Effective Leadership CommunicationDavid P. LennoxSr. Lecturer, Management Communication

Agenda

The Big Picture: Why Does Communication Fail?

Making the Pitch: How Do We Improve Our Practices?

Email is Just Another Archive: How Can We Write So Our Meaning Is Clear?

Online and Going Viral: What Should We Do About Social Media?

What is good communication?

Most managers think they are already good communicators.

But:

On average, managers rate themselves as communicators almost twice as highly as their own employees rate them.

Source: Les Sandler, Sandler Associates, Orlando, FL

The Communication Gap

Most managers think they are already good communicators.

But:

On average, managers rate themselves as communicators almost twice as highly as their own employees rate them.

Source: Les Sandler, Sandler Associates, Orlando, FL

The curse of knowledge, or why you just don’t understand me…

Further Reading:Heath & Heath. Made to

Stick: Why Some Ideas

Survive and Others Die. New

York: Random House, 2007.

Four Responses You Never Want

1. “Huh?”

(what do you mean?)

2. “So what?”

(why should I care?)

3. “Oh, really?”

(why should I believe you?)

4. “Screw you!”

(why are you insulting me?)

A Strategic Choice for Communication

high

Further Reading:Mary Munter. Guide to

Managerial Communication:

Effective Business Writing

and Speaking. New Jersey:

Prentice Hall, 2015.

high

low

low

TELL

SELL

CONSULT

JOIN

Level of Audience Involvement

Level of Content Control

What to do if you don’t consider yourself a “born communicator”

Know what you are good

at

Get a realistic, supportive,

specific audit

Find three good role models

Always beta test important

messages

Practice and repeat

Congrats: you are a member of a very large club!

Did Bill Improve?

Elevator Pitch to Prospective Employees

• Deliver your pitch to the group (less than 1 minute)

Presenters

• Provide feedback:

• Content: Clear? Relevant? Too little or too much?

• Organization: Logical? Easy to follow?

• Delivery style: Confident and natural tone? Pace? Movement? Eye contact?

Extra Credit: Identify persuasive appeals

It may not be rational, but…people are persuaded by:

• Reciprocity: We tend to respond in kind

• Commitment and Consistency: We tend to follow through once we have made a small commitment

• Social Proof: We tend to follow the lead of the majority around us

• Liking: We tend to comply with requests of those we like and respect

• Authority: We tend to comply with authority

• Scarcity: We tend to view a scarce item or resource as more valuable than a plentiful one

Further Reading:Robert Cialdini. Influence:

The Science of Persuasion.

New York: William Morrow,

1993.

Five common email fails

Using the wrong media channelWriting a vague subject line (WIIFM?)Burying the main pointSounding abrupt, angry, dismissive, etc. (only sound angry when you really are?)Skipping quality control: correct address, proofreading, et…

Email, phone, or ftf?

• Circulating the store training schedule

• Proposing a new marketing plan

• Critiquing your supervisor’s new marketing plan

• Responding to an employee’s request for time off by granting the request

• Responding to a manager’s concern about another supervisor who is dating his own employee

• Responding to an employee’s request for time off by denying the request

The best student excuse I’ve ever received…

Use clear, specific subject lines and article titles

Which email

would you read first?

Improving “Skim-Value”

Subject: GreetingsSubject: operating hoursSubject: We’ve got to meet this week!!!!Subject: new proposal?Subject: minutes from 3/12 Board meetingSubject: One change to the marketing proposalSubject: I’ll miss 9/2 session but Rob will coverSubject: Nigerian $ fund transfer - confidential!Subject: new operating hoursSubject: longer weekend operating hoursSubject: Store now open Sunday until midnight

Use clear, specific subject lines and article titles

Include main points upfront: a highlights or summary paragraph

Divide topics into small sections with descriptive headings

Sequence from most to least important

Convert text and numbers to bullets and graphics

Improving “Skim-Value” cont.

