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    CHIEFS
    CHIEFS
    CHIEFS
    Ebook219 pages2 hours

    CHIEFS

    By NEIL FLETT

    ()

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    About this ebook

    CHIEFS is a communication handbook for those in the c-suite, who's very future - and that of their organisations and shareholders - can hang on whether he or she has communicated convincingly, confidently and inspirationally.
    Author Neil Flett has drawn on 45 years in journalism, public relations then management training to provide the critical communication tips they don't teach in workshops: How to use an auto-cue, how to deal with the media, speak to large audiences, deal one-to-one. The global management training company he built, Rogen International trained hundreds of thousands of leaders in business, government, sport and community. He and his partners created cutting edge, practical data and honed it in the workplace, coaching Government Ministers, Olympians, CEO's and Chairmen.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublishereBookIt.com
    Release dateMar 23, 2018
    ISBN9781456630829
    CHIEFS

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      Book preview

      CHIEFS - NEIL FLETT

      CHIEFS

      Communication tips and tactics

      for those at the very top.

      By Neil Flett

      Copyright 2018 Neil Flett

      Neil Flett asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

      All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form (including photocopying or storing in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without permission in writing from the publisher.

      ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-3082-9

      Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com

      http://www.eBookIt.com

      

      "It's hard to lead a cavalry charge

      if you think you look funny on a horse."

      – Adlai E. Stevenson II.

      Adlai Stevenson was so right.

      Ask yourself: Do I look like a leader when I’m communicating, or do I feel I still look like a manager? If you’re one of the c-suite, whether chief executive, chief financial officer or chief operating officer, and you don’t feel you’re communicating well, it’s probably the case that you’re not. And others will notice – fellow leaders, your Board of Directors, your employees and your shareholders.

      You may think you’ve more important things to do than to worry about the impressions you leave when communicating, but get your communication really wrong and your share price may well be affected.

      Other people’s impressions will define you as a leader. Even leaders at the very top can feel uncomfortable dealing with large audiences, media conferences, financial briefings, television appearances and critical business pitches.

      If you’re one of them, then you’ve come to the right place. If you want to pick up better ways of dealing with people, read on… If you need to express a Vision for your team or make changes that stick… then you need the practical magic of the concepts contained in these pages.

      Every piece of advice given here has been proven by Top 500 CEO’s, chairmen, company directors, Heads of State, Olympic champions and high-profile community leaders, over 40 years.

      Author Neil Flett, founder of Rogen International, journalist, public relations expert, and communication coach to those at the very top, has put together the tips and ideas that will challenge your thinking, solve your problems and get you through those times when everything is at stake, and everyone is looking to you to perform.

      CONTENTS:

      Part 1: Life in the C-Suite

      IT’S LONELY AT THE TOP

      THE CHANGING WORLD OF COMMUNICATION

      THE ART OF CONTROL

      THE LEADER AS A BRAND

      THE IMPORTANCE OF THE LEADER BRAND

      CREATING YOUR PUBLIC PROFILE

      YOU’RE IN CONTROL OF YOUR BRAND

      INTERNAL COMMUNICATION VIA EXTERNAL MEDIA

      NEVER BE SEEN TO SEEK PUBLICITY

      UNDERSTAND WHAT MAKES THE NEWS

      HOW YOU COMMUNICATE AFFECTS HOW THE COMPANY PERFORMS

      JUST UNDER-PROMISE AND JUST OVER-DELIVER

      SET EXPECTATIONS

      ENJOY THE HONEYMOON WHILE YOU CAN

      YOU CAN FALL IN A HOLE BUT FILL IT UP

      Part 2: Communicating in the C-Suite

      DELIVERING AT THE TOP

      ENGAGING YOUR AUDIENCE WITH STORIES

      WHEN A STORY TELLS IT ALL

      YOU DON’T CREATE CHANGE WITH EMAIL

      TIME FOR A PRESENTATION AND TIME FOR A SPEECH

      AVOIDING NERVES – OR TACKLING THEM

      CONQUERING THE CHALLENGE OF NOTES

      BECOMING POWERFUL

      IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS THAT COUNT

      WHEN STRUCTURE MAKES THE DIFFERENCE

      CENTERING YOURSELF

      RHETORIC – LOVE IT OR HATE IT

      50mm CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE

      THE WORDS THAT PROVE YOU’RE NOT CONNECTING

      IF IT FEELS CLUMSY, CHANGE IT

      THERE IS NO ‘AUDIENCE’

