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7/30/2019 Speaking Under Pressure
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.xcuvakg.com.au
Speaking Under
Pressure:How to maintain your
cool when the pressure
is on
http://www.executivespeaking.com.au/http://www.twitter.com/DarrenFleminghttp://www.youtube.com/user/flemo1974http://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenfleminghttp://www.facebook.com/ExecutiveSpeakingAustraliahttp://www.executivespeaking.com.au/7/30/2019 Speaking Under Pressure
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About the Author
As founder and director of Execue Seain, Darren Femin has sent the ast 10 years
transformin business eaders into hihy eece seaers.
Usin his own disnct and unique seain system he has trained thousands of businesseaders riht across Austraia. These students hae one on to deier tens of thousands
of resentaons riht around the word eain no doubt that Darrens Execue Seain
system wors.
Darrens students incude some of Austraias most owerfu CEOs from some of Austraias
most innoae and inuena oranisaons, to manaers and sta that hae a wanted the
same thin to transform their nerousness and uncertainty into condence and contro
when they sea.
Darrens rocess taes his students from nerous and borin to
condent and interesn, from du and ifeess to caan
and insirin. In the rocess their nerousness anishes and
they tae contro of the stae.
Not ony a successfu and roen teacher, Darren is aso
a master of seain, hain won numerous
seain comeons oer the ast
decade incudin two me naona
chamion for Imromtu Seain.
Darren has deiered oer 500
resentaons, been featured in
resected and rominent media
incudin the Sydney Mornin Herad,
BRW and Manaement Today. He
nows what its ie for his students hes been there and hes been abe
to he transform their seain
abiity. He can do the same for you.
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Contents
How Strong Leaders Stay Cool Under Fire ............4
Leadership Through a Crisis ................................ 8
Control the Message ......................................... 13
To Gain Control, Stop Talking .............................18
The Power of Body Language .............................23
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How Strong Leaders
Stay Strong Under Fire
http://www.executivespeaking.com.au/http://www.twitter.com/DarrenFleminghttp://www.youtube.com/user/flemo1974http://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenfleminghttp://www.facebook.com/ExecutiveSpeakingAustraliahttp://www.executivespeaking.com.au/7/30/2019 Speaking Under Pressure
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5Speaking Under preSSUre
www.executvespeaking.com.au Mob +61 (0) 422 670 659 Darren Fleming 2013.
Any business execue can run acomany when mes are ush and
emoyees are hay. The true test
of a stron eader is how they act
in mes of adersity. Quesonabe
racces, inaroriate resonses
and faiure to act can sin a comanys
reutaon and stoc rice.
No maer who or what is behind the robem, the burden to defend the comany fas to the
eader. In this recarious me, the eader must stand stron as the comany becomes the
taret for accusaons, quesons and cricisms. Eery word wi be ut under a microscoe.
Howeer, the riht outcome can be achieed with a soid, consistent messae. Under
quesonin, a ood eader uses sime, enuine answers that hod u to aeaons and can
be adated for any audience. The eader nows it and beiees it and has the courae to sc
with it un the ery end. To ensure the riht messae rises aboe a the noise, a stron eader
foows these three stes.
respect the Questioner
Whether the quesons come from an emoyee or a reiew board; as a ood eader you shoudaways resects the interroator, remain aent and ie the seaer undiided aenon.
TREAT THEM AS EQUAlS - Do not dismiss the quesoner as if
they are beow you. Do not cower to them as if they are aboe
you. Treat them as you exect to be treated, as an equa with
courtesy and resect.
SpEAk THEIR lANgUAgE - Cra your seech aerns to ee
from soundin retenous. Modest anuae and a sower acecan be eece in comin across as humbe and can een disarm
an aitated quesoner. Aoid san and cooquiaisms.
gIvE THEM TIME - Dont rush the quesoner as they wi erceie
your acons as bein easie. If youre cauht in an imromtu
meen, schedue another me as soon as ossibe and romise
to answer a their quesons.
1
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6Speaking Under preSSUre
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Robert Murdochs tesmony in the News of the Word hone hacin scanda roides a
erfect exame of how you can ain adantae by resecn your interroators. Under hours
of quesonin from pariament, he remained cam and courteous. Murdoch stuc to a sime
messae. He neither chaened his quesoners, nor tried to confuse them. As a resut, one
of the most owerfu media mous in the word manaed to come across humbe to anyone
watchin on the Tv.
control Your emotions
Any me a eader must defend their acons, or that of someone in their comany, they are ut
under enormous ressure. A eyes are watchin. A ood eader becomes sef-aware; tain
the me to acnowede how emoons their ater seech and body anuae. They earn to
sef-reuate so they dont act imusiey.
