Archive for August, 2005

Today’s New York Times ran a feature story on Jay-Z – rapper turned President of Def Jam Recordings. And a big league president at that, as the story explains the opportunity, including how his girlfriend and superstar Beyonce Knowles just “hangs around” his office.

What I found fascinating, and sad in a way, is his self professed inability to articulate and communicate and manage – and here he is – with an opportunity that came unexpectedly. (They usually do.) As the NY Times says:

Jay-Z still finds addressing a staff a bit uncomfortable. “When you’re on stage it’s like” ‘What’s up, Cleveland? Wave your hands in the air, say ho.’

"But to stand in front of people and give a speech and talk about the things you’re trying to do, it’s not easy.”

Not easy, unless you learn it early. And it is so learnable. Why do people wait until it counts most to learn to communicate, and then often miss the opportunity of high leverage when it will have the greatest impact – just because they haven’t learned the important skill of communicating and presenting well – when the heat’s on.

Three things to do NOW if you want to be your best when the pressure is on:

1. Have a Point Of View. Tell people the Big Idea of what you are talking about, then what you want them to do, and finally what’s in it for them. (Most managers tell their folks what they want them to do and the benefits for the company or for the manager, but what’s the benefit for THEM?)

2. You are your message – be passionate and enthusiastic about what you are saying. This is conveyed through your movement, gestures and vocal energy as the primary communicators of physical energy.  Energy equals enthusiasm.

3. Get yourself on videotape. See how you come across to others. I’ve trained tens of thousands of people, and without exception we undermine ourselves. We are much better than we think we are, as we imagine in our minds that we come across with much less impact than we actually have. You’ve got to see it.

Of course Jay-Z didn’t know or care about presentation skills in his rapper career, but as he has moved up the ladder, he cares. Never too late to learn.

Introducing someone? Remember W-E-B!

WEB: for Warmth, Expertise and Brevity. It’s all you need to remember when you are asked to introduce a speaker. Go heavy on the Warmth, moderate on the Expertise, tight on Brevity. Your job is to build enthusiasm and anticipations.

W – for Warmth: If you feel good about the speaker, the audience will. What is interesting about him/her? What is incredible, amusing, surprising or inspiring about her accomplishments? If you’ve never met him, what did he say in a telephone call you might make? Your experience of the speaker, warmly expressed, is vital to building the energy of friendly anticipation in the audience.

E – for Expertise: Enough to qualify the speaker to speak on his topic. Don’t rehash her whole resume or overstate her accomplishments – this is where most introductions fall flat. Weave her expertise into the topic of the speech, so the audience is primed to listen with interest.

B – for Brevity: From 30 seconds to 2 minutes, tops. This means you’ll have to begin highly energized, rehearse for time, and err on the side of short vs. long.

More Tips:

• Use the speaker’s name at least twice, fully pronouncing clearly.
• Always interview him/her ahead of time so your connection is personalized.
• If the speaker is “too important” to be personally interviewed, ask others who know him/her for interesting sidelights that make him come alive.
• Smile, really smile broadly, when you ask the audience to welcome ….! You yourself then warmly welcome the speaker to the lectern or spotlight area – never desert eh space before she gets there.

When you communicate, what’s your brand?

Many people into blogging are into branding too, so you may have your own perspective. This morning I got a different slant on branding that is worth considering – particularly since I believe that we always should project our own personal brand whenever we communicate with others. (That’s what “creating your communication experience” is all about.)

So I’m on the Advisory Board of The Salvation Army of San Francisco, and this morning saw the presentation of the new national branding campaign for the Army. It was created by a group hadn’t known before but you might have heard of, The Richards Group in Texas www.richards.com But you might have heard of some of their clients – Motel 6, for one, has been an ongoing campaign that is still going strong at 14 years.