Dianna Booher's Blog, page 24

5 Sentences Great Leaders Say Sincerely and Often

Liars need not apply. But leaders who sincerely want to inspire their teams to work at peak performance—simply because they love the job—can change hearts and attitudes with sincere, frequent communication along the following lines.

 

Phrases to Motivate Your Team Members

 

“I appreciate you and what you do.”

This comment conveys an attitude of gratitude in general. Who doesn’t want to be appreciated for their contributions? Giving kudos to a team has its place, but expressing sincere appr...

How to Separate Spin From Deception and Lies

Everybody spins—to get a date, a mate, a job. Spinning simply means putting your best foot forward by telling your story of what happened with the best possible interpretation of the facts and the situation.

Deception happens when you alter or omit facts with the intent to change another’s perspective on a situation. Lying, . . . well, . . . we all know the definition of a lie versus an honest mistake.

People can make honest mistakes with no intent to deceive. Reasons vary: Rushing. Short...

How to Calm Your Nerves Before a Presentation

Even professional speakers get nervous before keynotes or presentations. To what degree depends on what’s at stake: Who’s in the audience? A competitor? A special loved one? Will their career take a big nosedive if they fail? Do they stand a chance of winning a huge contract if they succeed spectacularly?

Success comes not in the absence of fear, but in making fear work for, not against you. The goal is to control your nerves so that fear shoots just enough adrenalin into your system to dr...

4 Ways to Verify Others REALLY Understand What You’re Communicating

As a leader, you’ve probably asked your team countless times some version of, “Do you understand?” How do team members generally respond? They nod, smile, and say yes. And more often than not, even if they don’t understand, they assume they’ll figure it out along the way.

Some do. Some don’t. But rarely will anyone recognize the gap in their understanding and let you know directly upfront: “No, I don’t get it!”

So the burden falls on you, the speaker, to verify. Here are four ways to ensur...

Changing the “Tone” of Communication at Work and Home

“Don’t you use that tone with me!” Chances are you’ve either heard it from a parent or said it to a teen. Tone carries attitude, meaning, and muscle.

Is most communication positive or negative where you work? Do people feel encouraged and upbeat—or discouraged and disengaged? Is praise free-flowing or rare? Do people value harmony over direct feedback—or struggle with straight-talk? Do people congregate in clumps or would you say the place encourages independent action and thought?

Differe...

How to Get C-Suite Buy-In

(This article first appeared on Forbes.com here.)

“Never heard back on that.” “They never took serious action on my recommendation.” “Sure would like to have a seat at the table when that discussion comes up next time!” All of these are common laments from those who’ve had their day in front of C-suite decision makers—and for some reason left defeated and ultimately disappointed.

After more than three decades of listening to executives critique briefers, I have a long list of do’s and don’...

Don’t Underestimate the Impact of Great Communication Skills

Connectivity doesn’t equal connection. Show me a workplace where everyone is connected 24/7 by email, instant messaging, social media, and smart phones, and I’ll show you a workplace where words become just so much white noise.

To rise about the din today, you need great communication skills. Not good skills, but great skills. If you work to develop exceptional communication skills, here’s the impact you can expect.

 

The Impact You Can Expect From Exceptional Communication Skills

 

Leader...

5 Leadership Communication Blind Spots and How to Remove Them

Transparency is not for wimps. Leaders rarely intend to deceive. Confusion, miscommunication, and even deception just happen through neglect. Here’s how:

 

Communication Blind Spots to Remove

 

Blind Spot #1: Equating Information With Communication

Leaders frequently seem puzzled when an internal survey finds that an alarming number of employees feel that the “executive leadership team” doesn’t communicate with them. In discussions with leaders, I hear them say things like this:

We put maj...

Do I Have Too Many Slides?

This common question sounds like “How much money will I need for retirement?”

It’s not uncommon for presenters to walk into a conference room for a 20-minute briefing with 40 minutes of slides. On the other extreme, some presenters and public speakers deliver a keynote with none.

Presenters with large decks will be chastised for mind-numbing “death by PowerPoint” briefings, while speakers with no A-V support will hear feedback that they should add slides to aid retention, increase the pace...

Why Doing What You Say Matters

(This article originally appeared here on Forbes on May 19, 2018.)

When it comes to commitments, there are two kinds of people in the marketplace: Those who keep commitments as if their life depended on it—and those who break them as easily as crystal.

By definition, integrity means soundness, sincerity, truthfulness, coherence, honesty, of good moral character. If you’re running an organization, dealing with clients, or leading a team, having integrity means following through to do what y...