Understand what ushes your buons and earn how to contro your reacons. Outward
disays of aner, fear and frustraon can be damain to your credibiity and diert aenon
away from the main messae. Stay in contro.
think before You speAk - Neer burt out an
answer when you are under stress. You neer want to
ris sayin somethin wron because you are reacn
to emoona triers. Tae a si of water or simy
ause to reect on the queson before you answer.
Dont fAll into A trAp - Interiewers reeat
quesons to create frustraon and try to force you to
ie contradictory resonses. Be ready for it. Sc to
the messae.
never self meDicAte - Aoid usin recreaona
drus or acoho rior to quesonin. You may thin
it wi he you reax, but the consequences can be
enormous if you say somethin you didnt mean. Stay
aert and in contro.
2
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stAnD Your GrounD
Under adersity, a eader wi hae to answer to mue audiences: emoyees, co-worers,
boards, auditors, inesators, reorters. Stay on messae reardess of how many mes youreeat yoursef.
use Different phrAses - Find mue ways to say
the same thin whie stayin on oint. How woud you
answer the queson if you were a 70 year od? How
coud you mae your oint as a queson, statement or
command? Thinin of your messae in these dierent
ways wi he you deeo new ways of sharin your
oint. Use dierent resonses in dierent interiews to
aoid aearin ie you memorised a sine statement.
prActice - Few eoe can sea o the cu
eoquenty. pracce your messae out oud and do
dry runs with a trusted co-worer to nd the hoes.
Eery ood resenter does this. They een do it withwitnesses in court cases!
look them in the eYe - Nothin is more owerfu
than eye contact. learn it, use it.
The words most owerfu eaders haemastered these essons to stay cam and
condent under re. They arent the ony
ones who use these toos. What about
cassic maniuators? They are exceent at
conincin others that their messae is aid
and true.
Cycin eend lance Armstron used these
techniques to foo hundreds-of-miions of
eoe for many many years. Aer years
of chean other athetes and yin to his
3
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8Speaking Under preSSUre
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accusers, Armstron nay admied to usin erformance enhancin drus. He came cean
ony aer he was stried of 7 Tour de France tes, receied a ifeme ban, and was forced
to ste down from his foundaon.
He didnt brea under interroaon. Armstron controed his confession ie he controed his
ies; reeain ony the truths he chose durin an orchestrated interiew with ta show host
Orah Winfrey.
U un the ery end, Armstron neer waered from his messae. No maer who quesoned
him, no maer how many mes they ased, no maer how they ushed his buons - he
aways said the same thin.
Crics described Armstron as maniuae, controin, hyer-aressie, and hain a hue
eo. Those are the same terms used to describe some of the words to business execues
men and women who are reered for their condence and strenth. They can hande any ine
of quesonin without a inch.
When you believe
strongly in your message,
when you believe it is right for
your company and when you
have the courage to stand your
ground - you can withstand anyquestioning. In return, others will
believe you and follow you as
a great leader.
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Leadership Through
a Crisis
http://www.executivespeaking.com.au/http://www.twitter.com/DarrenFleminghttp://www.youtube.com/user/flemo1974http://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenfleminghttp://www.facebook.com/ExecutiveSpeakingAustraliahttp://www.executivespeaking.com.au/7/30/2019 Speaking Under Pressure
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10Speaking Under preSSUre
www.executvespeaking.com.au Mob +61 (0) 422 670 659 Darren Fleming 2013.
Eery business execue wi be testedat some me with a crisis. Whether its an
interna robem that must be addressed
with emoyees, or an externa one
that requires a ress conference; crisis
manaement is essena.
The most imortant eement in deain
with a crisis is to show stron eadershi. To
do so requires a rm ras of the robem,
a an to soe it, and the condence to
ead the team to success. You dont hae
to hae a the answers there and then, butyou do hae to be in contro and seen to
be in contro. Here are the best ways to do this:
Makeitclearyouunderstandtheproblem
Explainthatyouwillconnuetoinvesgateallangles
Statethatyouhavespecicgoalstoemergeasastrongerorganisaon
A ood eader doesnt need to exain the souon oint-by-oint or resent a meine. They
do need to show they are in command of the situaon. Strenth and condence o a on way
to reassurin emoyees and stochoders.
