What are great communicators doing?
Last week I wrote about the Warren Bennis Leadership Institute Summit. The number of great communicators I was lucky enough to observe was mind-boggling. Here are a few skills and techniques I witnessed:
The whole team, from the University of Cincinnati leadership to the student leadership, started twice weekly meetings in January to prepare. As an actor and coach, I know that early and thorough preparation takes us 95% of the way to fluency and confidence. I am often met with clients who are just “too busy” to prepare. And I get it! We prepare during our sessions, if need be. And, when I have the luxury to work with people and organizations who jump right in without hesitation to work through every kink, dot every i, and do so with gusto, I know I’ve found my people. I think that’s why I love stage actors—we are completely IN from warm-up to set strike.
It was also clear that every participant, no matter how esteemed, how busy, had prepared thoroughly. From the university president, President Pinto, to the Cincinnati mayor, Mayor Aftab Pureval. It was such a show of respect. Pat Zigarmi held notes tenderly in her hands. Pat, a founding associate at Blanchard and leadership expert, prepared with deep discipline. She reviewed and re-read Dad’s books, thoughtfully crafted responses, and had us all in tears with her courageous candor.
We were lucky that our focus, our intention for the event was crystal clear: to connect people who knew, loved, worked with, studied with, and were influenced by Dad’s work in leadership, with the UC students, staff, and faculty. We wanted everyone to know what it was like to be in Dad’s presence. It was a very high intention—aspirational as opposed to transactional. And the audience felt it. As Pat Zigarmi said, Dad was a “conversation convener;” he brought people together and seeded the conversation with inventive questions designed to bring out the best in each person at the table. Ken Cloke said, “He was a brilliant questioner. And when I say brilliant, what I mean is not just that he was able to find really good questions, he was able to find the question that brought YOU forward.”
During the panels, when one person spoke, the others listened deeply. They responded to one another. That is a sign that the panel members had prepared and were able to be present and generous while on stage, rather than focusing on what they would say next, formulating clever responses, they were listening. Cynthia Cherrey perched on the edge of her stool, leaning in to hear every word, then, when offering her own ideas, sat upright, poised and open.
I loved how Raj Sisodia used the stage. Did he stand behind the podium? No! He leaned against it like he was walking in the woods and leaned against a beautiful tree. I’ve never seen anyone do that before. It was lovely and in congruence with the ease and cadence of his talk.
One member of the council, Bob Castellini, kept a beautiful notebook open in front of him to record what he heard. Again, there was this feeling of honor for all who spoke and shared, a feeling of precious information being held with dignity. A generous action, to record the ideas of others. Dad would have called him a “first class noticer.”
Hybrid Communication—virtual and in-person meetings:
Three communication techniques became clear while facilitating a hybrid virtual/in-person meeting:
Having two people in the same room, sitting side by side on the screen, was wonderful. It adds a dynamic connection between the two that makes the technology more human. Thanks, Joan Goldsmith and Ken Cloke.
Get right up close and bowl us over! The in-person group was thrilled with Tom Peters’ passionate rant about the need for Extreme Humanism in leadership! He got close to the camera and almost walked into the room!
Along with the large screen, we had a small laptop that we’d pass along to the in-person speaker so they had a more intimate sense of connection to the Zoomers. I remember a moment when Cynthia Cherrey held up the laptop to speak directly to Joline Godfrey in a moment of closeness.
I’ll end with Dad. Who was there in spirit and in all of our hearts.