      CREATE AN AUDIENCE

      GESTURES – BRINGING YOUR SPEECH ALIVE

      GESTURES ARE VISUAL AIDS

      GESTURES CAN BE TOO BIG, AND TOO SMALL

      USE GESTURES TO DESCRIBE

      GESTURES ARE FOR THE AUDIENCE

      KEEP YOUR GESTURES BEHIND THE LECTERN

      TELL US HOW YOU FEEL

      MOVEMENT ABOVE ALL

      MOVEMENT MUST HAVE PURPOSE

      THE POWER OF PRESENT PARTICIPLES

      GET YOUR HAND OUT OF YOUR POCKET!

      EMPATHISE

      TALK BENEFITS, NOT FEATURES

      THE BIG BLACK ARROW

      TAKE THE WIN

      CONVERSATIONAL LANGUAGE

      Part 3: Presenting Financial Results

      THEY’RE JOINED AT THE HIP

      HOW MANY TIMES DO YOU NEED TO TELL THEM?

      CUT DOWN THE NUMBER OF SLIDES

      DON’T USE ANY SLIDES

      DON’T READ THE SLIDES

      KEEP INFORMATION TO A MINIMUM

      IF IT’S COMPLEX, HELP THE LISTENER

      SHARE THE ANSWERS

      REPEAT THE QUESTION

      ANSWER WELL, ONCE

      CONTROL THE ROOM

      TIP: CONTROL THE PHOTOGRAPHERS

      WHO’S RUNNING THE SHOW?

      DEALING WITH VERBOSITY

      CONNECTING FOR THOSE VOTES

      Part 4: Mastering Technology

      THE CURSE OF THE TELEPROMPTER

      SHOOTING THE COMPANY VIDEO

      THERE ARE TIMES WHEN NOT TO USE TECHNOLOGY

      THE LEADER’S ROLE IN CELEBRATION

      Part 5: Coming First with the Fourth Estate

      DEALING WITH THE MEDIA: HOW AVAILABLE ARE YOU?

      A PICTURE IS WORTH…

      CONTROLLING THE MEDIA CONFERENCE

      THE RIGHT VOLUME SPEAKS VOLUMES

      PLAYING THE MEDIA GAME, BY YOUR RULES

      SPEAKING FOR TELEVISION

      DEATH BY MEDIA – YOU ASKED FOR IT!

      FOUR PIECES OF PAPER CAN MAKE YOU A MEDIA STAR

      TAKING CONTROL OF A MEDIA INTERVIEW

      FLAG THE GRAB

      ACKNOWLEDGING THE QUESTIONER

      Part 6: When The Bullets are Flying

      EVERYTHING’S AN ISSUE

      A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE

      THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT REPUTATION MANAGEMENT

      GET USED TO IT!

      THE ART OF KNOWING HOW MUCH TO SAY

      IS NOTHING SACRED?

      YOU CAN MAKE DECISIONS. BUT NOT THE WRONG ONES!

      Part 7: Setting The Direction

      WRITING YOUR LEADERSHIP EULOGY

      WHAT SORT OF VISIONARY ARE YOU?

      YOU’VE GOT TO BE JOKING!

      THREE RULES FOR VISIONS

      SO HOW DO YOU DO IT?

      A NEW APPROACH?

      IS THERE ANOTHER WAY?

      ASK ME HOW

      A POWERFUL, ENJOYABLE EXPERIENCE

      TIME TO REVISIT COMMITTEES

      YOU DON’T BUY A HOUSE ON YAMMER

      THE RIGHT REASON AND THE REAL REASON

      Part 8: Leading Growth

      IF YOU’RE NOT GROWING YOU’RE SHRINKING

      WHEN 80% IS WORTH MORE THAN 100%

      GUIDING VALUES WHEN WE BUY

      THE MULTI-MILLION-DOLLAR BID – A WORLD WITHOUT FACTS

      CONTINUUM THINKING

      YOUR ROLE IN THE PITCH: TRUE OR FALSE?