Deliver the riGht messAGe
Tae the exame of Austraian Swimmin president Barcay Neefod, who inherited a ubic
crisis when he was eected to tae oer the oranisaon in October 2012. Cutura robems
on the mens team had surfaced ony a few months rior. Neefod new he woud eentuayhae to answer to aeaons that the mens team arciated in buyin, dru use, and
schooboy rans at the Summer Oymics.
Just four months aer Neefod entered oce, an indeendent reiew commissioned by
Swimmin Austraia reeased a scathin reort. The new resident caed a ress conference,
but he faied to conince the cameras he was a stron eader caabe of uin the oranisaon
out of crisis. Heres where his resentaon fe short:
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11Speaking Under preSSUre
www.executvespeaking.com.au Mob +61 (0) 422 670 659 Darren Fleming 2013.
Readastatementinsteadofspeakingopenlytoreporters
Failedtoholdeyecontactbyjerkingbetweenreportersandhisnotes
Stumbledaroundwhenhetriedtogoomemory
Triedtobuymetoreturntohisnotesbyenunciangeverysyllable
Brokeanypossibleconneconwiththeaudience
Neefod reied so heaiy on his statement that he faied to ins any condence that he
new what he was tain about. Instead, he ae the imression that he was not across a
the detais before him. He was afraid to sea oeny. He was afraid of sayin the wron thin.
This is unfortunate because as a resut, he ae no assurance to the media that he was in
contro of Swimmin Austraia.
In his osion as president, Neefod woud hae made seera decisions in this maer and
woud hae been inoed in the rocess a the way. Unfortunatey, it did not oo as thouh
he was. The CEO missed an imortant oortunity to show he was in contro durin this
eriod and had the crisis under contro. Why? The answer is sime, he faied to ie himsef
the authority to sea as a eader.
A cleAr vision
In comarison, Austraian swimmer Eamon Suian soe
at the same ress conference with carity and condence.
The senior swimmer was under re and his reutaon
was on the ine. Unie Neefod, Suian owned his
messae. He acnoweded his ac of judment as a
team eader, aooised and too resonsibiity for the
teams mistaes.
Suian resented a cear ision that the audience coud
trust and suort. His confession and remorse reected
his humiity in the face of adersity. His cam, een tone
ae the imression he was reared to dea with the
consequences. His beief in his osion imied he woud
accet his unishment and moe on to be a beer
erson. Suian ortrayed a eader who woud not et
this misste be defean.
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12Speaking Under preSSUre
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Chater 2
from crisis to opportunitY
As the eader of any oranisaon, no maer how are or how sma, it is essena to
communicate a unied messae with oise and condence. As wee seen so many mes,
strenth in eadershi can carry een the most wounded of comanies to ictory. The ey to
naiin any ress conference is rearaon:
know the messAGe
Cain a ress conference inites the word to jude your nowede of the subject, your
condence in your messae, and the way you react under ressure. keein your comosure
is essena. preare by understandin the history and the extent of the robem; now a the
anes, you do not want any surrise quesons that wi mae you oo unaware. Ony then
can you cra your messae and determine how you wi address ossibe souons.
prActice Your presentAtion repeAteDlY
Eery seasoned eader nows the imortance of hin
the riht tone durin a ress conference. The cameras
ic u eerythin, so it is essena that you use the
riht words and emhasis the riht oints. pracce out
oud, reeatedy. video record yoursef to nd areas
that may raise quesons or sound contradictory. As a
trusted friend or co-worer for feedbac on the content
and deiery.
use An outline
If you now what you an to say and what order you want to say it in, you dont need a
reared statement. In fact, you shoud neer hae a fuy wrien statement uness you are
quon someone ese. Instead, create an outine usin ony ey words to ee yoursef on
trac. Incude secic numbers and names if needed. This wi ee your eyes ooin forward
instead of ooin down whie you search for your ace in the scrit.
1
3
2
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13Speaking Under preSSUre
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mAintAin GooD eYe contAct
Measured eye contact is essena when
tryin to show you are in command. Itseasier when seain to rous because
you can oo in a enera direcon and
shi as needed. Durin Q&A, maintain
eye contact throuhout the reorters
queson and your answer. Ony oo
away when you exand your answer to
be more broad or to incude addiona
oints.
