Executive Communications -
An Interview with Connie
Glaser
You know your topic. You organize your thoughts. You’re passionate and
confident. But you still don’t persuade people. What’s wrong?
The Achilles heel of many otherwise intelligent executives is their tendency
to talk themselves into trouble. They sabotage their persuasiveness by exhibiting
speech tics that erode their credibility.
The most effective way to assert yourself is to state your views without fanfare.
Skip disclaimers, says Connie Glaser, author of “GenderTalk
Works” and an Atlanta-based communication consultant.
According to Glaser, you’ll gain compliance from peers and employees
by bluntly saying what you want. New managers who fear barking orders may make
matters worse by saying, “If you’re not too busy, please…” or “It
would be great if you could get this done by 3:00.”
“A listener might perceive your command as a request and choose not
to do it,” Glaser said. “But if you come right out and speak clearly,
others will correctly hear your statement as a direction, not an expression
of thought.”
Another trap is beginning a comment by saying, “You may think this sounds
stupid, but…” This lessens the impact of what follows. Your point
carries more weight if you cut the extraneous words beforehand.
The ends of your sentences also affect your persuasiveness, Glaser says. You
sound more authoritative if you complete your thought and then stop talking.
Don’t attach a question such as, “Don’t you agree?”
“If your intent is to boldly state your message without opening up a
discussion, then avoid tag questions,” Glaser said. “You run the
risk of triggering a debate if you ask a question at the end.”
When pitching your ideas to the top brass, make every word count. Summarize
your core idea and support it succinctly with powerful proof or evidence.
“The higher the level of the people you are speaking to, the more precious
their time,” Glaser said. “They’ll get bored if you volunteer
too many details or start giving a chronology of how you arrived at a point.”
Similarly, when someone asks you a question, make sure the first sentence
out of your mouth answers it. Listeners may tune out if you don’t directly
address the subject that they raised. And they may doubt your trustworthiness
if you evade the issue at hand.
Even if you speak convincingly, your body language can work against you. Avoid
smiling or laughing when you are anxious, Glaser says. That can take away from
the seriousness of your remark.
Before you give a speech in front of a large audience, arrange for someone
to introduce you and provide a written script. You can then take the stage
to the sound of applause as you stride confidently onto the stage.
- Morey Stettner.