Category: Demo

Clear Communication is Key

Posted on by Byron Darden

I recently worked with a manager in a large global firm in developing their equity partnership skills. Early in our coaching relationship, I noticed a lack of partnership when setting up each professional development session. I found myself routinely exchanging numerous emails to get a session scheduled. Sometimes weeks would pass before we could settle on a firm date.

I discovered that the manager seemed to drag out the time between sessions by offering little detail or simply incomplete details. This required me to send numerous emails asking clarifying questions that rarely seemed to be answered the first time. It got to the point where I felt I was more responsible for their leadership development than they were willing to commit to for themselves. It was only a feeling, mind you.

The next time I received a cryptic email lacking the necessary information to book the next session, I drew from past behaviors instead of sending a response with numerous questions. I brought them to the manager’s attention as they applied the same challenges and goals we set to grow their leadership acumen. The manager acknowledged my point and provided the most detailed and complete correspondence, bringing back-and-forth emails to an abrupt end.

Lesson Learned: When developing your leadership capability, look at how your challenges and successes align with the growing edge goals you set for yourself to develop. We lead as we are and how we behave.

LET’S TALK

Effective Leadership Styles

Posted on by Byron Darden

There are two main branches of leadership – transactional and transformational. Transactional leaders use a system of rewards and punishments to ensure they achieve a goal. As long as the followers’ basic needs are met, they are compliant.

Transformational leaders inspire growth, promote loyalty, and instill confidence in their teams. Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and Martin Luther King, Jr. were well-known examples of transformational leaders. They stood out from the crowd and led companies and movements.

Those that work for transformational leaders show a 78.1% performance increase, and over half say their skills have improved under transformational leadership. Statistics also show that the number of true transformational leaders hovers at less than 10%. No wonder we gravitate towards those who even show some of their character traits.

A transformational leader models the ideal traits of the Executive VOICE.

  • Model the Way – a transformational leader acts in the same way they want their group to act. They can explain where they want to take the organization and how the success relies on each individual. Through inspiration and enthusiasm, a transformational leader can influence motivation in others.
  • Encourage the Heart – a transformational leader encourages and supports followers by keeping lines of communication open. They are engaged with their followers creating a sense of connection. They understand how personal life interacts with professional work, and teams are encouraged to use their life experiences to enhance their work.
  • Inspire Shared Vision – while a leader may be responsible for the overall vision, their strength lies in engaging their followers by helping them experience the same motivation and passion for achieving those goals. Transformational leaders bring meaning to work, inspiring a vested interest while challenging enough to keep their interest.
  • Enable Others to Act – when focused on long-term success, a transformational leader allows flexibility in how the teams get there. They empower their followers and trust them to rise to the occasion. Not everyone approaches a task the same way. Some offer a sense of urgency and thrive in completing the task. Others take a little longer and focus on the process. The result is often the same.
  • Challenge the Process – a transformational leader will not only think outside the box, they may also ignore the box altogether, pushing out the walls to make the box bigger and roomier. They challenge business as usual and encourage creativity. Other character traits include comfort with ambiguity and complexity.
CHALLENGE YOUR THINKING

Let Your Voice Be Heard

Posted on by Byron Darden

“Management is about persuading people to do things they do not want to do, while leadership is about inspiring people to do things they never thought they could.”    Steve Jobs

A transformational leader applies the Platinum Rule, which states to treat others as they want to be treated rather than how you want to be treated. This involves an awareness of each follower’s fundamental need for self-actualization. This is the top tier of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Once you get a person on board with their heart and soul, they will do great things for your vision.

“A leader who fails to use their full voice will often share information that will go unheard and unseen for its significance.”  Byron Darden

With persistence, you can develop the traits of a transformational leader. Creativity can be learned. Empathy and a desire to make a difference can be strengthened. Do you want to know how? Book a call, and I’ll show you how to take the next step toward becoming a transformational leader and letting the world hear your voice.

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The Power of the Pause

Posted on by Byron Darden

During the course of our day, we are pulled in many different directions. Many thoughts and action items are clamoring for our attention. When we slow down and concentrate on one project at a time, it’s incredible how much more we absorb and how much quicker we accomplish the task.

Carry that same perspective into a presentation. Unseasoned speakers tend to rush through their talks, pausing only to take a breath…sometimes not even then! They worry about losing the audience’s attention or their own train of thought. They do a disservice to their audience, who is there to listen and learn. A listener requires time to comprehend and reflect on the information provided. Great speakers slow down and use the power of pause to capture attention, create anticipation, and nurture connections.

A leader can use the same technique (And So Can You) when presenting information to their team, a boardroom, or a client presentation. The pause is a powerful way to build up to a crescendo, let the audience ponder the problem, and then wow them with your solution. As we continue, you’ll see the various ways the power of pause can be used in other communications – for emphasis, anticipation, providing a chance for their words to have an impact, or to allow the audience to interject their own thoughts – whether out loud or in their head.

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What is a Pause?

Posted on by Byron Darden

There are many ways to define a pause. We can Explore Pause together.

  1. You can pause a project due to a lack of funds, a change of focus, to provide space to gain perspective, or in lieu of a more urgent task.
  2. You can pause your thoughts using breathwork, yoga, or meditation.
  3. You can pause while in the midst of an activity.

In all of these situations, the pause can be brief or lengthy.