Answer Questions
You shoud neer be afraid to tae quesons, but you shoud be reared to answer them
roery and aow yoursef to refuse to comment if needed. The ey is stayin in contro,
een if your answers dont reea any new informaon. To further contro Q&A, ee your
statement aue and ut a me imit on quesons; this forces reorters to use the imited
me to in the bans of the who, what, where, when and why.
For eery ood eader, crisis can ead to oortunity. It is a chance to eiminate wea ayers,
idenfy rou strenths, and buid the comany bac stroner than eer. You can deier
these resuts when you can stand and sea as the eader your oranisaon with condence
and ision.
4
5
A press
conference can
be a well orchestratedevent if you prepare
properly. If you dont, it can
turn into a feeding frenzy for
reporters and a nightmare
for your company as
the focus turns to
damage control.
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Control the Message
http://www.executivespeaking.com.au/http://www.twitter.com/DarrenFleminghttp://www.youtube.com/user/flemo1974http://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenfleminghttp://www.facebook.com/ExecutiveSpeakingAustraliahttp://www.executivespeaking.com.au/7/30/2019 Speaking Under Pressure
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15Speaking Under preSSUre
www.executvespeaking.com.au Mob +61 (0) 422 670 659 Darren Fleming 2013.
Business eaders now the imortance of a crean a osie ubic imae. The way theydress, act and sea reects not ony uon their character, but on the aues of their oranisaon.
A CEO who oes on a drunen ramae durin a conference damaes their own reutaon, as
we as the reutaon of the oranisaon. If the media ets a hod of the story, there can aso be
nancia imicaons.
Most hih ee execues earn eary on how to ee themsees in chec. But what about your
comanys saes reresentaes and mid-ee manaers? If they dont now the imortance
of maintainin a rofessiona imae, they coud say the wron thin to the wron eoe and
disrace the oranisaon.
loo at a the distracons at prime Minister Juia giards oce brouht on by her artner,
Tim Mathieson. At a January 2013 oernment eent, Mathieson was acn as a Mens Heath
Ambassador when he soe to the West Indian Cricet Team about the imortance of rostate
checs.
He ae an imassioned seech, then caed it o with a tasteess joe that smaced of racism
and sexism. The audience auhed. giard rimaced. And the media had a ed day.
Mathieson wi aways be under the
microscoe, but the rest of us can earn
from his mistaes. Obiousy, you want to
stay away from racist comments and aoid
usin joes before they are road tested. But
most misstes fa into a rey area. Here
is a sime road ma to nowin what is
accetabe, so you can ee your messae
on oint.
ThreeOpTiOns-OneAnswer
Eery me you resent informaon to a rou, you hae three choices. To share what you
coud say, what you shoud say or what you shoud not say. The riht choice can be the
dierence between main the sae, or main the news.
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whAt You coulD sAY
What you coud say is eerythin you now about the
toic you are seain on. Een if you hae ony a fewyears of exerience in your ed, it can s add u to
ot of informaon for a sine resentaon.
less exerienced seaers dont hod bac in
hoes of imressin the audience with their ast
nowede. They beiee it wi mae them oo
smarter and beer than their comeon. They
start with a comany history esson, aunch into a
the serices they oer and ony then et to the oint
of the resentaon. Unfortunatey, many seaers
try to cram a this informaon into 20 minutes.
A seaer that says too much comes across as borin, unoranised and they usuay run out
of me. As for the audience, they et ost in the detais, confused about the rea messae and
reay just want the resentaon to end. Heres one cue that you said too much - no one ass
any quesons.
Seasoned resenters now this is the best way to ose an audience. Aoid sharin eerythin
you now and your audience wi than you for it.
whAt You shoulD sAY
What you shoud say durin an eece resentaon is that you understand your audience
and you beiee you can he them. Say it simy and say it directy.
You can communicate your serices eecey by hihihn
ony the ey oints you want your audience to understand.
Emhasise the boom ine in a way that your audience wi
remember. Then, wra u your resentaon with a ca to
acon that is reasonabe and benecia to a. No one wi
remember your enre resentaon, but if you can se them
on a few ey hihihts they wi want to now more.
