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weLEAD Leadership Series

Exclusive interview with

Dianna Booher

Interviewed by Greg Thomas

Dianna Booher, CSP, is the CEO of Booher Consultants (www.booher.com) and is a recognized business communication expert. She is the author of 40 books and a number of audios, videos and web-based learning products designed to improve productivity, sales effectiveness and communication. Her clients have included almost half of the Fortune 500 companies and Dianna was recently named one of the “21 Top Speakers for the 21^st Century” by Successful Meetings magazine. To read a weLEAD book review of Dianna’s most recent book, Speak with Confidence! click here!

1. What events and background inspired you to write a book discussing how just about anyone can provide powerful presentations with skill and confidence?

As a consultant in and out of so many organizations during the past 23 years, I've been in a position to see so many of what I call "transformations" of people--individuals who had little skill and less confidence grow into powerful presenters. And because of that skill, I've seen their ability to influence others expand and, of course, their career opportunities opened up accordingly. Specifically, I recall so many individuals who've told me, "I'm just so uncomfortable in front of a group--I just can't express myself well." And then after a couple days of training, they look like different people making a presentation. I've seen people so uncomfortable that they stood as stiff as a statute, staring at the floor, turn into eloquent, charismatic speakers. Even more amazing, I've seen low-energy CEO’s who talked in a monotone, created distance with their audiences, and even angered employees learn how to really motivate and connect with a group. To see these people make great improvement and receive such affirmation from their peers about the change in their abilities is extremely rewarding for them and me.

I've been delivering between 60-80 presentations each year myself, so I continually study my own craft. And having taught workshops on presentations skills and coaching senior executives one on one for the past 23 years has given me insight into what's going on inside people's heads--what holds them back. Those ongoing discussions with these people also underscore what leaps they can make in their careers once they learn a few techniques and give themselves "permission" to make changes.

2. Dianna, I have recently finished reading your outstanding book, Speak With Confidence! and believe it is a valuable resource for both managers and leaders. In the first chapter you state, "Your potential to succeed in any relationship depends on your ability to communicate - whether it is a conference room talk, cafeteria talk, or pillow talk. No longer is effective speaking a "plus" in the business world - it is now expected." What has changed that has made communication needs grow from a "plus" to an expectation?

We're "up close and personal." That is, as "leaner and meaner" organizations, we no longer have that extra layer of assistants as go-betweens to do our communicating for us. Managers don't have extra subordinates to whom they can delegate projects and presentations. So they have to use a less qualified assistant who can pull together research and create a few slides for them, but they are now making more presentations themselves. That means they can't just select their star performers to do the most important briefings. If the manager doesn't do an excellent job of presenting a crucial project or plan, he or she may not win the funding.

A second reason presentation skills are an expectation rather than a plus: we're more "up close and and personal" more OFTEN. With the wider use of videoconferencing and audioconferencing technology, it's easier to assemble larger groups of people for a virtual meeting. So your presentations skills--or lack thereof--show up to more people.

Another reason those skills are expected is the "in your face" media reporting we have today: When a crisis develops in your organization, the media no longer stops with the top few executives. They peg anyone at any level who will talk to them. And the organization expects any leader or manager to be able to "get their story out" to the public, to customers, and to their own employees.

A final reason--one that may be the most important--is that leadership during tough times calls for those who can motivate. If you can't communicate--not just inform--you cannot really rally your group of employees to stay focused on your mission.

3. Speak With Confidence! provides 497 helpful tips to help the reader in various situations. What do you feel is the most important tip, or which has had the most powerful impact on you?

The most important tip: Compose a brief overview as your roadmap for the presentation. If you can't summarize an hour's presentation in about 30 seconds or less, you can't say it in an hour. This one technique will keep you from rambling all over the place. It will prevent irrelevant details, the addition of extraneous anecdotes and distracting data. And that's just the opposite of what many people are inclined to do. In fact, ever since we started doing the oral book report in third grade, people typically "start at the beginning" in their presentations, with "a little background" and finally get to the key point toward the end. Wrong approach.

