4 Keys To Speaking Like A Leader In Meetings
Read Time: 4 Minutes
One of my students who recently joined The Impromptu Speakers Academy articulated his biggest struggle going into the program:
My biggest struggle is articulating myself clearly to external and internal senior stakeholders and being more credible. I want to be able to relay my messages more confidently.
This is a very relatable problem that I faced as a corporate marketing coordinator in my twenties. I felt overshadowed in meetings, relegated as a notetaker because I was too unsure that anything I'd say wouldn't contribute anything meaningful.
This drove me to develop techniques that I'm about to share with you. It took me 2 years before I saw results because I didn't have the formal structure, reps, or feedback, but by the end of this issue you will have 4 key tools to take that first step towards improvement.
The 6 Foundations of CEO-Level Communication
In Episode 2 of The Preston Chin Podcast this week, we covered these:
- Be Concise
- Be Interested, Not Interesting
- Be Engaging
- Be Opinionated
- Be Attentive
- Be Purpose-Driven
Today, let's explore four of these foundations in detail.
1. Be Concise
Being concise is crucial for making your message resonate. Here are three key techniques we'll practice in the Academy:
a) Use the BLUF Technique: "Bottom Line Up Front" means starting with your main point in one or two sentences. Pro tip: you don't have to answer their direct question if there's a more important question behind the question to address. For example, if someone asks you, "Which opportunity should we prioritize this quarter?", you could say, "I think we need to align on our prioritization criteria in order to answer that question." Here, the criteria to prioritize is the more important issue behind their surface-level question.
Start your BLUF by incorporating the beginning of their question into your answer -- in this case, "What motivated me to become a software engineer was...". When you pause, think through the core of your answer as a way to complete the sentence.
b) Slow Down: Speaking at a deliberate pace (around 80-100 words per minute) allows you to process your thoughts and choose your words carefully. This technique helps you vary your pace for emphasis and clarity. You can use an app like Speeko to do this or get a feel for what 80-100 words sounds like here.
2. Be Interested, Not Interesting
The best communicators are the best listeners. We care to hear about others first before we share our own opinions. Here's how we'll practice this in the Academy:
a) Active Listening: We'll use a framework that involves pausing, summarizing the speaker's main points (without repeating word for word), and asking for clarification. This is foundational to 1) showing that you care, 2) ensuring you're addressing a topic that they care about most, and 3) getting them to reciprocate listening to you. Pro Tip: the next time you're in a conversation, prevent yourself from directly answering a question the moment you're asked. It's a muscle memory that we need to retrain.
b) Open-Ended Questions: Learn to ask questions that start with "what," "how," or "why" to encourage deeper, more insightful responses. This allows you to unpack their intent rather than addressing surface-level questions. Avoid questions starting with "are," "did," "do," "have," and "will" because they lead to short responses like "yes" and "no."
3. Being Engaging
Keeping your audience captivated is a crucial skill for any leader. In the Academy, we'll focus on two powerful techniques:
a) Answer Questions With Stories: You can answer questions using the PAP (Problem, Aggravation, Payoff) framework. This structure helps you create compelling narratives that stick in people's minds. Here's a newsletter issue I wrote a while back that covers this in more detail.
b) Emotional Tagging: Practice conveying emotions through your facial expressions and voice modulation. We'll work on matching your emotional delivery to your message for maximum impact.
4. Speaking with Purpose
Every word you say should contribute to your bottom line. In the Academy, we'll practice aligning your communication with key business objectives:
a) Revenue Focus: Learn to frame your ideas in terms of increasing revenue or decreasing costs.
b) Market Impact: Practice discussing strategies to increase market share or reduce time to market.
c) Exposure: Develop the habit of relating your points to increasing customer retention and reducing risk.
This Week's Action Step
It's hard to implement all of these tips at once, so pick 1 at a time going into your next meeting. I'd recommend starting with answering questions by 1) pausing first and 2) articulating your bottom line up front in a single sentence. You can find an example of me doing this in this newsletter issue too (see :50 - 2:40 time stamps in the video).
A sneak peak of how you can use BLUF HERE.
If you found this helpful, the Impromptu Speakers Academy is my 3-week bootcamp to help you become a clear and confident speaker at work. Reserve your spot today while they're still available. Mastering these skills takes a lot of practice. In the Impromptu Speakers Academy, you'll have plenty of opportunities to refine these techniques with personalized feedback and real-world applications.
Hope this helps.
Preston
