Presidential Leadership

I read a Bill O’Reilly column about his take on leadership. He had some great insights I wanted to share.

Winston Churchill and Ronald Reagan used their sharp personalities to motivate others to work for a cause.

Churchill stood strong against the Germans while other leaders crumbled under the pressure. He told his soldiers that there would be no surrender and they would fight to the finish. Churchill defeated the Nazis with his resolve.

Reagan’s leadership was different but still very effective. He spoke of America’s greatness and lifted people up. He broke the Soviet Union because he didn’t back down in the face of danger.

Churchill was blunt and blustery. Reagan was charming and smooth. They accomplished great things by their enormous willpower.

Their leadership styles can be used by you every day. Don’t back down when faced with a challenge. Be optimistic and lift up your employees and yourself.

Have you used these leadership traits before? Did they work? Are you facing a challenge today and would like leadership advice? We can answer these questions!

Rudy Giuliani on Leadership

Are you elected official and searching for a role model? Rudy Giuliani is an example of a mayor who enacted policies that benefited the whole community by creating jobs, cutting crime, and taxes. Watch this short video to see Giuliani's vision on leadership.

His main points are:

1. Leaders are made by studying and listening to good role models
2. Learn as much about your business as possible
3. The most effective test of good leader-people who work for you come to you for advice

Some of Giuliani's accomplishments are:

• Crime went down 57%
• Murder was reduced by 65%
• New York City was recognized by the FBI as the safest large city in America for over five years
• Implemented the largest and more successful welfare-to-work programs (cut welfare rolls in half-640,000 people off of government programs)
• $2.5 billion tax reductions resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars that were returned to the private sector
• Turned $2.3 billion deficit into a multi-billion dollar surplus
• 45,000 new private sector jobs and higher tourism

What leadership techniques did Giuliani use that you can apply? Why do you think he was an effective leader? Why wasn't he an effective leader?

How to Present to a Board of Directors

You have to make a good impression because you only see the board a couple times a year. Try to see the board as much as you can. The more interaction the better.

People don’t remember what you say, they remember what they see. By using good graphics, the board is able to see your view of what is occurring.

When you present: talk about the things you are concerned about, the areas you have been criticized for, and handle any problems that may arise. Bringing the President to your side is very important because it'll influence the way they interpret your presentation. Getting to know the President is key because you’ll gain insights to how they like to be presented to.

If the board isn’t use your presentation style or you have bad news to deliver, give as much good news as you can first before the bad news is presented.

Is there any areas we missed? Are you going to present to a board of directors in the next year? Are you nervous? We will answer any questions you might have from our team of professionals.

Leadership Don'ts

• Don’t raise your voice
• Don’t ignore complaints
• Don’t openly criticize people

The solution is to:

Start talking, acknowledge mood of team, and guide the team through difficult patches.

Have you had a boss that had these characteristics? Did it change your perception of them? Can you add more leadership don'ts?

How to be Remembered and Repeated:

1. Speak in shorted sentences. Jerry Seinfeld said, “I will spend an hour taking an eight word sentence and making it five.” With comedy, the fewer words between the set-up and punch line, the bigger the impact.

2. Emphasize your punch word. Your punch word should be the final word or idea in a sentence. In the sentence, “You have to make an important decision today,” the punch word would be decision. To put more emphasis on the punch word switch the sentence around to say, “Today, you have to make an important DECISION!”

3. If you have a sentence with two important phrases-put the more important phrase at the end. "Today, YOU have to make an important DECISION." Or, "The important DECISION today is going to be made by YOU."

4. Use pauses effectively. After you deliver your punch word pause until the audience can recognize what you said. This may be uncomfortable but it’s very effective.

5. Repeat your ideas more than once.

6. Say something memorable.

Do you have any public speaking suggestions to improve this list? Have you used these techniques before?

How to Present Like Steve Jobs

I found this great video about how Steve Jobs wows his audience from BNET. Learn how to electrify your audience using several key techniques. Learn from the best and you can become the best...

Do you need help executing these techniques in a speech you are preparing? Let us know and we'll provide answers from our team of experts.

Todays Video is: How to Effectively Communicate with Constituents: the email formula that works.

Communicating with people through e-mail is important. It will bring people to your side by crafting your e-mail in a certain way.

The components you need in every e-mail are:

• Appreciate
• Your point
• Call to action

Do you have trouble crafting a professional e-mail? Do you want tips for certain scenarios? Comment below and we'll provide answers from our professionals.

Three Opening Strategies to Grab the Audience and Make Them Yours

You have 30 seconds to grab an audiences’ attention. The best way to open depends on who you are, what style you use, and the purpose of your presentation.

1. Use a Story: A story is a strong way to open a presentation if you can transition to the objective of your speech. A personal, well told story works best.

2. Use a Quote: If you’re talking about leadership you might want to start with, General Eisenhower said, “Leadership is the ability to decide what has to be done and then to get people to want to do it.”

3. Use an Interesting Statistic: Newt Gingrich had a great opening to a speech using a statistic that connected with the audience, “If you were born today, you would already owe $186,000 to pay off your share of the national debt." He also used the word you three times instead of the word I or me. Including your listeners in your speech is a way to captivate them.

Have you used any of these strategies to open a speech? Did they work?

Steps to Great Speech Writing

image: Zazzle

• Know the objectives and expectations of the speech
• Know the time constraints
• Choose an interesting topic
• Create an outline of ideas with an introduction that flows to conclusion
• Avoid excessive and unneeded language
• Begin the speech with a strong introduction that lets the audience know what to expect
• End the speech with a strong conclusion that recaps the speech
• Use transitional words and phrases between main topics to tie them together
• Don’t make slides that are the exact script of the speech
• Visual aids should enhance the speech, not be a distraction

After reading this do you have any questions about speech writing? Have you ever written a successful speech? Do you need more tips?

Are You an Energy Sucker?

“…Leaders model the intensity and energy that it takes to stay ahead competitively and meet ever more ambitious goals…they do this because they love what they do.”

As leaders you need to model energy and intensity.

What are your concerns about giving a speech? Does it have to deal with how much energy you have? Comment below and we'll answer your questions.

How to Communicate with your Constituents

How do you become a respected community leader? What do leaders do to gain support?

This video should is a glimpse into those answers. We are happy to answer any questions you have about becoming a respected community leader.