Speaking As A Leader [Hardcover] [Jan 01, 2012] JUDITH HUMPHREY

by Judith Humphrey

A leader's role is to move others. To engage them and to inspire them to action. Effective leaders use every speaking opportunity to influence and inspire-in their phone calls, in meetings, in elevator conversations, in presentations, and in their formal speeches. They realize that the true task of leaders is to create believers. Many leaders take time to craft effective formal speeches and presentations, but fall down on the day-to-day communication. For too many leaders, "informal" is synonymous with "unprepared" when it comes to informal speaking situations. When people fail to communicate, they fail to lead. Speaking As a Leader puts communications squarely at the centre of leadership and shows how to lead every time you speak-from the biggest stage to the most informal hallway conversation or phone call. It helps readers to meet the enormous challenge of engaging, energizing, and motivating others day in and day out. In today's flattened organizations, leadership opportunities are plentiful and exist in every interaction and for individuals at every level. Speaking As a Leader reveals the leadership moments that exist in even the most informal settings and shows how to: Inspire and influence others, every time you speak Listen effectively, in three dimensions Move from Information to Inspiration Take the "numb" out of numbers See why you are the best visual and how to avoid "Death by PowerPoint" Move from Subject to Message Structure your thoughts and message in any situation, using a four-step model Create a leader's presence and show your passion Become a constant leader. Speaking As a Leader offers a four-step model to unlock your leadership potential every time you communicate and help you turn your listeners into foll

Genres: Leadership, Business, Nonfiction, Self Help, Communication, Buisness

264 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was recommended by one of my professors as a helpful tool for the students of his class.

There are some good points in this book. Certainly a few things I’d never thought of or that made me think, “oh, yeah that makes sense.”

The downsides to this book are that It’s written like an exceptionally long essay, with the introduction acting as a thesis and outlining what will be discussed further in. This leads to a large amount of repetition. In addition, with so many company name drops, this book serves as a 250 page advertisement for The Humphrey Group.

Could have been a blog post.

[Chouba Nabil · Rating 4 out of 5]

nice to know ...

[Jemmie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This audiobook was efficiently organized, simplified where possible, and delivered with persuasive tone, all attributes of a fine speech. This is the kind of book you can refer to over and over again whenever addressing any group, or even just someone on the phone.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a waste of time at all. Boring sometimes.

[Aaron Mikulsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provides some great tips, nice reminders, and good examples of effective communications.

What We Have Here, Is a Failure to Communicate!

In the book Speaking as a Leader, executive coach Judith Humphrey addresses this problem and puts communication squarely at the center of leadership. Today, leadership opportunities exist in every interaction and for individuals at every level. For a leader, the mike is always on. You are always on stage. Every situation is a leadership moment.

This book presents a systematic approach called The Leadership Model™. It has four steps:
1. Think like a leader. This first step is mental preparation.
2. Create a leader’s script. The script structures your ideas and influences the audience’s thinking.
3. Use the language of leadership. The best leaders are conscious of the language they use, and deliberately choose words that have the power to influence and inspire.
4. Achieve a leader’s presence. A leader, like a good actor, brings a script to life through energy, eye contact, gestures and voice.

The four steps of The Leadership Model™ provide a powerful template that will help turn your listeners into followers and leaders themselves.

[Luke Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear, concise and inspirational. This book is perfect to mold you into the great public speaker you want to be. Like a lot of good books that teach challenging skills it is simply put but clear and above all stresses you can give yourself structure whilst remaining yourself. Highly recommended.

[Felipe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent advises and recommendations. No matter how many experiences you have had in public speaki ng or leading teams, the content of each page is refreshing and full of wisdom.
I've really enjoyed this book!

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read. I found almost every chapter profound. Especially enjoyed the section on script-and the idea that we should always have a message no matter the circumstance. Also, the chapter on simplifying numbers and making them interesting was helpful.

[Valerie Ott · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t like this book when I started, but it grew on me. I love highlighting leadership books for future reference, but this one wasn’t worthy of too many markups.

[Harding Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the opportunity to work with the Humphrey Group earlier this year, and even after 20 years of work as a communications professional, it was possibly the most important learning experience of my career. This book, Speaking as a Leader, encompasses all of that learning. Anyone interested in developing their voice as a leader should read it.

[Darrell McCauley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Speaking as a Leader goes beyond speaking advice to give good tips on executive presence. I will recommend this book to all that I mentor on leadership and executive presence.

Humphrey combines the best of contemporaries (links below) with Greek classics peppered with color from the Wind in the Willows and Lewis Carroll works. The author is well read and summarizes key messages from other excellent works.

Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln
The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs
The Wind in the Willows
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

No book can substitute for one-on-one coaching, but Speaking as a Leader is the best I've found so far (excellent value when you compare price of a book versus price of coaching). Regarding coaching, there is a touch of self-promotion, but it's tolerable (unlike another book with "executive presence" in the title).

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I took away from this book:
-Speak with your eyes. Engage somebody with eye contact is a big deal even outside work
-Breathe easy. Breathing properly and more slowly can help you relax and articulate thoughts and ideas. It will also make you sound more confident
-Insert pauses to make your sentences more concrete and influential.
-When you speak, you must have a vision and you must have conviction/passion for that vision.

I actually read the whole thing and took notes! Judith's Humphrey's novel "Speaking as a Leader" parallels a business oriented guide run by The Humphrey Group of the same name. I decided to read this book because the course genuinely interested me. I figured, if this stuff wasn't a waste of time maybe there would be more useful information here. Thankfully it was quite an enjoyable read. It goes in-depth about a multitude of topics, such as Organizing Your Thoughts, to Scripting Yourself and Basic Self-Modifications.

However, keep in mind that this book is primarily entirely business oriented. I wasn't particularly expecting that, but I guess that's what I signed up for...What I was looking was a more broad approach, how to apply myself outside of work. Maybe an in-depth analysis on Leadership in general and what qualities a person should always have.

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great practical guide for speaking clearly and on message. It had good examples for all types of speaking (from presentations, to meetings, to casual conversations), and for how to structure remarks in a coherent and inspiring way. It connects well with other discussions about the need to share the "why" of what you are saying (selling) and not just the boring "what" and "how" details.

[Gavin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mostly a collection of anecdotes and frequent self promotion. What the book lacks in real substance, it makes up in length. If you on occasion, read articles on this subject, then by all means, skip this book!

[Simon Hohenadl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Central message: as a leader, use every time you speak to lead.
Gives some useful tips to follow when speaking, like a basic structure to use every time you speak. Many are useful even when you are not a formal leader. Others are fairly obvious in my opinion.

[Babita Devi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, yet compelling techniques - excellent read and easy to digest.

[Avard · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a fantastic read, it sure did help me speak in public better.
I feel like I have a plan now.

[Johan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bra innehåll, mindre bra uppläsare.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book. In my opinion, it had several good tips.