PowerPoint Tips Blog

Helping you with presenting, PowerPoint, and speaking

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Tips
  • E-Store
  • Training
  • About
  • Affiliates
  • Advertise
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Content / How to speak like a leader

How to speak like a leader

January 5, 2019 by Ellen Finkelstein 5 Comments

READ LATER - DOWNLOAD THIS POST AS PDF >> CLICK HERE <<

powerpoint-tips-speak-like-leader-1aDo you think of yourself as a leader? Do you want to sound like a leader when you speak? What does that even mean?

A leader tries to guide and motivate others to take action and implement change. Of course, there are many ways of doing that, but it’s important to note that leadership doesn’t involve forcing people to act in a certain way. For that reason, as a leader you need to:

  • Inspire and motivate people
  • Guide them to work together
  • Take responsibility for progress towards a goal

A lot of the work of leadership is done through speaking, both to individuals one-on-one and to groups.

Here are some guidelines for speaking like a leader.

1. Describe the needpowerpoint-tips-speak-like-leader-2

In order to get others to buy into the need to change, you need to describe the need. What’s the problem with the status quo?

Because people are often comfortable with the current state of affairs, you may need to emphasize why change is needed — the consequences of not changing.

One of my clients hesitated to buck the old habits of his Fortune 500 employer even though the strategies weren’t working anymore. We worked together to come up with a presentation that presented both the data and the stories behind the data. The results was a change in how the employer worked with its partners and a promotion for my client!

2. Share your visionpowerpoint-tips-speak-like-leader-3

People need to visualize what things could be like after a change. This inspires them to do the sometimes hard work of learning new procedures and unlearning old habits. When you speak, you need to share your vision of the new way, without sounding preachy or condescending.

What’s in it for them?

A client presented at a news conference to reporters and her goal was to convince them to include some scientific research in their articles. But she wanted to just describe the research and hesitated to include persuasive images and lay-person language that would win them over. I explained that she had to come out of her “scientist” persona and meet the reporters’ needs, which was to write a compelling article.

3. Show your confidence and knowledge

You must be prepared before you speak. You need to have done your homework and have arrived at a conclusion that you feel confident in. (Later, I’ll talk about the importance of listening and compromise, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t research and think about the situation in advance.)

An Accounting Department Manager gave presentations to C-level executives and they asked her to get presentation skills training. It turned out that she thought her role was just to provide statistics, whereas they were expecting her expert opinion. She needed to learn to include her judgment in her presentations.

powerpoint-tips-speak-like-leader-44. Use plenty of examples–stories and case studies

Back up your research with examples–stories and case studies. Tell a story of how things went wrong last week. Share a case study from another company who made similar changes. Read online customer reviews that are hurting the company. Whatever the problem, examples will help your audience really feel the situation.

5. Listenpowerpoint-tips-speake-like-leader-5

As a leader, you should have a plan — a blueprint for the way forward, but you also need to be willing to make adjustments to it. There are always points of view you didn’t think of, so ask for feedback and listen to it carefully.

In order to motivate people to change, you need to consider the needs of the people who are doing the changing. You may need to compromise to move forward and reach the goal.

6. Work collaborativelypowerpoint-tips-speak-like-leader-6

Even as a leader, you need to work with people and participate in the change. People don’t want to see you as a taskmaster but as a leading partner. Once you’ve explained the problem, shared your vision, showed your confidence and knowledge, used examples, and listened to feedback, you need to take the first step. Then others will move with you and you can move mountains. Remember, a team is much more powerful and effective than one person working alone!

If you would like to speak as a leader, contact me so we can discuss training and consulting to meet your needs.

What characteristics do you think a speaker should have when trying to be a leader? What has worked for you? What hasn’t worked? Leave a comment and please share this article with others who want to lead.

Share14
Tweet
Share
+1
Shares 14
READ LATER - DOWNLOAD THIS POST AS PDF >> CLICK HERE <<

Related posts:

  1. Why you need a story for your presentations
  2. Use PowerPoint like a flip chart–draw as you speak
  3. Speaking to inspire
  4. Cliff Atkinson presents on “How to let go of notes and speak from the heart”

Filed Under: Content Tagged With: change, confidence, convince, leader, leadership, motivate, opinion, speak like a leader, speaking

5
Leave a Reply

avatar
This comment form is under antispam protection
5 Comment threads
0 Thread replies
0 Followers
 
Most reacted comment
Hottest comment thread
5 Comment authors
Taylor HansenTrevor HallDsongColinDenise Brewer Recent comment authors
avatar
This comment form is under antispam protection
  Subscribe  
newest oldest most voted
Notify of
Denise Brewer
Guest
Denise Brewer

Great blog! I would like to suggest another important attribute of a great leader is objectivity. It has
been an area of importance for me because I have worked in such culturally diverse populations where I have found it to be a very necessary trait.

Vote Up0Vote Down 
4 years ago
Colin
Guest
Colin

A leader will often go through the motions of listening and consulting and then go ahead and make a stupid decision anyway. What leaders today seem incapable of doing however, is apologising when it is obvious that an error has been made. That error will have had an effect in some way – maybe on the bottom line or in staff morale. So to ignore that mistake, or to pretend it hasn’t happened is foolish. So leaders also need to have honesty and humility.

Vote Up0Vote Down 
4 years ago
Dsong
Guest
Dsong

Thanks for website.
Good luck.

Vote Up0Vote Down 
3 years ago
Trevor Hall
Guest
Trevor Hall

I like your idea to make sure the people know what the end result could look like so they are more motivated to work towards it. My spouse and I are trying to get in touch with a speaker that can come to a local business. We want to know how to become better leaders and managers so that we can help others more.

Vote Up0Vote Down 
2 years ago
Taylor Hansen
Guest
Taylor Hansen

As the founder of a cookie delivery startup, I want to be a better speaker as I start to meet with potential investors. I appreciate the advice about making the end result more clear for others. Thanks for the tips and I’ll work on each one so I can be prepared for effective meetings with investors.

Vote Up0Vote Down 
2 years ago
wpdiscuz   wpDiscuz

Free Video Training!

13 Techniques that Will Make Designing Your Slides EASY!

And get the PowerPoint Tips Newsletter with tips and resources for presenters. Plus 5 bonus tips!

BirdSend Email Marketing Tool
4-up-ads PresenterMedia PoweredTemplate High-Persuasion Secrets Power Pointers Quarter Hour


Recent Posts

Recent Posts

  • Using PowerPoint’s cartoon people
  • Which version of PowerPoint should you buy?
  • Add a customizable, live web feed with Cameo
  • Get a designer look with abstract images to create backgrounds for slides and shapes
  • Creating and using a strong call-to-action slide

Connect with me!

Connect with me! Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Ellen Finkelstein, Inc. · Fairfield, IA · Tel: 515-989-1832

Privacy, Refund, and Other Legal Stuff

wpDiscuz