Hierarchy of relevance

Recommendations

Conclusions

Data

Buried Main Points

To: All District #777 Franchise Owners

From: Notta Bottomliner

Re: Bobco Quick Marts

Recently I met with Bob Demsak, marketing director of Bobco Quick Marts. Bob is very pleasant and positive about our marketing initiatives. After much discussion, Bob said that he felt the marketing tie-ins would benefit his stores as well as giving us a boost in traffic. Bob liked our slogan banners, and stated that he prefers either block or circular displays in his Quick Marts. Please feel free to use the banner material available, after you have secured floor space from your individual store manager. We can install the displays starting August 6 and continuing through August 22.

Surfaced Main Points

To: All District #777 Franchise Owners

From: Emma Bottomliner

Re: Bobco Quick Marts Will Accept Our Displays

Bob Demsak, marketing director of Bobco Quick Marts, has authorized the building of our marketing displays in his stores from August 6 through August 22.

To take advantage of this chance to increase sales, please:

• secure floor space from your individual store manager

• use the approved slogan banners, and

• use either block or circular displays.

“Fine.”

THE LEAKED EMAILS

Here’s why you should visit our new

Ocean Oasis Resort…• Enjoy our wonderful beach

• Wonder the ocean-side shops

• Stay at emasculate villas!

An actual student report…

22

Wisconsin State Journal

“Shame on you for trying to profit off of

9/11.”

“The worst marketing I’ve

ever seen.”

“How is this different from a Memorial Day sale? Stories have sales on Memorial Day weekend every year… a day that is set aside to remember those who gave their life so this country.”

Responding to Social Media Comments

Happy

Will you respond?

No Response

(if lukewarm comment)

Reach Out (if highly positive)

Degrading

Misguided

Unhappy

Monitor

Fix the Facts

Restore the Relationship

Consider (e.g., level of

influence)

Social Media PostsYou have found a post about your club.

Is it positive?

NO

NO

NO

NO

YES

YES

YESNO

YES

YES

DISCOVER

EVALUATE

RESPOND

Newman, Business Communication: In Person, In Print, Online (9e)

Agenda

The Big Picture: Why Does Communication Fail?

Making the Pitch: How Do We Improve Our Practices?

Email is Just Another Archive: How Can We Write So Our Meaning Is Clear?

Online and Going Viral: What Should We Do About Social Media?

Additional ResourcesLeadership Communication

David Lennox

Tips for Creating More Energetic, Engaging Speech Delivery

Most workplace presentations are made in the extemporaneous style. This means that the speaker has prepared extensively and uses notes but makes up some of the actual phrasing at the moment of delivery.

Think of this style as an enhanced conversation between you and the audience:conversation because you speak with some of the natural rhythms you would use in a discussion with a friend. A conversational tone connects you with your audience and helps you avoid the mechanical feel of memorized or fully scripted presentations.enhanced because—facing a larger audience and a less intimate setting—you add energy and vigor to your speech. Since you know in advance what you are trying to say, you are able to speak with increased precision and fluency.

The purpose of delivery is not to dazzle for its own sake, but to convey the material being delivered in a way that engages the audience. Outstanding speakers may be effective and compelling in a wide variety of personal styles that match their own personalities and play to their own strengths. To improve, ask whether each aspect of your delivery enhances or detracts from the message you wish to communicate.

Eye Contact is an expected part of connecting with your audience. Be sure to include all parts of the room as you look around at folks. (Just don’t stare at any one person too long, or sweep back and forth repetitively).

Pauses that make the audience aware that you have lost your train of thought may become distracting. But a few well-timed pauses—say, to allow an important point to sink in—can be positive and powerful. Use them deliberately for emphasis. And never, never, rush your final sentence in a speech.

Gestures typically benefit a speech: they can visually underline important points. Be sure to “talk with your hands”. But any particular gesture may detract from the message if it is repetitive, poorly timed or mismatched with the message.

Rate of delivery is an important feature: some speakers need to slow down for clarity, while others need to speed up to maintain vigor and enthusiasm. More important than the absolute or average speed, however, is the effective use of variety in rate. For example, effective speakers often enhance their message by slowing down from their average rate to emphasize key words in a sentence.

