Obama’s Syrian Sale

Barack Obama has a poor background to be a crisp communicator – lawyer, professor and senator.  Long scholarly arguments filled with nuance.  In his press conference today from the G20 Summit in St. Petersburg, his background was on full display. His answers were overly long.  He was too nice to the reporters.  He answered hypotheticals.  He went off on tangents. He sold us something by telling us what it is not. 

We all know the President can give a great prepared speech.  Yet on next Tuesday, he should abandon his perfect platform speech and make a simple straightforward pitch to the American people. 

A few suggestions:

·         Dump the “I/My” language for “We/Our”
·         Use shorter declarative sentences
·         Don’t explain your opponent’s views
·         Tell us what it is – not what it isn’t
·         Set a historical context for this action
·         Punch words with passion and conviction
·         Tell us why it’s worth it for us

He should make his talk 10 minutes.  Lincoln needed less at Gettysburg.  After weeks of debate and bluster from all sides, he should need no longer to crystallize his message. 

His words should be forged in steel, not swathed in subtlety.

Build Your Presence

Can you be a horrible human being and have presence?  Sure.  Hitler, Caligula, Sadaam.  Pick your poison.  They all had "bad" presence of one kind or another.  Serial killers have presence. You can be a miserable SOB and have presence.  Bernie Madoff still has presence in prison.

You can drive yourself nuts reading about it all - executive presence, leadership presence and plain old professional presence. I'll keep it simple.  After coaching 3000 men and women on Wall Street from CEOs to college grads, here's what I've observed from those who have what I call "good" presence. 

They tend to:

• act like they belong wherever they are
• are fully engaged in whatever they're doing
• ask thoughtful questions and genuinely listen
• lead with respect, consideration and kindness
• guard their reputation by acting with integrity
• connect with people on a human level everywhere
• display unflagging passion, commitment and energy
• try to add value to every situation they participate in
• speak clear messages by talking with people, not at them

In my experience, people with good presence are also authentic everywhere. They display their real self in the boardroom, the backyard, the bistro, the ballet or the ballgame.  What you see is what you get.  That consistency of personality helps others trust what they see from them.

Finally, presence is developed from the inside out.  A nice suit may only get you in the door.  A presence based on values and substance can get you a seat at the table.

Give Yourself Permission

At times in business, we can project a professional version of ourselves to the world, rather than our real selves - like secret agents using a cover identity.  Rather than risk being who we really are; we play it safe as someone else.

In my experience, this is the single greatest barrier to us being good communicators.  We present as professionals and forget how to talk as people.

When I ask a client to repeat something in practice, as their real self, they get much better.  At times, "night and day" better.

They drop their corporate facade.  They break "speaker scar tissue" that's built up over the years and they start taking a few chances - on themselves.  They stop "presenting" and start "talking" again.

Give yourself permission to be the real you at work.  You'll be a more relaxed communicator; people will connect with you again; and you'll make more of an impact on the world around you.

Lessons From Hillary

Today, January 23, 2013, Hillary Clinton testified on the tragedy in Benghazi before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.  I'll let others opine on the merits of her testimony. I suggest any woman or man who wishes to project their personal power go watch her appearance today. 
 
In terms of style and skill, her testimony was a communication classroom to watch someone who knows what they're doing in this type of setting.  My takeways:
 

• She sat up in her chair and engaged senators eye to face
• She was "all-in" - intellectually, physically and emotionally
• She gestured with purpose, synching gestures with words 
• She varied her pace and punch while reading her statement
• She probably read from bigger font, short paragraph text
• She directed answers to her questioner, not the committee
• She let the questioner's emotional force wash past her
• She responded to sharp accusations in calm, neutral terms
• She raised her voice once, to confront issues, not a person
• She framed her answers in clear, common-sense realities
• She projected her competence, clarity and transparency
• She illuminated her own sorrow, responsibility and regret

Finally, for any women around the world who speak in front of committees of two women and a whole bunch of middle-aged guys, take a lesson here. Like Hillary did; don't play to their standards. Play to yours.  Own your stage and space.  Project your physical, emotional and intellectual power.  Give them the whole package you possess. 

The men on that committee respect Secretary Clinton and know she's a force to be reckoned with - partly by performance and reputation, but also by how she carries herself in the spotlight. 

