Expert, Keynote Speaker

These clients and hundreds more turned to executive speaking coaching with me becasue they knew they could no longer default to the same old boring speeches and presentations their audiences have heard hundreds of times.

Just so you’re clear, I’m not in the business of ‘fixing’ people. I help executives capitalize on their strengths. After all, you’ve made it to where you are now. Speaking coaching will propel you to more success, however you define that.

What’s required to capitalize on your strengths?

  • Be absolute and unequivocal in your desire.
  • Do it because you want to.
  • Focus on the future. Don’t rehash all your past mistakes, feelings of discomfort, or embarrassments. They won’t change but every time you think about them, you dig yourself a deeper hole.
  • Know the specific context. Who, where, what, why? The more detailed the better.
  • State your vision in positive language such as “I am a speaker who grabs and keeps my audiences’ attention, who knows how much to cover, and who generates an “I’m glad I came” feeling in the audience.

Action steps will help you move forward:

  • Create a budget of time for your preparation. Allocate 40% on writing and 60% on practices and rehearsals.
  • Know what’s on the mind of your audience. What would they like to hear from you? How can you help them, guide them and inspire them?
  • Know your call to action first. Your whole speech or presentation must drive the audience to the call-to-action.
  • Reflect on your experience in relationship to the the audiences’ needs. You will use your experience to craft stories that show the audience what and how to address their questions.
  • Create your high-impact content mix: interesting facts, metaphors, popular culture, props, trends, ways of engaging the audience with each other. Be as original as possible.
  • Practice, practice, practice; rehearse and rehearse some more. Practices are for you to get your content in your mind; to listen to your voice; work on any sticky parts; and generally hear the words on the page come to life. Rehearsals are for the audience. You picture the room, the set up and the audience and speak full-out as if they were here. You’re training yourself to do this for real.

Executive speaking coaching with me includes all of these and more. Your engagement will be customized to achieve your desired outcomes and will be based on your strengths.

What the famous television talk show host (“O”) does for personal challenges I do for executives and leaders…

  • Meet your issues head on
  • Dispel old thinking
  • De-clutter your speeches and presentations
  • Enhance your relationships
  • Zero in on what you can control and reject what you can’t
  • Inspire people to take action on hard things

When you’re ready to capitalize on your strengths, call me and we’ll talk about how executive speaking coaching will work for you.