Movement is usually something we should avoid: speakers who fidget obviously or amble aimlessly as they talk can hurt the audiences’ ability to focus on the message. Better to make your movement strategic. This means you take a step or two, only when it fits your point—when it is motivated by a new idea (a transition), or by an audience member you are acknowledging, or by the need to point something out on the screen, etc. Move when you have a reason to, and your movement will seem natural.

© D. Lennox Cornell 2016

Does Your Delivery Make Effective Use of the Following?

Tips for Successful Skype Interviews

Use a professional-sounding Skype name.

Plan for a quiet place without interruptions; put a sign on your door to keep others away.

Use a direct Ethernet connection rather than wireless, if possible.

Turn off email and other alerts that will make noise during your interview.

Dress professionally—on the bottom too; if you have to get up from your chair, you don’t want the interviewer to see your shorts. Avoid

loud, patterned clothing.

Practice with a friend or family member in advance: check positioning, background clutter, volume, lighting, etc.

Be well-prepared for content questions; research the company, etc. Have your resume and notes at hand, but avoid rustling papers or

looking down more than once or twice.

Look at the camera, not at the screen; put a photo around the camera to draw your eye up.

Smile and be enthusiastic; personality can get dampened on camera. Don’t rush; don’t be afraid to pause to let an important point sink in.

Use appropriate gestures to emphasize your points; avoid constant hand movement, which gets jagged with a slow connection.

Don’t forget! Follow-up with a thank you note that demonstrates that you listened carefully. Briefly reinforce your main strengths.

© D. Lennox Cornell 2016

Before You Begin

During the Interview

SEC

TION

2: W

HY

AR

EW

EP

RO

PO

SING

THIS

CH

AN

GE?

Tips for Using PowerPoint Effectively

Overview

The Process in Three Stages

We’ve all seen PowerPoint (PPT) used poorly: blocks of tiny unreadable text, confusing graphics and charts, unattractive clip-art, and more. Creating strong PowerPoint slides is worth your time, because effective visuals will keep your audience engaged and drive home your point. It helps to begin with a clear purpose, keep your slides audience-focused, and simplify your design. You might think of PowerPoint strategy, design and delivery as a process with three major steps.

1. Before you begin:

•Amplify your main point. The bottom line of your presentation should be clearly stated early and repeated at the end.

•Create most slides with a “message title” (the key take-away) at the top. Don’t bury the point in the data.

•Consider using simple visualizations:

attractive photos to illustrate an idea and set a tone or mood

clean diagrams such as flow charts to show steps in a process, or arrows to show relationships

charts to organize data for easy comparison (these might include pie charts or labeled columns).

• In design, less is more, so remove cheesy clip-art, fussy backgrounds, irrelevant data, eye-catching animation, or distracting effects. Remember that PPT is speaker-support, not a “show” by itself.

•Consider whether using PPT is the best way to meet your goal.

•Focus on audience needs: What do they want or expect? What background must they understand? What evidence will convince them?

•Understand that PPT formats differ with different uses:

Ballroom presentations or TEDtalkformats use a very simple design with only a few essential elements

Business analyses and pitchestypically are text- and data-heavy, but still must be easy to follow in a live presentation

Reading or discussion decks are dense with text and graphics but require either “stand-alone sense” for individual reading or someone to walk the audience through the material interactively.

2. When designing the slides: 3. During oral delivery:

•Use a clicker or remote to avoid being tied to a computer keyboard.

•Don’t let PPT take over the presentation or compete with your expressive vocal delivery, gestures, or movement. Use the room effectively; walk when appropriate.

•Ensure you have ample practice with your slides, so you can control slide changes and entrance effects. You should never be surprised by a new slide, nor rely on slide text to prompt your memory.

•Talk to the people; glance at the screen in short bursts to ensure the correct slide is showing, but make eye contact with your audience throughout.

• If you want to point out a specific slide element, walk to one side of the screen and gesture while still partly facing the audience. Then step forward when you are done, so the audience focuses on you again rather than the screen.

© D. Lennox Cornell 2016