How to Turn Your CEO into a Great Speaker

By Joan Stewart
The Publicity Hound

Your CEO wants to hit the speaking circuit to create buzz for your company, be seen as a leader in his industry and generate some free publicity.

So he asks you to edit the 20-page speech he will read at the local Rotary breakfast, and review his Power Point presentation that turns out to be powerfully pointless. You visualize his audience members dozing off at 8 a.m., foreheads crashing onto their plates.

What’s a PR pro to do?

If it’s any consolation, you aren’t alone. Many executives think a well-written speech and some flashy visuals are all that’s necessary to wow an audience. Too often, bad speakers with the best of intentions are almost never invited back. Some can even hurt their company’s image instead of help it.

“For more than 20 years, I’ve been to conventions and seen CEOs give dynamite talks and motivate their sales forces, or give pathetic talks and demotivate everyone,” says Patricia Fripp, a top national speaker who also works as a speech coach to executives.

The secret to great speaking is the ability to tell personal stories that illustrate key points—without notes.

Fripp had less than a day to teach a company president with an engineering background and no public speaking skills how to deliver a rousing speech at an annual convention during a year when sales were flat. First she started by learning all she could about his background—his parents, family and passions. She discovered that he played on the water polo team at age 7 and later attended the Olympic games in Munich and Mexico City. 

“He regaled me with tales he had been telling his kids and friends across the dinner table for years,” she said. “They were word-perfect, polished and exciting.”

Those stories were the basis for his presentation. Fripp showed him how to use the stories as an introduction, then to explain that he had been training for the CEO’s job since he was 7 years old, then segue to how the Olympic games taught him how to handle defeat, to how he was going to upgrade the product line and his sales force.

“In four and a half hours, we created an original talk that he went through twice. I handed him the tape and told him to get his secretary to transcribe it, but just so he could review it. Ten days later, he gave a speech with no notes. It was fabulous, and it set the tone for the entire meeting.”

She has included many other suggestions in articles about public speaking at her website.

Ron Arden, known as “the guru of speech coaches” who has trained more than 1,000 executives on how to feel comfortable on the platform, thinks all business people—not just top executives—should have a 5- to 6-minute well-prepared presentation that convinces others that the company they represent is first-class. No notes. No visuals. No Power Point.

 “Well used, Power Point is a valuable tool,” Arden said. “But can you explain to me why anybody becomes obsessed with taking pictures of words? Why don’t they take pictures of pictures? The visual aid, unless you’re deaf, is meant to be pictorial.”

The best way to create pictures, he says, is to do so in the audience’s mind through anecdotes and stories, regardless of how complicated the topic. Then, use an occasional visual only if it reinforces the idea. If the slide projector jams or the laptop computer crashes or the bulb on the overhead projector burns out, the speaker can continue without visuals and still be entirely effective without notes.

Top political candidates and CEOs who sometimes must read from speeches that are written for them should be coached on how to present a written speech without making it sound written.

If you can’t help the boss yourself, how do you delicately recommend a speech coach?

Arden offers this suggestion: “Start by being complimentary and by saying, ‘I think you have a real talent for this. It’s a little rough, but you could be an outstanding speaker with a little coaching.’ ”

A variety of coaches can be found through the National Speakers Association or by calling the association at 480-968-2552.

For a few executives, however, like the CEO who “is so arrogant and uncoachable that he will turn people off,” there’s little hope, says Joan Lloyd, an executive speech coach from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

“If the humor is off color, the grammar is flawed or the style is caustic, save yourself the time and money,” she said. “If the personality flaw is ingrained and likely could come out in public, you’re better off keeping the CEO off the platform because the coach can’t scrub that out completely.”

For speakers who are willing to learn, however—and PR pros who can invest the time—the camera can be an excellent teacher.

“Executives like one-on-one work and do better when the coaching is private and off-site,” Lloyd said.

Good coaches work with the CEO over a period of time and attend actual presentations or view tapes, and continue to make suggestions.

“CEOs are just like the rest of us—worried about how they’ll look and sound,” she said. “The difference is, when you’re at the top of a company, you don’t get as much honest feedback and career development. This is a great way to get both.”
 

Need more help promoting your CEO as a great speaker?

See Special Report #21: 67 Publicity Tips for Professional Speakers.

See Kick Up a Media Storm. Tom Antion interviews Joan Stewart about how speakers can create lots of free publicity.
 

Direct comments or questions about this article, including requests for reprint rights, to:

Joan Stewart
The Publicity Hound
3434 County KK
Port Washington, WI 53074
Phone: 262-284-7451
JStewart@PublicityHound.com