1
2
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Aways eae me for indiiduas quesons, but dont aienate the rest of the audience with
on answers. If a queson requires an in-deth resonse, answer it briey and suest further
discussion aer the resentaon ends. Eeryone wi be ratefu if you ee thins moin.
One more oint, your audience wi oo uon you more faouraby when you wra u a
meen eary; it shows you are resecu of their me. pus, you ie them the ower to
chose what is imortant for a foow u discussion.
whAt You shoulD not sAY
Wee a been here at one oint in our career; we say somethin we shoud not hae and it
bows u in our face. Then we send days or een wees tryin to contro the damae.
This ase in judement usuay haens when you
decide to diert from the scrited resentaon and ad
ib a few comments. It is oen towards the end of the
resentaon when you fee ie you are doin we, the
audience is recee and the ie oice in your head
tes you to o for it. The ie oice is dead wron.
Bad joes, confessions and secrets si out. Before you
een reaise what is haenin, youre reeain trics
on how to ay ess for your comanys serice. Youre
exainin how oce oics aed the way for your
arch rias romoon. Or worse yet, you nd yoursef
doin imersonaons of the boss.
The ony thin worse is that moment of carity, when you reaise what you hae done. In
a anic, many seaers aemt to reerse course and exain what they reay meant was
somethin enrey dierent. By then, eeryone in the room reaises the resentaon hasturned to damae contro. The best thin you can do is simy sto tain.
protect the compAnY
As a business execue, you now the ris of ad ibbin durin an imortant resentaon.
But your emoyees may not hae made that mistae - yet. Un they earn the otena
consequences, your emoyees are in daner of harmin the comany eery me they meet
with business cients.
3
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Tim Mathieson coud benet from earnin the dierence between what you coud say, what
you shoud say and what you shoud not say. His tasteess joe about Asian doctors may foow
him for years; reayed with each new embarrassment to the prime Ministers oce. Judin
by his behaiour so far, its a sure bet.
Some of Mathiesons indiscreons coud be aoided if he remembers that een thouh he is
not a oician, he s reresents a art of the prime Ministers ife; much in the same way
that your emoyees reresent your comany. A oor reecon on the indiidua aso reects
bady on the oranisaon.
To rotect your comanys imae, ensure that the eoe in your oranisaon are trained
to manae the messae. Awareness is the rst ste. If you susect some of your emoyees
dont understand the dierence between what they coud say, what they shoud say and what
they shoud not say - its me to et them into trainin.
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To Gain Control,
Stop Talking
http://www.executivespeaking.com.au/http://www.twitter.com/DarrenFleminghttp://www.youtube.com/user/flemo1974http://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenfleminghttp://www.facebook.com/ExecutiveSpeakingAustraliahttp://www.executivespeaking.com.au/7/30/2019 Speaking Under Pressure
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20Speaking Under preSSUre
www.executvespeaking.com.au Mob +61 (0) 422 670 659 Darren Fleming 2013.
Eery business eader exeriences immense ressure when quesoned about somethinthat may not hae one as anned. They are ried in front of the comany board, draed
into human resources, quesoned by inesae anes or interiewed by news reorters.
Under intense scruny, it is imerae a ood eader stays in contro. That means thinin
before seain, deierin thouhu answers, and ony sayin as much as needed - no more.
Unfortunatey, many new business execues inadertenty reea more than they want. The
reasons are enty:
They speculate how much the interviewer knows
They try to avoid giving a direct answer
They try too hard to make a point
They get nervous
They want to please the interviewer
They doubt the clarity of their own responses
Somemes, it is seera of these at once. But the number one reason most eoe reea more
than they want under quesonin is much simer:
theY cAnt stop tAlkinG
Many eoe oen their mouths and cant seem to nd a aceto sto. Its the reason so many criminas wind u confessin
to oice. And why so many oicians wi eentuay ut their
foot in their mouth.
That is why a ood business eader earns to ie himsef or
hersefpermission to stop talking. It isnt a sin of deance. It is
a sin of contro. Master these three stes durin quesonin
and you wi neer say more than you intend.
1. Answerthequesonsimplyanddirectly,
then stop
2. Look the interviewer in the eye and dont say a word
unlthenextqueson
3. Ifaskedforclaricaon,scktoasinglepoint,thenstop
If the erson asin quesons needs addiona informaon, be assured they wi et you now.
Once you earn to contro your answers, your stress wi be minimised.