      WHEN CLARITY COUNTS

      SMARTER LISTENING

      THE BEST QUESTIONS HELP THE CLIENTS REFRAME THEIR THINKING

      GETTING PAST THE COMPANY LINE

      GROWING IN TOUGH TIMES

      RESULTS NOT CULTURE CHANGE

      THE LEADER’S AMAZING QUESTION

      CREATING THE MULTI MILLION DOLLAR PROPOSAL

      TEN TIPS THAT SHOW YOU ARE A TEAM

      Part 9: Final Thoughts

      Part 1: Life in the C-Suite

      IT’S LONELY AT THE TOP

      You’ve made it to the C-Suite, with that word ‘chief’ in front of your title. Whether you are a Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, or the Chief Executive, you’re going to need to change the way you communicate.

      The skills and strategies that worked for you as a manager and general manager need to be modified now that you’re one of the company’s top leaders. The way you present yourself, talk to your team, talk to customers, media, analysts, and shareholders must be fine-tuned because your playing field has changed. Now you’re a brand, and your brand is linked intrinsically to the success of your organization.

      Now when you speak in public or appear in front of the media, you’re under scrutiny, not only by your team but from the financial media and analysts, those whose commentary can and will affect the share price.

      For 45 years I’ve consulted to the C-suite, government, and leaders in sport and community, in the subtleties of top-level communication. In these pages, I’ve attempted to put together all the tips and advice I’ve learned and passed on during that time.

      If communicating superbly is like climbing Everest, then presentation programs are like striding through the foothills to Base Camp. This book is about scaling the final 100 metres to the summit. It’s harder up there. Instead of big steps, every finger-hold counts and if you do slip, the consequences are much, much worse.

      But the ultimate rewards are also more satisfying.

      THE CHANGING WORLD OF COMMUNICATION

      C-Suite communication today carries with it more risk, not only because competition is fiercer, but media has expanded dramatically, and into social media where anyone can comment, and does. Now an impromptu thought shared with friends can be captured on an iPhone and broadcast, often then appearing in the mainstream media. Once you could separate a private chat from a public speech. Not so today.

      Communication surveys conducted by US business schools in the 70’s and 80’s all led to roughly the same conclusion: Only around 7% of the impression made by a presenter or public speaker was created by what was said. 53% of the impression was said to be how the speaker performed and the other 40% was who the speaker was.

      So the question was posed: Why do you spend 95% of your preparation on the words when most of the impression will be made by who you are and how you communicate? Instead, we were told to spend time on the words, but to devote much more to the way we communicated.

      But a lot has changed over the years and the survey results might not be as simple as they were taken to be back then.

      Today as a leader, you’re facing a burgeoning media, and are far more likely to be held accountable for everything spoken. Whether the media be mainstream, or something as ubiquitous as YouTube, there is now a likelihood that your words will be captured, published, stored and played back in a vast number of new ways – E-ways … Twitter, Facebook, company websites, perhaps as video on an iPhone, and more. Once stored, the widest range of stakeholders can analyze every word and every nuance, financial analysts, media, competitors, unions, government, and employees – not all of whom will be keen to see you succeed.

      And your words are now accessible to the widest audience in history and able to be called up instantly with a keystroke, forever.

      So much for the words not being as important as the How and Who…

      Compare that to the ‘good old days’ when it was far more difficult to find an accurate transcript of a speech or presentation and a library was the place of record. Newspapers had libraries too, but they were closed to the public. Journalists who needed to read the background on a company or individual would have to go to their newspaper’s library files which contained cut and pasted copies of articles from the printed media, with original photographs. It took time and effort, all of which has been replaced by vastly more-comprehensive web-based libraries containing audio, video and printed words.

      Even back then practitioners in public relations used to worry about those newspaper clippings because even if the story had been inaccurate at the time of publication, once it was in the newspaper’s library files it took on a more credible persona and in time, was often accepted by some journalists as being factual coverage.

      Now the electronic media has exploded and a single comment can be taken, spread across the world, misreported a million times, filtered, added to, deliberately misread, built upon and challenged – even though it still began as a single comment in a long presentation.

      So as a leader you need to have total awareness of any possible ambiguity in your speech and must take into account that any statement can be taken at face value – more than ever before – and taken out of context. Once prised from the context of the speech itself, those stand-alone words can become dynamite.

      Consider, for example, the Governor of a Central Bank charged with addressing a group of parliamentarians. There is literally zero chance of an impromptu remark being made; of a slightly-ambiguous comment being made; of humor being used to lighten

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