Leadership communications with Rob Cottingham

Getting carried off on a tangent in an interview or Q&A session can be risky. At best, you spend the time you wanted to use getting your message across on some other topic. At worst, you end up talking about sensitive, damaging topics that endanger your organization's reputation.

This episode, we look at how you get back on track — quickly, honesty and graciously.

Music: All music is by Lee Rosevere. The theme music is "Twitter Will Kill Us All." Used under a Creative Commons license.

Photo: Zane Lee on Unsplash

Rehearsal doesn't kill spontaneity — it gives you the confidence that lets you be spontaneous. You don't just know the material: you know its emotional and literal meaning,nd you've made your big choices about how you're going to convey it.

If you want to make the most of your speech, you need to rehearse. And to make that rehearsal count, behold: The Ten Commandments of Rehearsal.

Links:

• The elusive Episode 17, where I make my case for rehearsing

Music: All music is by Lee Rosevere. The theme music is "Twitter Will Kill Us All." Used under a Creative Commons license.

Photo: Photo by Kyle Head on Unsplash

Before a speaker steps up to the microphone, there's usually somebody who introduces them. And that introduction could be helping to set the stage and prime the audience.

But too many introductions are just tedious recitals of a speaker's biography. And they're so loooonnnng. Instead of revving an audience up, they put them to sleep.

Let's kill those introductions off once and for all. This episode, we look at what an introduction can do for you and your audience, by promising some combination of six elements: authority, affinity, attraction, value, intrigue and entertainment. We'll talk about how to make your speaker intro effective, engaging and — most important — short!

Music:

• All music is by Lee Rosevere. The theme music is "Twitter Will Kill Us All." Used under a Creative Commons license.

Pick up a collection of speeches or quotations from history, and chances are most of those voices belong to men.

That's changing. More women are claiming their time at the microphone. And it turns out the oratory of the past was a lot more female than many of its curators would have us think.

One woman in particular, Dana Rubin, is working to change our understanding of public speaking history — and the role women have played in shaping it. And she's my guest on this episode.

Links:

• The Speaking While Female Speech Bank — a tremendously useful resource for speakers, speechwriters and anyone interested in women's oratory
• The Kickstarter project for the Speaking While Female book: get in early!
• Dana Rubin's firm, Speech Studio
• Dana's LinkedIn group, The Leadership Communications Roundtable — now over 5,000 members strong!

Music:

• All music is by Lee Rosevere. The theme music is "Twitter Will Kill Us All." Used under a Creative Commons license.

You've probably heard the expression "stay in your lane." And sometimes that's good advice — but right now, we're facing global emergencies on an unprecedented scale, and we need voices speaking out for truth, democracy, science and our very survival. If you have a platform, you can be one of those voices…even if you aren't an expert. Here's how to do it responsibly.

Links:

• That Kris Straub cartoon about Internet "research"

Music:

• All music is by Lee Rosevere. The theme music is "Twitter Will Kill Us All." Used under a Creative Commons license.

There probably isn't a speechwriter or speaker alive today who hasn't heard the advice "Tell a story." But you want them to do more than listen. You want to tell the kind of story your audience will turn into their story. Crafting that story is the heart Tamsen Webster's terrific new book, Find Your Red Thread. Tamsen joins me this episode to talk about the five steps of an effective Red Thread — which just so happen to be a great way to outline your next speech or op-ed. And we talk about how great stories can move audiences and create change. Links:

• Follow Tamsen on Twitter and Facebook
• Learn more about Find Your Red Thread
• Sign up for Tamsen's newsletter

Music: All music is by Lee Rosevere. The theme music is "Twitter Will Kill Us All." Used under a Creative Commons license.

Well over a year into remote presentations as the norm, people are getting pretty good at it... but some mistakes are still cropping up again and again.

Last time, we looked at four of the seven deadly sins of online presentations. This time we tour the final three... and then we'll look at how to flip those sins into shining, saintly virtues.

Links:

• My wife Alexandra Samuel has co-written a terrific new book on making the most of remote work, called Remote, Inc. Highly recommended for making the most of the new workplace!
• Tamsen Webster's new book Find Your Red Thread is an absolute must-read for crafting messages that move audiences. And stay tuned, because she's joining me for an upcoming episode!

Music: All music is by Lee Rosevere. The theme music is "Twitter Will Kill Us All." Used under a Creative Commons license.

Photo: Cullan Smith on Unsplash

Well over a year into remote presentations as the norm, people are getting pretty good at it... but some mistakes are still cropping up again and again.

In this two-episode series, we'll meet the seven deadly sins of online presentations — from not looking at the camera to not knowing your platform. And then we'll look at how to flip those sins into shining, saintly virtues.

Links:

• My wife Alexandra Samuel has co-written a terrific new book on making the most of remote work, called Remote, Inc. Highly recommended for making the most of the new workplace!
• Tamsen Webster's new book Find Your Red Thread is an absolute must-read for crafting messages that move audiences. And stay tuned, because she's joining me for an upcoming episode!

Music: All music is by Lee Rosevere. The theme music is "Twitter Will Kill Us All." Used under a Creative Commons license.

Photo: Cullan Smith on Unsplash

Sure, you and I would never take someone else's writing and pretend it was our own. But not all plagiarism is deliberate. It can be surprisingly easy to steal someone else's words by accident.

Plagiarism scandals have caught up leaders ranging from presidential candidates to university officials. They've derailed campaigns and ended careers. Here's how to keep that from happening to you — by making sure your words, really are your words.

Links:

Care to jog your memory? Here's the background on Joe Biden's and Melania Trump's plagiarism issues.

And in case you missed last episode's notes:

• My wife Alexandra Samuel has co-written a terrific new book on making the most of remote work, called Remote, Inc. Highly recommended for making the most of the new workplace!
• I'm thrilled to be reading Tamsen Webster's new book Finding Your Red Thread. Highly recommended for making the most of your message!

Music: All music is by Lee Rosevere. The theme music is "Twitter Will Kill Us All." Used under a Creative Commons license.

Photo: Hand modelling, photography and keyboard in desperate need of cleaning are all me.

So many leadership communications mistakes come down to one thing: not having a clear goal and a roadmap to get there. That's especially true when it comes to areas where leaders aren't as familiar with the subject matter.

This episode looks at a high-profile communications failure: an op-ed that blew up in CEO's face, damaged the company's reputation and forced an embarrassing public about-face. We'll look at what went wrong... and how you can keep your communications on track.

The important thing: Don't let stories like this discourage you from speaking up! You can make a positive contribution to the conversation… but it starts with doing the work.

Links:

• Washingtonian CEO Cathy Merrill's op-ed in the Washington Post
• Just one of the news articles on the backlash against her op-ed
• My wife Alexandra Samuel has co-written a terrific new book on making the most of remote work, called Remote, Inc. Highly recommended for making the most of the new workplace!
• I'm thrilled to be reading Tamsen Webster's new book Finding Your Red Thread. Highly recommended for making the most of your message!

Music: All music is by Lee Rosevere. The theme music is "Twitter Will Kill Us All." Used under a Creative Commons license.

Photo: Fakurian Design on Unsplash