HOW TO SPEAK AS A LEADER

by: Remie Longbrake | published: April 23, 2023

Do you employ the power of performance when you take the stage? Here’s how to achieve true leadership in your next high-stakes speech or presentation. Leadership is performance. And nowhere is this truer than in public speaking. In the drama observed by stakeholders in your organization or industry, you have the starring role. The most successful leaders have an intuitive sense of theater, performing many roles and convincing others to play their parts. But your ability to perform well doesn’t only matter when you’re on a stage! Whenever you interact with others, you’re in the spotlight. People make judgments about you based on the way you speak, sound, move, and interact with the world.

Tapping into your natural talent

Learning to speak as a leader will transform the most important component of your personal and organizational success: effective communication. In a recent survey conducted by the presentation software company Prezi, 70 percent of working Americans agreed that presentation skills are critical to their career success. The good news is that to embody the qualities of a leader when you speak, your
most powerful strategy is a simple one: tapping into your natural talents. Public speaking, that is, reflects who you are.

Public speaking is just another performance

You know the phrase, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”? Well, you’re already doing it. Throughout each day, you adjust your demeanor and behavior based on the needs of the people and situation you’re facing. The “you” presenting to your board is different from the you at home with loved ones, out with old high-school friends, or trying to talk your way out of a speeding ticket!

The sooner you realize that even a high-profile speaking event is just another opportunity to perform, the more readily you’ll let yourself be yourself. That’s important, because audiences just want the real you. Any attempt to look and sound “excellent” will advertise itself as that. Listeners truly want to know you and to connect with you.

Raising the bar on your speech

It’s time, then, to recalibrate: to consider how you’ll reach the next level and truly speak as a leader. To do that, you need to understand the presentational art. More about that in a moment. But first, here are three “mantras” you can keep in mind to give yourself a winning ticket.

• Pay more attention to your purpose than your content. Chances are, you already have subject matter expertise coming out of your ears. But do you know how to conduct an audience analysis for business presentations, to be clear on your purpose.
• Establish rapport and connect with audiences. Do you give some thought and practice time to accomplishing this essential act of speaking for leadership? Do you know, for instance, how to master a conversational style with a large audience? Have you watched speeches you’ve given to observe whether it’s happening? If you don’t routinely have someone video your speeches, start to do so!
• Be action – oriented. As a speaker in your own profession, you should lead by learning how to woo an audience and move people to action. It’s one of the best ways, and sometimes the only way to measure the success of your speeches.

Take a page… and take the stage

Looking and moving confidently in public speaking is a clear mandate for leading others. Whatever the content of your message, your physicality needs to match your material in terms of impact. Make your
movement, gestures, and overall level of energy exactly large enough to reach the person farthest from you. You’ll create just the right “size” for your speech in terms of the audience and venue.

In closing

As a leader, you have a need to persuade. From employees to boards to external audiences. Clearly, this
requires more than great platform skills. Public speaking audiences have sensitive antennae when it comes to a leader’s authenticity and credibility. That’s when your qualities as a selfless leader who’s concerned with giving listeners his or her best will increase your power in the public speaking arena.