Audiences never understand the "background" until they have your key point. Leaders know--and clarity dictates--that you START with the punchline, your key message of interest to the audience. Then you circle back and fill in the details to support that message. That one tip alone is contrary to many people's natural inclination in organizing their information. But it's vital to their clarity and impact on a group.

4. As a consultant, what is your basic advice for someone in a leadership position who is introverted by personality and is simply uncomfortable speaking in front of an audience? You discuss this a bit in Chapter 3. Can they do anything to really overcome this natural tendency?

Absolutely. Making yourself APPEAR comfortable in front of an audience is a learned skill. Most any speaker will be uncomfortable at times--depending on what the stakes are. Such as, if the goal of the speech is to urge a nation to lay down arms or take up arms, or to urge shareholders to leave their money invested or to ask investors to consider risking their money on a new venture. You can learn different ways to think about the situation. You can become aware of what awkward and natural posture feels like. You can learn how to move around on the platform or in the conference room so that they look comfortable. You can learn how to modulate your voice so that it seems natural and "connected" to what you’re saying rather than "guarded" and on autopilot.

In general, just being extroverted does not necessarily make someone a good presenter and being introverted does not make them a weak presenter. In fact, extroverts can often "turn off" an audience by coming across as arrogant and "over the top."

You don't have to be limited by your personality type as a presenter. Presentation skill is really a different matter altogether.

5. I have noticed that some leaders are very comfortable in "one-on-one" communication or speaking in front of small groups. But place them in front of 500 or 1000 people, and they seem to become awkward and uncomfortable! On the other hand, I have also known folks who stammered and spoke haltingly in front of a small group of people. However when they were put in front of an

audience, they came "alive" with charisma and confidence! Can you help us understand the dynamics of what causes this?

A great observation. The distinction between the two reactions has to do with whichever setting makes the presenter feel most "protected" and, on the other extreme, most "vulnerable." For example, the person who is most comfortable in a small setting and becomes uncomfortable in front of a group of 1000 focuses on audience size. To that person, audience size equates to exposure and risk.

On the other hand, the person who's more comfortable before a group of 1000 sees that as a protected, safe environment: It's formal so there's less likelihood for negative feedback, less likelihood for hostile questions, less likelihood for intimate chit-chat, no need for personal rapport-building before or after the session with audience members. In the small group, there's the risk for all those things. The small group may challenge opinions, question conclusions, or demand explanations. At the least, they will expect chit-chat and interpersonal interactions around the occasion that will cause the speaker to feel that he/she must "let down their hair" a bit.

So it all depends on what makes people ill at ease--a) the size of an audience or b) how much of themselves they have to reveal during their interactions. That is, do they prefer to stay with prepared comments to the large group, or will they be comfortable being spontaneous in small-group discussions?

6. Dianna, what words of wisdom do you have for a speaker who looks out to the audience and can just "feel" they are drifting from the presentation? You touch upon this in Chapter 13. How can one bring the audience back to focus in on the presentation?

By all means, speakers should involve the audience. The days of "I-talk-you-listen" presentations are quickly coming to an end. Speakers have tried to involve audiences to some extent by tossing in a question every now and then. But there are so many more ways to hook your audience into what you're saying and make your remarks relevant to their needs. Yet it doesn't just happen, spur of the moment. You really have to plan such interactivity. For example, if you're about to present some statistics, you can ask the group to guess at those statistics before you reveal them. You can tell a "hero story." That is, to make a key point, use some member of your audience to support that idea and relate an incident involving them. You can survey your group to get their opinion on something--raised hands, questions submitted by email and results reported during your talk, opinions jotted on index cards and passed to the front of the group. These are just a few methods, but you get the idea. Establish the pattern of participation early on.

Thanks Dianna for helping all of us to become more confident speakers!

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