Say What You Mean Part 1
3rd February, 2010 - Posted by jeffdavis - 5 Comments
There are a few phrases business speakers use that are meant to convey one meaning, but actually convey another.
“We are well-positioned to…” is one of those phrases. It sounds so mature and business-like, doesn’t it? Maybe that’s why so many speakers reach for it.
When we hear speakers say, “We’re well-positioned to…” we hear something else. Depending on the context, the speaker could be saying any of the following:
“We’ve done what we can to make the most of what we have; now its up to the gods to carry the day.”
“I don’t want to brag, but no one in the market can touch what we can to offer.”
“We don’t have the market position we wish we had, but we’re getting better. Don’t blame me.”
On some level, your audience hears the sub-message, too.
Remember the axiom that all good presentations are about Us – the audience. Right off the bat, the thing we don’t like about “We’re well-positioned to…” is that its purpose is to protect the speaker, rather than illuminating the audience. Read the sub-messages again. See what we mean?
The only reason to tell us our position relative to our competitors or the opportunity at hand is to use that fact as a launching pad for what we have to do to improve or sustain it.
So don’t make us guess at what you mean. Give up the obligation to be humble, or to defend yourself. Tell us where we really stand.
If we really are dominant, if we really do own the space, say it. Being dominant lets us – the audience – do something we couldn’t do if we were in third or fifth or last place. Say it, and drive through to what being dominant lets us do.
If what you mean is, “Okay, we’re not doing great, but we’re doing better,” then we need to know that, too. Then tell us what we can do despite or because of our true position.
And if you really mean that, “We’ve done what we can, and we’ll see how it goes,” we definitely deserve to hear that. We need to know whether our fate really is out of our hands.
Be in charge of your message, so you can help us be in charge of our priorities and actions when we leave the meeting.
Tags: key message development, say what you mean, speech coaching, Speech writing, well positioned
Posted on: February 3, 2010
Filed under: What you are saying
5 Comments
Bob Lazar
February 3rd, 2010 at 6:05 PM
And please…. don’t apologize for the visuals that accompany your presentation. If you have to apologize, then you shouldn’t use it. Nothing is worse than, “you probably can’t read this but…” Say what you mean both verbally and on the screen. Say what you mean and show what you mean.
David Kane
February 4th, 2010 at 8:25 AM
Great point. So often speakers shy away from clarity. Two questions: do you think this reflects the culture of the company? How much of that is the concern that what is said will reach a larger, unintended audience, i.e. the press or public?
jeffdavis
February 4th, 2010 at 9:37 AM
Since we here this language wherever we coach and direct, I don’t think it has to do with the culture of any particular company. I do think it is often defensive and safe language to use when talking to investors/shareholders. It is an attempt to express confidence without making any promises. Even so, we think speakers should look for better, more specific language. These words are now meaningless.
janebeard
February 22nd, 2010 at 11:08 AM
I think definitely the culture of the company is part of this. People see others do it, and that becomes the “standard” by which to operate.
We’ve seen a real change in several companies where we’ve coached often. As more people no longer see inscrutable slides, there are fewer inscrutable slides to see.
As for the concern about slides ending up elsewhere, it’s easy to address this in one of several ways — all of them more resourceful than piling on the numbers. One is to “brand” the deck with the name of the meeting somewhere. Make it small, and show us the same thing in a larger version while we are waiting for the meeting to start. Alternatively, hand out a deck with all the numbers (if your concern is a deck that looks incomplete) but AFTER AFTER AFTER you speak. You can also label the deck confidential, not that that really stops people from inappropriate sharing.
InVisibleLight » Say What You Mean Part Three: “New”
May 31st, 2010 at 2:07 PM
[...] you mean – taking the time to be specific – helps your audience understand you. Take a look here and here at previous posts, which can help you “say What You [...]
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