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the pressure of television
perhas one of the most stressfu interiews a business execue may be required to
arciate in is on the teeision. It seems so easy. And eeryone wi be watchin! But once
you face the cod camera ens, the briht ihts and a hihy trained interiewer - een a oised
eader can et oerwhemed.
Once you et sef-doubt cree in, its easy to ta yoursef into a corner. This is the moment you
wi need to simy ie yoursef ermission to sto tain.
Tae the 2012 interiew with Oymic swimmer Tommaso DOrsona foowin a disaoinn
Oymic games. Desite hih exectaons, the Austraian swim team earned ony one od
meda. Rumours swired about buyin, rans, and rescrion drus. The media demanded
answers.
Durin the channe Ten interiew, DOrsona reeaed much more about the ancs of the
swim team than he wanted. Not because he was eaer to reea the truth. But because he
coudnt sto tain!
Heres what he said when ased a sime yes or no queson if the team was unied:
Admiedcohesionhasdeteriorated
Believed the consequences were obvious Blamed lack of cohesion for the Olympic losses
Accused teammates of being driven by personal glory
When ressed for names, DOrsona iniay refused. He new he said too much. Instead of
iin himsef ermission to sto, he tried to ta his way out and eentuay ae out enouh
informaon that iewers coud ure it out themsees.
Dont think so much
Why did DOrsona ee answerin quesons that
hadnt een been ased? He coud hae been nerous.
Seain into a camera can be disorienn because you
dont see the interiewers face. You cant te if they
are confused, noddin in areement, or oenin their
mouths to sea.
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Doubt can trier a danerous conersaon in your head:
Have I made that point clear?
MaybeIdidntmakemyselfclear.Letmetellyoualilemore.
Wasthatenough?MaybeIshouldsayalilemore.
The cyce reeats un the interiewer cuts you o or your brain nay screams at you to sto
tain. It haens a the me, not just on teeision interiews.
Thats because the erson asin the quesons is in contro of the direcon of the interiew.
It can be nere-racin. But that doesnt mean you shoud ie u contro of your answers.
Remember, you are neer forced to say more than want. Unfortunatey, many eoe simy
fee comeed to ee tain.
let me explAin
A danerous consequence to tain too
much, is reeain too much. Once its
out there, its dicut to tae bac. Some
eoe try to circe around and exain
what they reay meant. The resuts can
be deastan.
By oer-exainin you may inadertenty
reea secrets, aee wron-doin or
confess. There is no end to the damae
you can do. You may een oint out
somethin that the interiewer missed
the rst me around.
Durin the channe Ten interiew, the
reorter ased Tommaso DOrsona if he saw any teammates use the banned see dru
Snox. DOrsona new what he wanted to say, but fumbed around because he wasnt
sure what he shouldsay. perhas his brain was starn to understand the imicaons of his
reious answers.
DOrsona essenay admied to seein teammates use Snox. At that oint, he had aready
du himsef a bi hoe. Not that it maered. Aer sendin the enre interiew iin detaied
answers, a no comment seems susicious.
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secrets reveAleD
To tae contro of any interiew, ie yoursef ermission to sto tain. It is a rimary esson
tauht in journaism schoos around the obe. good reorters now you dont earn anythin
by tain, you earn by istenin. And they et ood at it. Because they understand this one
thin beer than anyone ese - they now that most eoe dont ie sience and they wi ta
themsees into troube.
If you want to control the interview, control your answers:
Answer a single point clearly and directly
Stop talking and close your mouth, smile if appropriate
Donotspeakagainunlthenextquesonisasked
No maer what ind of quesonin you are under, the abiity to resent your messae and ie
yoursef ermission to sto tain is a earned si. It is essena to eery business execue
who wants to moe ahead. And it taes racce.
Once you master the skill
of learning to stop talking,
you will display a confdence
that puts you in control.
It gives you power and
solidifes your leadership.
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.xcuvakg.com.au
The Power of Body
Language
Chater 4
http://www.executivespeaking.com.au/http://www.twitter.com/DarrenFleminghttp://www.youtube.com/user/flemo1974http://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenfleminghttp://www.facebook.com/ExecutiveSpeakingAustraliahttp://www.executivespeaking.com.au/7/30/2019 Speaking Under Pressure
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25Speaking Under preSSUre
www.executvespeaking.com.au Mob +61 (0) 422 670 659 Darren Fleming 2013.
