by Caroline Leach | Feb 22, 2016 | Corporate Communications, Work/Life
What makes a great speech?
Humor. Brevity. Meaning. Emotion. Love. Those were the hallmarks of some touching remarks I heard over the weekend.
And no, it wasn’t a TED talk or a corporate retreat. It was a high-school soccer banquet. Seen through the eyes of a freshman parent.
The most impressive part was the level of preparation. Each graduating senior had a freshman talk about what they learned from that player.
And whether they pulled a piece of paper or an iPhone out of their pocket, they had all clearly put thought into what they were going to say.
After the freshmen had their say, some of the seniors shone the spotlight on their coaches.
A few memorable mantras from the many vignettes –
- No matter what happens, you have to make the best of it
- Some of the biggest learnings happen off the field
- Someday I hope I can make people feel as special as my coach made me feel.
Whether they were talking about soccer, or life or both, a lot of great lessons had been role modeled, learned and shared.
What struck me the most was the level of poise these young athletes demonstrated. That’s what comes from having many opportunities to speak in group settings.
They showed how much inspiration – not to mention humor – you can bring to a very short speech.
There’s no need to hem or haw or spend a long time leading up to the punchline.
They simply shared what was in their hearts.
by Caroline Leach | Feb 6, 2016 | Corporate Communications, Leadership, Learning
Reading is all the rage among many business leaders.
As a lifelong bookworm, this is welcome news. Something I’ve always loved to do has (finally) become on trend.
The lesson? If you do things you like long enough, they might become popular at some point. Then you can say you were ahead of the curve.
The benefits of reading are vast – there’s focusing your mind and calming your soul. There’s learning new information relevant to your career. There’s exposing yourself to a diversity of viewpoints to understand how different groups of people think and act.
In the year since I posted News Rituals of a Communicator, my own reading habits have evolved and changed.
New on the scene are 3 daily digests pushed to my email.
- theSkimm. This filters news through the eyes of Millennials. It’s a fun read with a fresh take on the world, with quotes of the day, a main story and things to know.
Thanks to colleague Lauren Brown for the recommendation, during a meeting of our company’s employee resource group for women.
It starts with today’s agenda, moves into the world in brief and wraps up with market activity.
- L.A. Business Journal. This is the local look at what’s going on in the Los Angeles business world. It aggregates sources with news that impacts Southern California.
And since I work for a Dallas-based company, I’ve become an avid follower of The Dallas Morning News.
Isn’t this a lot to read? Not really. Similar to other news sources, I scan the headlines in each digest and choose at least one story to read in full.
That’s why I focus so much on the importance of headlines in any corporate communication. Often it’s all people will read. The main point has to be captured in it. If someone read nothing else, would they get the key point? Is it something that could be easily found later in a search?
Beyond news, there are blogs for a variety of viewpoints. And what about books? There’s less of a method to my madness here in creating a reading list.
I keep an eye out in Harvard Business Review posts for upcoming books. Sometimes I’ll discover books through TED talks. Other times it’ll be on best business books lists.
Usually I discover books before their publishing date. So I pre-order on my Kindle app. It’s a fun surprise the day they download. This week’s gift is Adam Grant‘s Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World.
Because I’m such a book lover, I haunt my local library‘s new releases section. It’s like browsing the latest titles and taking all the best ones home for free. Even better, they get returned after 2 weeks and don’t clutter my home or office. There’s also an option to borrow electronic books.
How is there time for all these books? They’re always available on my smartphone or tablet. That way I can read on the go whenever I have a few minutes. It makes time fly when you’re standing in line or waiting for an appointment to begin.
When time is tight, I’ll read the first chapter, last chapter and any other chapters in the table of contents that catch my eye. There are plenty of book summaries out there. And you can listen to books in the car.
And I’m endlessly inspired by Claire Diaz-Ortiz and her reading habit. Her post on How I Read 200 Books a Year gives great tips for how to fit more reading into your life.
What are you reading and how do you make time for it?
by Caroline Leach | Jan 10, 2016 | Corporate Communications
The Golden Globes is a great reason to gather with family and friends.
It’s fun to celebrate favorite movies and TV shows, rooting for favorite performers.
And if you’re a communicator and marketer, like me, it’s entertaining to listen for the best speeches of the evening.
The winners in my book? Sylvester Stallone for Creed and Lady Gaga for American Horror Story: Hotel.
Show emotion. Sly looked stunned when his name was announced, sitting in his seat for a few moments before he stood up. (The standing ovation may have begun before he stood up himself.) And his first words were about his genuine surprise.
Lady Gaga pulled her hand to her mouth, stopping time for a moment as the win sunk in. And among her first words were, “This is the biggest moment of my life.”
Shine the light on others. Sly endeared himself to the whole world when he said, “I am the sum total of everyone I’ve ever met.”
Lady Gaga said, “Because of you I was able to shine.” And, “Thank you for sharing your talent with me.” And, “You guys pick me up every day.”
Be brief. The best speakers leave you wanting more. Not wondering if they’re going to say something memorable (eventually), or wrap it up and be gone. Not so with Sly and Lady Gaga. I would have been happy listening to them speak for hours.
And that’s the art of a great acceptance speech.
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