With effective communication, you convey your strategy or ideas, thereby creating unity and support within your team or organization.
Write a good speech
Most leaders, for good reason, place significant emphasis on the details of their speeches. A speech is a source of motivation, inspiration, and clarification of the company’s or organization’s strategic direction, and the ability to deliver a good speech in many ways defines a great leader.
The tips are excerpted from a chapter in the book “Leaders Who Speak – Speeches That Lead,” written by Jesper Klit. Read the entire chapter here.
Learn more about communication and meet Jesper Klit at our management courses. Jesper teaches on the Executive Management Program INSEAD.
Good Tips for a Leadership Speech
Through his work as a communications advisor for several top executives, Jesper Klit has formulated the following advice for leadership speeches:
1: Control Your Environment
Leaders who communicate with high conviction take the stage with effective rhetoric, body language, and eye contact. They ensure that all details related to lighting, sound, and general coordination are functioning properly. By controlling these elements, the leader clearly signals that the speech is important and that they are fully present and ready to communicate. Experienced speakers understand that the audience listens best when the speech appears significant and the speaker is passionate about the subject.
The effective leader proactively engages with their audience and designs a compelling speech based on the various skills and preferences present among the listeners. They display a high level of composure during the speech by standing tall, keeping their head up, and generally remaining calm and collected.
2: Make Them Like You
According to behavioral researchers, the audience forms an opinion about you first and then about your speech. As a leader, you make decisions that affect many people, so it can be useful to make a clear promise that clarifies what the audience will gain by listening to your speech.
Professional speakers know that the right words can move people and shift opinions. They are willing to write a script that includes only the most essential points, allowing for spontaneous discussion based on the situation as it unfolds.
Good speakers incorporate anecdotes and examples in their speeches to illustrate the company’s values, mission, and vision. Stories and storytelling appeal to both our brains and our hearts. By doing so, effective speakers foster understanding of the changes they introduce. Focus on telling stories in your speeches, and you might even inspire your employees to share them within their networks, enhancing a sense of identity, knowledge sharing, and understanding of the company’s overarching goals.
3: Seize the Moment
Never underestimate the importance of planning. Generally, effective communication and a good speech are designed and planned down to the smallest detail. The experienced leader’s speech is almost always tailored to the situation and directed at the people present in the room. Others will perceive you as attentive if you actively focus on them. Therefore, be mindful of the flow of the situation and have the courage to use any interruptions that may arise during the speech.
The best speakers know how to engage their audience. One way to do this is through the systematic use of rhetorical questions. Rhetorical questions are not meant to be answered, but remember to give your audience time to reflect on your points by pausing briefly after each question.
4: Stage Yourself
Effective leaders understand that the success of a speech depends not only on the words they choose but also on the emotions they generate in the audience. The perception and response of the audience are equally influenced by the overall presentation, including the words, background, attire, location, and other elements. It is this entire ensemble that creates the overall impression of you and your speech.
Top executives are generally perfectionists, even when it comes to their speeches. While the desire for perfection is understandable, it can actually be beneficial to show a bit of imperfection. Most people appreciate having something to relate to, and displaying humanity is definitely a strength. If you feel nervous before speaking, it can be helpful to use “power poses,” such as standing tall or moving forward with purpose. Exercises like these can actually transform nervousness into confidence.
5: Enjoy the Moment
Many leaders take the stage and look forward to the moment when the speech is over. In the worst cases, they switch to autopilot, and it becomes merely a matter of survival.
Effective leaders, however, have a different approach; they look forward to the speech, especially to the interaction with the audience. They are eager to share their words, stories, and energy, and to motivate and inspire their listeners. Therefore, it’s important to ask yourself what you are enthusiastic about and what feeling you want to create in the room with your communication. Most listeners don’t remember much of the speech itself, but they do remember the emotions it evoked. Be an optimistic yet realistic “warrior” who conveys that no matter the challenges the company or organization faces, it will emerge as a winner!
And it has been proven that those who deliver the best speeches practice repeatedly. Therefore, it can be beneficial to seek genuine feedback from all types of listeners—from interns to other leaders.
Try to focus on the following in your communication:
- How do you synchronize your speech content with your body language?
- How do you ensure that you capture the audience’s attention from the very first second?
- How do you establish immediate, genuine contact with your audience, thereby gaining permission to share your thoughts with them?
- Successful leaders know how to focus on the audience and their needs, rather than on themselves and whether they are performing more or less optimally in a given situation.
- Warm up before giving your speech—not just mentally, but also physically. Body and mind interact, so train both.