Love her or loathe her; she owns the room!

 

Obama - History Awaits

Tomorrow our President, Barack Obama, will deliver his second inaugural speech to the nation and the world.

This morning, a conservative professor named Thomas Basile wrote a piece on Forbes.com titled "Obama's Inaugural Speech Isn't Worth Watching." His Tea Party subtext is "Same Liberal Noise; Why Bother?" 

On one level, he's right.  Finding a memorable second inaugural speech is kind of like finding Paris Hilton's Greatest Film Roles.  

Yet I contend that, regardless of political affiliation, you should watch the President's speech. We are always facing a dangerous and uncertain world - every inaugural - every President.

As in other times, global and domestic challenges abound:

• climate change becoming ubiquitous and unstoppable
• radical elements shifting political lanscapes everywhere
• terrorism growing more autonomous and amorphous
• nuclear weaponization nearing uncontrollable global reality
• crushing debt forcing retrenchment of liberal democracies
• potential for local and regional wars raging out of control

At the same time, global and domestic opportunities abound:

• democratic elements, though crude, toppling dictatorships
• a global middle class forcing enormous economic change 
• potential U.S. energy independence with reward and risk
• science generating new discoveries in the universe
• genetic research revolutionizing treatment and prevention
• social media and technology fueling entrepreneurship

I encourage each American to ignore the cynics and all watch President Obama's speech tomorrow.  This is a man unburdened by the need to run for office. A man who is faced with the folly of partisan gridlock. A man who is admittedly conscious of his own legacy as President.

I expect partisanship. I also expect leadership. We all hope and pray that the President lifts us as a nation toward higher goals than mere media combat and party line votes. We've had about as much of that as we can stomach.

We stand on the verge of this generation's last gasps and the following generation's first triumphs. In his speech, Barack Obama is not a JFK receiving the torch. He's Dwight Eisenhower preparing to pass on the torch. Next inaugural, he won't get to say anything. He'll be mute.

Regardless of your politics, we all acknowledge that President Obama is pretty good with the spoken word. Tomorrow, I expect him to elevate the dialogue beyond reasonable and reachable to what excites us all as Americans - the very real possibility of our collective greatness rescuing our reason. 

Barack Obama is eminently capable of doing just that.  Let's all watch tomorrow and see if he does.  I guess Professor Basile will be sorting out his sock drawer.

In the context of great moments, this is like Ted Williams' last at bat.  I expect our President to deliver just like Ted did.

A home run.

Colin Powell's Presence

This post is about making an impact - from hello. 

Colin Powell does. You can too!

On today's edition of Meet the Press, the guest was General Colin Powell.  Whatever you think about General Powell's politics, no one can deny he is a man of tremendous significance and import in our world. 

I won't dwell on politics. Rather I'd encourage everyone to borrow from his communication style for your next business meeting - whether it's with your board of directors or your boss or your bridge club. 

Go watch the clip here and see for yourself. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/ 

David Gregory opens with an 8-word question about Chuck Hagel, the former senator who has been nominated for Defense Secretary.  He asks Powell: "why do you think he should be confirmed?" Colin Powell launched into a 2:34 defense of his friend, Senator Hagel. 

Here are some Powell Presence Points to observe from a professional leader and commanding communicator:

• He sat upright in a neutral position

• He wore a strong suit/tie/shirt combo

• He gestured with head, hands and eyes

• He spoke without any notes at all

• He spoke from his head, heart and gut

• He sounded calm and conversational

• He absolutely owned his message

What he achieved was what I call an "opening statement to the jury" where he laid out his case.  Can you do this in your next meeting? Sure. Rather than start with your head buried in a deck of slides, start upright with no notes.  As I said in my last post, you can even ask yourself an opening question to stay conversational and look relaxed.

Lay out your case for 2 minutes.  Before you get to slide one, you may get a question from the board or your boss.  Welcome it.  You are now back on your home court and you'll be fine.  Just as General Powell was with the stream of questions that followed. 

If you start any meeting like General Powell did today; you will own your stage from the first breath and you will establish a strong and commanding presence.  Try it. 

Perhaps General Powell, way back in high school in the Bronx, was a great communicator.  Perhaps not.  I'll bet you 20 bucks though, that he learned how to own his stage like this along the way.   

Mimic his style.  It works!