From a leadership perspective, a pause is defined as a brief interruption of action or speech. Learning to use the pause will elevate your message and create confidence. One significant aspect of an effective leader is the use of pauses when listening, thinking, taking action, responding, and during overall speaking moments.

A simple pause is a powerful tool that you can learn to use.

PAUSE TO EXPLORE

Incorporating Pause In Your Speech

Posted on by Byron Darden

I’m going out on a limb to do the very thing I often encourage leaders to avoid. That is to assume you’ve experienced the pause in any number of ways, such as when a subordinate takes a beat, a term often used in the world of acting before a character continues the flow of crossing the stage. We often experience dramatic moments when a character on television or in a film allows silence to fill the moment before responding to a fellow actor. You may have experienced it when a senior leader goes silent just prior to asking a follow-up question during your presentation.

Quite different from pausing to think of the ideal or appropriate word, the leader uses the power of pause to emphasize a point or let their words sink in. Allow me to show you how Pausing For Emphasis can be your super power!

Here are some ways to build in natural pauses:

  1. Slow down. Less seasoned speakers are often nervous and tend to rush through their presentations. When starting to speak, take a deep breath, gather your thoughts, and calm your nerves. Connect with your audience with a look of confidence. Remember that they are there to hear you speak; your message is essential. Practice in front of a mirror; practice where you will insert the pauses.
  2. Breathe. Natural breathing inserts pauses and forces you to slow down. Think of your audience. Is everyone on the same level? Are their members for which English is not their first language? As you connect with your audience, notice puzzling looks that might mean they are not present. Clarify your point and add pauses to allow them to process information.
  3. Use pauses in place of “um’s” or “uh’s”. You will sound infinitely more polished, and the audience will have more confidence in your message.
  4. Pauses are punctuation. Use a pause where you typically see a comma or period in your writing. As you practice your speech, exaggerate these pauses with a deeper breath. Where there would be a comma, insert a short pause. Use a longer pause when you reach the end of a sentence.
  5. Pause when changing thoughts. Use an even longer pause when shifting gears in your presentation. At the end of a central point, let the audience catch up and let yourself recharge. This pause creates a natural transition separating two points. Similarly, a pause can be used when citing an example or telling a story to indicate the change of pace.
  6. Pause when using visuals. When using slides or props, pause to let the audience read what is on the slide. Unless you are reading the slide word for word, the audience cannot read and listen to your point simultaneously. Pausing before diving into the material or moving on to the next point is an effective tool.
  7. Build in a Pause to Get a Drink or Check Your Notes. These pauses can be deliberate, allowing the material to sink in without appearing awkward. You can also use this type of pause to recover your own thoughts. Insert this pause to let your audience study a visual or after asking a rhetorical question.
STRATEGY SESSION

It’s Important to Pause

Posted on by Byron Darden

In whatever way you may have experienced it, I’m willing to bet that you have also experienced just the opposite more often than you would like. Particularly in a business situation when the desire to move quickly is paramount for the speaker. In those moments, you’ve probably wished the speaker would pause to give you a chance to process what they have just shared. Yet, they speed through.

The power of pause invites your audience to experience what you already know. It gives them a stake in the action.

Here are the Benefits of Perfecting the Pause:

  1. Allow your audience to think about what has just been shared before a new point is made.
  2. Let the speaker gather their thoughts and think about their next point.
  3. Gives the speaker the opportunity to catch their breath. Deep breathing calms the nerves and the fresh oxygen to the brain maintains the speaker’s focus.
  4. Let the audience take that same deep breath and maintain their focus on the information they are processing.
  5. Creates a connection between the audience and the speaker.
  6. The speaker can read their audience to create that connection and build understanding of the material.
  7. Allowing the audience and speaker to interact with each other regarding the material.
PERFECT THE PAUSE

Pause for Your Audience

Posted on by Byron Darden

How do I know? I’ve spent two decades hearing from numerous clients worldwide to help their managers and leaders develop stronger platform skills during presentations. They want their people to be more effective when presenting to senior leadership and to their customer base. Sometimes it is a matter of simply slowing down during presentations. Mastering your pause is something we can work on together.

An example of this may be that moment when a presentation is in action and the speaker stops to check for understanding before moving forward. It could be that moment when the speaker says something profound and then allows for a moment of silence to let their point land for the listener. Perhaps a moment when a presenter completes a share of content. Then chooses to move silently from one place to another before speaking again on a different point.

MASTER YOUR PAUSE

Practice the Power of Pause

Posted on by Byron Darden

Practically nothing can be more frustrating for the listener than to miss important information because the presenter is in such a rush to share and move on. The next time you spend hours creating a deck for a presentation, take time to actually practice delivering content related to each slide you show. Become benevolent towards your audience by planning pauses throughout your presentation as well as before and after answering questions. Click Here and I can show you how that is possible.

You will also want to pause to check for understanding. Doing so can drastically minimize missed information, time spent backtracking to clarify what was said, and time spent reiterating what you meant because your audience missed what you wanted them to think, how you want them to feel, or what actions you would like your audience to take.

I recall one particular keynote I delivered at an annual conference for a group of four-hundred professionals at the Waldorf-Astoria’s Starlight Roof in New York. The topic was the importance of engaging, inspiring and motivating others in their field. Over lunch one of the conference attendees sought me out and commented on how powerful it was for him when I often paused after sharing a key point. He noted the skill as key for him in establishing me as a truly professional speaker. I thanked him and smiled knowingly.

DISCOVER WHAT IS POSSIBLE