Executive Speeches

Executive speeches are a slightly differently animal than speeches by just anyone else, in part because of their significance. The right word at the right time can boost employee morale, public and shareholder confidence, or media support. The wrong word at the wrong time can do just the opposite.

The same goes for the executive’s presentation of the speech. This is why so many executives invest in speech writers and public speaking coaches.

Whether hiring out for help or not, however, an executive ought to strongly consider the following factors when developing and giving a speech:

1) The audience. It’s important not only to think about what message they want to hear, but what their mood is going into the speech. If they’re supportive of the speaker, s/he has a lot more leeway for a relaxed mood and humor. If there are serious issues on the line, the speech needs to help the listener feel better about the situation.

2) Word choices. People can read a lot into words, so an executive would do well to consult at least one other trustworthy person to consider whether any words choices can have more than one meaning. Is there anything being said that the exec doesn’t mean to convey?

3) Sincerity. It’s nearly a given that a speaker will use his or her words to convey a message in the most positive light possible. But some end up twisting their words so much that they try to call black … white. I believe this insults the listener and ends up alienating people, who can almost always see right through the convoluted message. Or … they can tell that it’s convoluted, even if the speaker leaves them wondering what the truth really is. I believe every executive ought to avoid this scenario, because this only leads to a loss of future confidence and therefore the executive’s ability to get things done.

4) Energy. This goes along with sincerity. An executive ought to be passionate about his or her message. If things are going badly, palpable compassion ought to go with compassionate words. If things are going well, there ought to be a fire in the speaker’s eye and tone, to match the fire of his/her words.

5) An interesting message. Executives have access to a lot of numbers and their topics often involve their businesses. So it’s only natural for many to rely on statistics about the business in order to make it through a public speech. It’s important to remember, though, that all the stats and numbers in the world still end up having human meaning to the employees and the community, so it’s much more powerful to turn information into human stories and analogies that people can relate to. People generally respond with their emotions more than they do with the intellect anyway, so this is a good way to really reach them.

6) Solutions. What may most set an executive speech apart from other speeches is that executives really need to incorporate solutions into their speeches. If business has been heading downhill, they need to explain what steps are going to address that trend. And even when things are going uphill, I believe it’s important to talk about how to maintain that trend.

Of course there are many different venues for executive speeches. An awards ceremony won’t call on these elements in the same way as an address to company employees or the media. But these are elements, nonetheless, to consider prior to any speech, just to make sure the executive isn’t missing something important.