Whether you’re representing yourself, your unit or organisation, stakeholders are more likely to take you seriously when you sound like an executive. Photo: Psychological Solutions.
To put it kindly, May Busch is vertically challenged. However, she found being small in stature is not a drawback as long as she looked and, most importantly spoke, like the senior executive she is.
At 157 centimetres, I am shorter than most people in the business world. I didn’t really notice this until I became a managing director and clients kept assuming one of my taller, more confident team members was “the boss”.
My team had to keep explaining that no, no, no, I was actually their boss. Not a great start to a client meeting. I realised I needed to up my game. I was doing myself and my team a disservice by not clearly showing up as a leader.
That’s when I began to be much more intentional and conscious about how I display confidence, especially when I’m walking into a room where I’m meeting people for the first time.
To start with, all the successful executives I know had this in common: When they speak, people listen.
It’s not just because of their rank (although that certainly helps) but because they sound authoritative, strategic and in control. They’re articulate and speak in a way that commands respect.
Whether you’re representing yourself, your unit or organisation, stakeholders are more likely to take you seriously when you sound like an executive.
This can make the difference between winning a promotion, successfully negotiating for resources, or landing new client business — or not.
So whether you’ve recently been promoted to senior management or aspire to join the executive ranks, now is a great time to develop the ability to sound like an executive.
To sound like the senior executive you aspire to be, these are three areas you need to focus on:
How you speak: How easy is it to listen to you and understand what you’re saying?
First and foremost, make sure you’re speaking loudly enough for people to hear you, even at the far side of the room.
If you regularly get asked to speak up or repeat what you’ve just said, it’s a sign that you need to raise the volume.
Adopt a measured pace, neither too fast nor too slow. This makes you sound calm and in control.
It’s especially important to focus on pace when you’re nervous, since that’s when people tend to speak faster without realising it.
Make sure your tone is energised. While a monotone voice puts people to sleep, an energised one will keep people’s attention.
When you’re engaged and interested in what you’re saying, others will be too.
What you say: Executives tend to use language that’s powerful and conveys confidence and self-belief, but what counts as powerful language depends on your organisation and its culture.
For example, “win the business” and “dominate the market” might be typical in one context while “earn their trust” and “demonstrate value” would be the norm in another.
Don’t feel like you have to adopt words that would sound strange or feel inauthentic. Adapt them to your setting instead.
You also want to use assertive phrases. For example, there’s a huge difference in impact between saying: “I’m not sure about this, but maybe we could consider XYZ” versus: “I believe XYZ is the best way forward.”
Perhaps most importantly, learn to be concise. When speakers ramble and repeat themselves, listeners tune out.
Make your points in a way that’s easy to follow and demonstrates your confidence in what you’re proposing.
Your content choice: Sounding like an executive starts with being selective about what you decide to bring up with different audiences.
For example, the organisation-wide town hall meeting probably isn’t the time to ask a question about compensation for your team.
Instead, a question about opportunities on the horizon, or the impact of regulatory changes, would convey your strategic mindset.
By tailoring your message to the specific audience you’re speaking to, you’ll show you’re thoughtful and strategic about how you communicate.
It’s also about framing your content in a way that helps people follow and understand your points.
For example: “I’m going to talk about the three biggest trends in our area and what they mean for our unit” gives your listeners a roadmap so they don’t need to wonder where you’re heading.
Executives are made, not born. It takes time to get it right and you’ll never be perfect, so start experimenting today.
Pick one area of sounding like an executive and focus on an aspect of it in a meeting, presentation or conversation.
May Busch’s mission is to help leaders and their organisations achieve their full potential. She works with smart entrepreneurs and top managements to build their businesses. She can be contacted at [email protected]. This article first appeared on May’s blogsite.
