Get Out Of The Stone Age: Give Leadership Talks

160 years ago, the newly invented electric telegraph carried the first news message. The message zipped 40 miles in a flash over wires from Baltimore to Washington, D.C.

The public was dazzled -- except Henry David Thoreau. He wrote: "We are in great haste to construct a magnetic telegraph from Maine to Texas; but Maine and Texas, it may be, have nothing important to communicate."

Today, we live in a Golden Age of communication. We have the Internet. We have faxes. We have e-mails. We have streaming video. We have on-line audio. We have RSS feeds. We have logs and blogs.

Yet today Thoreau is as right as rain. When it comes to really getting our messages across, we're stuck in the Stone Age.

Here's why. The vast majority of business leaders I've encountered are repeatedly making a huge mistake in communication, a mistake that's screwing up their jobs and careers. They're stuck giving presentations and speeches. They're NOT giving Leadership Talks!

What's a Leadership Talk? Look at it this way: There's a hierarchy of verbal persuasion when it comes to business leadership. The lowest levels are speeches and presentations. They communicate information. The highest, most effective way of communicating is the Leadership Talk. The Leadership Talk does more than simply send information. It has the leader establish a deep, human, emotional connection with the audience. That's where leaders communicate for the best results.

Here are a few examples of leadership talks. When Churchill said, "We will fight on the beaches ... " That was a leadership talk. When Kennedy said, "Ask not what your country can do for you ... " that was a leadership talk. When Reagan said, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" That was a leadership talk.

You can come up with a lot of examples too. Go back to those moments when the words of a leader inspired people to take ardent action, and you've probably put your finger on an authentic leadership talk.

Mind you, I'm not just talking about great leaders of history. I'm also talking about all leaders everywhere no matter what their function or rank. After all, leaders speak 15 to 20 times a day: everything from formal speeches to informal chats. When those interactions are leadership talks, not just speeches or presentations, the effectiveness of those leaders is dramatically increased.

That's where business leaders communicate for the best results. You can order people to go from point A to point B. But the best way to get great results is to have people want to go from A to B. Instilling "want to" in others, motivating them ... isn't that what great leadership is all about?

Don't get me wrong. The Leadership Talk is not some kind of "feel-good" way of relating. It took me 20 years to figure out how to give Leadership Talks and write two books about it. There are specific processes one must manifest in order to give Leadership Talks. Usually it takes me two full days to teach people how to do it. Once they learn it, they can use it throughout the rest of their careers. The Leadership Talk is relatively easy to learn and it takes years to master. The point is that through it, you can take specific, concrete steps to motivate people to take action that gets great results.

For instance, before leaders can develop and deliver a Leadership Talk, they must first answer "yes" to three simple questions: "Do you know what the audience needs? Can you transfer your deep believe to others so they believe as strongly as you do about the challenges you face? And can you have that audience take ardent action that gets results?" If leaders "no" to any one of those questions, he/she can't give a Leadership Talk.

160 years ago the dots and dashes that chattered down the wires from Baltimore to Washington spelled out that the Whigs had nominated Henry Clay to run for the presidency.

Back then, Thoreau might have said nothing important was communicated; but today if you want to lead for great results, take Thoreau to heart. Communicate what truly IS important. Don't give presentations and speeches. Give Leadership Talks. Forge those deep, human, emotional connections with your audiences. Get them motivated to take ardent action for great results.

2005 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.com

The author of 23 books, Brent Filson's recent books are, THE LEADERSHIP TALK: THE GREATEST LEADERSHIP TOOL and 101 WAYS TO GIVE GREAT LEADERSHIP TALKS. He is founder and president of The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. ? and for more than 20 years has been helping leaders of top companies worldwide get audacious results. Sign up for his free leadership e-zine at http://www.actionleadership.com and get a free white paper: "49 Ways To Turn Action Into Results." For more about The Leadership Talk: http://theleadershiptalk.com

---

How To Use Outsourcing To Beat Your Competition

Outsourcing is when you hire outside professionals or services to... Read More

Problem-Solving Success Tip: Look For Sponsors And Solution Owners

Look for sponsors and solution owners rather than problem owners.Everyone... Read More

Effective Meetings: Why Most Meetings are a Waste of Time

Whether your company holds one meeting a week or dozens... Read More

Outsourced Learning: Are You Ready for Learning BPO?

As the business world enters a period of hyper-competitiveness, every... Read More

ISO 9001 What Records Does My Business Need To Keep?

Which documents must I keep for ISO 9001?In addition to... Read More

Selective Job Cuts Often Benefits Firm More Than Broad Layoffs Over Long Term

It is difficult to pick up a newspaper or listen... Read More

Performance Appraisals: Nightmares or Sweet Dreams

Some managers think of performance appraisal meetings and recollections of... Read More

Performance Evaluations Can Be Beneficial

THE PERFORMANCE REVIEW MEETING: It's a fact - most supervisors... Read More

Create Your Dashboard for Success

Driving down the road our eyes frequently scan the vital... Read More

Time Management and Team Development - The Yes and No of It

Sometimes.In fact making some small changes to the circumstances when... Read More

Internal Control - The Why and How

Many retailers do not have good internal controls in place... Read More

Tales From the Corporate Frontlines: Managerial Influence

This article relates to the Manager/Supervisor competency, commonly evaluated in... Read More

Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Senior Management and Directional Change

This article relates to the Senior/Top Level management of an... Read More

Focus and Shoot

One of my earliest childhood memories is watching Lew Alcindor... Read More

Leadership Styles - the Ten Top Qualities the Best Leaders Show

Top leaders...Are Visionary Top leaders have a very clear understanding... Read More

Critical Success Factors - Next

The Critical Success Factors Focusing on the... Read More

Book Summary: Mind Your Own Business

A maverick is an independent person who will not go... Read More

Knowledge Management - Learning Whilst Doing - Facilitating an After Action Review

Introducing a learning culture into organisations can be difficult at... Read More

Training Managers and New Trainers

Training managers use many of the same interpersonal and analytical... Read More

Enable Continuous Improvement of IT Services through ITIL

One of the major benefits, if not THE benefit of... Read More

Resolving Needs - What Your Employees Wish For!

For your people, they want to do a great job... Read More

How To Get 10% More Work Out Of Your Employees

It is getting harder to run a business for a... Read More

Industry Analysis Section of Your business plan

Writing a Business Plan for your next entrepreneurial endeavor is... Read More

How to Leverage Your Strengths for Peak Performance

Ask almost any business leader how to most effectively develop... Read More

Learning To Let Go

If you have the entrepreneurial spirit (which clearly you have!),... Read More

Hire Winners: Ask the Right Questions

How do you as a manager, supervisor or team leader... Read More

How To Decrease Profits Without Really Trying

Hurting your sales efforts can be accomplished easily with the... Read More

Loyalty, Motivation And Work-Life Balance

Managers who aren't loyal to their people can't expect loyalty... Read More

Problem-Solving Success Tip: Use Your Project Management Skills

Solving a big problem is a project: you're far more... Read More

People - You Cant Make Them What Theyre Not

Many business people and managers are spending too much time... Read More

Are You the Culprit?

Are you a business, non-profit or association manager who pretty... Read More

How Your Feelings and Those of Your Employees Can Make The Difference

How we feel is really more important than what we... Read More

The Walmart Cult

The CultBecoming a part of the Cult, consists of being... Read More