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Making connections

I never got to hear Jim Gray speak; his talk on Tuesday (April 27) at the Canadian Management Centre, Toronto, was a sell-out, and I couldn’t get in. I have his book How Leaders Speak, which offers “essential rules for engaging and inspiring others”, but it would have been good to hear him.

What struck me while reading his book was the importance of a speaker conveying his or her passion about their topic. I’ve heard countless presentations, in numerous places, but the ones that had any impact on me were those where I felt the speaker’s connection with what he or she was selling.

I think that sometimes, with the aim of making our presentations polished, we risk editing that element of natural honesty which strikes a chord in listeners and is usually what makes those speeches/ presentations memorable.

What also makes them memorable, and not in any positive sense this time, is the inappropriate joke. Or the joke that flops. I usually laugh at the jokes that flop (a pity laugh is counted!), I figure I owe them as much for trying to enliven their talk. The inappropriate one – well I just try to get as much distance as I can from those.

Tags: books, leaders, presentations, public speaking

About the author

Synora is exploring a new career path. She's found The Big Book of Answers at Dundurn.