The exectaons for a cororate execue are immense. They must be dedicated, moated,and wor harder than anyone ese. They o countess hours under enormous stress, iin u
nihts and weeends. But to moe ahead, a business execue must aso ossess eadershi
quaies.
great eaders communicate their comanys ision in a way that insires and moates
emoyees. These business eaders buid owerfu teams, drie innoaon and hae a assion
for success. They aso nurture the one thin many execues ac:
self-AwAreness
Most execues can deier a ersuasie
resentaon thats easy. But, when under re,
een owerfu execues do not aways coney
a messae of strenth and condence. They can
be uncomfortabe answerin quesons with their
oice chanin itch, shuein their notes and
rushin throuh answers. Eeryone was away
feein uneasy.
How you hande yoursef in a stressfu situaon
says a ot about who you are; as a businessexecue, as a eader, as someone to be trusted
you need to be across this. It a comes down to
how you manae nerous enery.
boDY lAnGuAGe betrAYAl
Neres can mae us anxious and dety, confused and errac. Our body anuae betrays
us, exosin our fear of faiure throuh trembin hands and rain nees. A ood eader
reconises the trier oints, nows how their body wi react, and understands how it maybe erceied. A ood eader deeos sef-contro.
lets tae the exame of James and Ruert Murdoch as they tesed for a pariamentary
inquiry board into the News of the Word hone hacin saa. These are two of the words
most owerfu media mous under re for a scanda with crimina, ethica and career-endin
imicaons.
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The father-son team were a unied force. They shared the same messae and iey sent
wees rearin for their ubic riin on who new what and when about the newsaer
scanda. But what came across on the teeision, was striiny dierent.
News Cor Chairman and CEO Ruert Murdoch was soid, condent, stron. He ooed his
accusers straiht in the eye durin quesonin. He eaned in towards the ane and used ony
a few deiberate estures to mae his oint. Een thouh he coudnt remember many detais,
he neer waered.
His son, James, ortrayed a ery dierent tye of eader. His body anuae was jiery and he
aeared nerous. He deted, shied his shouders and bobbed his head tryin to mae eye
contact with the enre ane. His reeated use of the same hand estures was distracn.
James came across as errac, in his body anuae and his seech.
strenGth in speech
Durin quesonin by the pariamentary commiee, the youner Murdoch aeared to be
shin for the riht words that woud mae it a o away. He bean answerin quesons
immediatey aer they are ased, then strued to coect his thouhts.
James Murdoch soe usin forma anuae durin the hearin. He resonded from the
comanys oint of iew, and aused to emhasise words so oen that his seech aern
seems stuered.
In contrast, Ruert Murdoch used short sime hrases to answer aneists. He resonded
to quesons from his ersona oint of iew; usin the term I to exain his erceon, his
awareness, his nowede. He used the hrase Im oin to say somethin, to aear as if
he broe from the scrit to sea from the heart. He said ie, but had eeryones aenon.
A business eader must arcuate eecey.
Otherwise, they wi hae dicuty en eoe
to beiee in them, to trust in them, and to foowthem. A seaer can inadertenty create barriers
to trust by deian from norma seech with:
Voiceintonaon
Delivery speed
Vocabulary
Keyword emphasis
Pronunciaon
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know Your surrounDinGs
Ruert Murdoch is a shrewd businessman with decades of exerience answerin to owerfu
eoe. He remained cam and condent under intense quesonin. Few eoe can retain
this ind of oise under ressure.
Comared to Ruert, anyone woud hae ooed a ie frazzed. Had James hae been aone
in front of the commiee, his nerous body anuae may not be so aarent. kee in mind,
the quesonin went on for hours in a are room with seera distracons, incudin the
media and an audience.
The commiee robaby didnt send their breas tain about the way James deted with
his asses or how Ruert waited a fu 5 seconds to answer a queson. They were there to et
answers about the hone hacin scanda.
But to the erson watchin the roceedins on the teeision, there was much more me
to scrunise eery moement. The camera catures a cose u of each man as he seas.
The iewer sees a side-by-side comarison of James and Ruert. And the dierences become
arin.
The enera ubic wont say they disied any seaer because he deted or was arroant
when he soe . The aerae erson just ets an oera imression of who the seaer is and
what he or she stands for. Either they trust him or they dont.
self-AwAreness
What you say, is as imortant as how you say it. No maer how rich and owerfu you et -
eoe wi ony isten to you as on as they beiee you. That is why erba and nonerba
communicaon must be consistent.
