73. The Language of Leadership

Concept

Language is one of the leader’s most important tools for influence. What you say and how you say it makes a big difference on how you lead, influence, and persuade other people.

As mentioned above, I think leader-like language has four main characteristics: clarity, memorability, authenticity, and respect.

Have you ever come out of a meeting and wondered what the main message was? In my seminars, every hand goes up. If you are speaking to a team, a group, your company, your message should be unequivocally clear. If people don’t understand what you are saying, you might as well not say it.

Have you ever come out of a meeting and a week later you can’t remember what the message was? Again, every hand goes up. Leaders who can send a message in a way that is unforgettable will have a bigger impact than those who cannot.

Have you ever listened to an executive speak and thought, “That’s BS. That’s not what he/she is or believes?” You get the feeling or sense that the speaker is acting or pretending? And the impact on your trust is up, flat, or down?

Finally, like me, you have probably listened to powerful, clear, memorable speakers who were evil people. People who can persuade and not for good purposes. Hitler comes to mind. So, I argue, effective leaders should be respectful of their audience and of humanity.

If you are clear in your communications (you have a story/Charter), and you communicate in a memorable way, and it’s really you, not some act, and you are respectful of your audience and all of humanity, then you are likely to have an impact for good on people.

To be clear means you know what you are trying to say. Too many people try to figure that out while they are speaking and the result is mass confusion.

To be memorable means you use some drama in your style. You use pauses effectively. You use emphasis effectively. You might even take a beginning drama class to learn how to be more powerful in your style. People tend to remember stories, particularly powerful stories. Review the chapter on Life’s Stories to find mini-stories from your own history to illustrate your key points.

To be authentic in your communication means that you aren’t hiding anything, that you are who you are and don’t try to be something you are not. That doesn’t mean if you are introverted or flat in your delivery that you can’t try to be more memorable. It just means that you don’t blow smoke, you don’t lie, you don’t pretend to be something or somebody you are not.

To be respectful means you respect all humans and all walks of life and strive to be aware and courteous to all people regardless of their backgrounds, race, gender, ethnicity, religion, age or background.

Example

There are a number of powerful speeches in history and in literature. ¹⁰ Some of these include: Teddy Roosevelt’s “Duties of American Citizenship,” Winston Churchill’s “We Shall Fight on the Beaches,” Chief Joseph’s “Surrender Speech,” John Kennedy’s “Inauguration Speech,” Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream,” and many more. You can find these and more in the reference/end note.

You can also find “22 of the Best Motivational Speeches of All Time,” here:

https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/best-motivational-speeches

Or the “10 Greatest Leadership Speeches of All Time” here:

https://opencolleges.edu.au/careers/blog/10-greatest-leadership-speeches-of-all-time

Steve Covey told the story of ill-fitting suits (see the chapter on Ill-fitting suits) in class when I was 24. Forty-five years later, I still haven’t forgotten that story. With the right story, you can have a similarly powerful impact.

Diagram

Challenge

¹⁰ https://artofmanliness.com/2008/08/01/the-35-greatest-speeches-in-history/