Countdown to Tuck

Gifts come in all forms, and one of mine this year came in the form of an invitation to be a Visiting Executive and Lecturer at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. Very exciting!

I will be on the campus in Hanover, NH, January 3rd through the 5th, giving a lecture to MBA students on Executive Presence, coaching students in one-on-one sessions, and meeting with the Dean as well as various faculty members and administrators. An amazing opportunity, a wonderful gift.

So, the countdown begins, and the preparation, which actually began months ago, continues. Yes, SmartMouth followers, I have outlined my "focal points" and my "messages" for each and every one of my presentations and important conversations. Who wouldn't, right?!

And just as a teaser, here are the headlines from the lecture on Executive Presence: Audience Awareness and Sensitivity; Professionalism and Preparedness; Tone and Behavior. But more on these after class ...

Tks

Omigosh, I had to laugh. "Tks" was the full content of an email I got from a client the other day. That was it, just ... Tks.

He meant thanks, or thank you, or thank you for your response ... or, more specifically, thank you for responding to my email and for editing my important presentation that was attached. 

Not to worry, I gave him a ton of grief for his Tks. And I reminded him that my work with him, our journey together, was to help him become a more robust and relevant communicator. He's an executive, with a lot of potential and a bright future, but I'm told that people cannot follow him when he speaks. He really had been making great strides, getting lots of compliments, feeling better about his presentations. Then Tks. 

But Tks is not just his pitfall. It's all of ours. Thumb fatigue from text messaging, the limits of the 140-character message, and the pressures of hectic and multiple communication modes these days have made for some pretty sloppy messages that assume a familiarity and casualness with your audience that might not always be appropriate or welcome. And let's be honest here, we've all fallen into a complacency with messages like Tks. We just generally trust that it's okay. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't ...

The moral of the story? U cud b gr8, but beware, these shortcuts could also shortcut your career if used too often or with the wrong audience at the wrong time. And so the few extra seconds it takes to type out a full word or two might be well worth it. Think about it next time you're in a hurry to send a message, and Tks for reading!

Always a Student

I’m always learning, usually from examples that others provide. Every client and every client situation reveals at least one lesson or nuance that is so instructive I cannot help but to make a note of it ... and then share it or use it later on.

So, when I’m asked for quick tips on presenting, speaking or executive presence, I often ask, “well, who do you admire, what do you find effective, are you observing others?”

One of the fastest, most cost-effective ways to improve your presentation skills, ramp up your public speaking, or polish your presence is to watch others and note – literally make notes for yourself – what-to-do and what-not-to-do. Oftentimes, the what-not-to-do is more glaring and therefore more immediately instructive. On the what-to-do side, though, I would encourage you to look and listen for some of the harder to hit fine points, such as how others connect with an audience, memorable openings and closings, the kind of stories that work, how people move and use the “stage” and how they use their voices. There’s so much to learn by observing and studying others.

Tip of the day? Go grab a journal or open a new document on your laptop. Some of your best moments at the front of the room may come from having sat and taken notes in the student section!