As an execue, you must be sef-aware of
your strenths and weanesses when seainbefore rous. You must acnowede how you
react under stress and tae deiberate stes to
counter your nerousness. Reardess of your
ersona stye, the oa is come across cam
and measured.
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For exame:
Does your seech et ouder and faster when you are stressed? If so,
racce sowin down your ace, racce eein your oume ee
when answerin quesons, and idenfy the trier oints that set you
o so you can remind yoursef when to sow down.
It is essena for eery execue to acnowede their nerous habits and earn how to
oercome them. A reat eader is aware of the imae they are ortrayin in eery situaon.
They now how to maintain contro by asin themsees these quesons:
AmIpoisedandcondent?
AmIprojecngstrength?
Am I in control of my body language? Do I understand my audience?
Doesmypresentaontthesituaon?
As with eerythin that is imortant, you must racce sef-awareness in cam situaons so
that you may ta into it durin stressfu ones.
Once you fnd your
inner confdence, you
can take control of your
future using powerful
communication, clear
articulation and a
consistent message.
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WhatCEOsaresayingaboutDarrenFlemings
One-on-OneSpeakerTrainingPrograms
ItblowsmymindwhenIthinkofhowfarIhavecomeinsuchashortme.
I hae found that I hae reater condence when seain about Strata Choice at
industry eents and now oo for oortunies to sea somethin I thouht woud
neer be ossibe.
Dald,GouGaMaag
Darrenmademeprofessionalandmemorable
lie most senior manaers/execues, I was emoyed in my osion based on my
technica exerse and exerience. For some unnown reason, eeryone exects me
to be an exceona ubic seaer. But that is not on my resume! Darren Femin
roided the uidance and coachin so that my resentaon was rofessiona and
memorabe.
ncszut,CeO
Theresultsweachievedhavebeenexcellent
Darren heed me to deeo my resentaon so I coud deier my messae in a
owerfu and meaninfu way. I am more reaxed about resenn and seain to
unfamiiar rous. I hae been abe to adjust resentaons at short noce to inwhere other eoe hae not been abe to mae it.
robtBa,CeO
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Veryusefultoolsandtechniquesforallpublicspeakingevents
The execue teams areciated your innoae ways to desin and deier
resentaons and are ooin forward to ayin the techniques they hae earned
rgasuo,CeOadstatlbaa
Icameawayfeelingpreparedtofaceanaudienceofprofessionals.
I had this reconceied idea that durin the Q&A session I woud be standin to the
side whie the rofessionas were quizzed on the hows and whys, so I was amazed that
the majority of the quesons were directed at me.
suDuo,MaaggDcto
WewillconnuetoworkwithDarrenandyoushoulddothesame.
Customers of Remunerate are senior eoe in the arest comanies in Austraia. It
was crica that our eent was executed erfecty, and that the aunch resentaon
itsef was comein, reeant, and denitey not borin. We enaed Darren Femin
of Execue Seain to he brin that ision to reaity, and he deiered.
peva,MaaggDcto
Idontstressanymoreaboutpungtogetherprofessionalpresentaons.
I am so roud of my powerpoint sis now! A quic esson from you and a those
s made me a whiz in no me and I dont stress anymore about un toether
rofessiona ooin resentaons because I now I hae the abiity to et it done!
Johgay,foudadDcto
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In this boo we hae ooed at how to remain in contro when seain under ressure.
Wee discussed the imortance of resecn the quesoner and trean them as equas.
Youe ained techniques to contro your messae as we as how to stand your round. These
are imortant asects to contro when seain under ressure. last but not east, we hae
discussed how best to contro body anuae so you can add strenth to your messae. This is
crucia if you want to be seen as a stron eader under ressure. If you want to tae your sis
in this area to the next ee so you can so you can remain stron when under ressure, the
rst thin to do is to et in touch with me.
You can do this by e-mai [email protected] by cain Austraia +61 (0)422
670 659. Toether we can wor out a roram that suits you and your oranisaon and hes
achiee the oas that you hae. When you do this, you wi be seen as a stron eader that
eoe resect and foow, and that eoe wi want to dea with.
mailto:Darren%40executivespeaking.com.au?subject=Speaking%20Under%20Firemailto:Darren%40executivespeaking.com.au?subject=Speaking%20Under%20Fire