How to Deliver Bad News-Lessons from Marriott's CEO

It was a message that no CEO or business owner wants to deliver. Arne Sorenson, CEO of Marriott International, had to inform his employees of the impact that Corona virus would have on them and the company. He started out on the right foot with the title of the talk. It simply said, A Message from Arne. Not a Town Hall, not a Message from the CEO, but a message from Arne. He established a personal connection before he spoke his first word with his informal title.

Striking a serous tone, he began with a direct statement. “I”m here to give you an update on the effects of Covid-19 on our business and the steps we are taking to respond to it. Direct and to the point is the best way to deliver bad news. People are feeling anxious and want to know the topic and agenda of the talk. He also said “This is the most difficult video message we have ever pulled together.” The CEO established his humanity and authenticity with this statement. In other words, this would not be corporate speak.

Mr. Sorenson then injected some mild, appropriate humor to relax the audience. “Our team was a bit concerned about using video because of my new bald look. Let me say my bald look is exactly what we expected because of my medical treatments.” He acknowledged his changed appearance to assure people he was all right. Again, this humanized him as a leader and speaker and the personal reference created a connection with the audience. And he assured them that he was healthy and able to lead. He let it be known that he was focused on the Covid-19 crisis.

After establishing the purpose and establishing rapport, he delivered an excellent transition- “Now let’s talk about that crisis.” As a public speaker he got right to the point. He talked about how he felt, Next, he acknowledged the elephant in the room-his baldness and let people know he was ready to lead them through the crisis. Only then would the audience be ready to hear his strategy. He stayed away from abstractions and made the impact of the virus concrete. Effective leaders and public speakers create a picture for the audience and he did so with the next statement. “Covid 19 has had greater financial impact than 911 and the economic crisis combined.” He followed up with numbers. We’ve seen a 90% decrease in our business in China.”

He moved on to list the strategies and cost containment approaches that would occur, as well as the salary cuts he and his executive team would be taking. This decision demonstrated his leadership once again. He was not above the fray and would personally experience a temporary financial loss along with his employees.

Mr. Sorenson mentioned the positive signs of China’s recovery and once again relayed how it felt to give this news to valued employees. He talked about his eight years as CEO and the highs and lows of his tenure. There was a slight quiver in his voice as he was feeling the pain of this message. Mr. Sorenson assured his employees that “Together we can and we will overcome this and we’ll thrive once again.” And while he didn’t minimize the crisis, he ended with a message of hope and confidence. His entire speech was five minutes and 48 seconds. It was long enough to present the full picture and short enough to maintain attention. It was an exercise in executive presence. And that’s how to deliver bad news.

8 Ways to Scale the Stage

Speaking on stage is a privilege. But being a road warrior can be a nightmare. And giving one keynote speech after another is not a sustainable business model whether you are a professional speaker or want to be one.

Keynote speaking is not a business. It’s one revenue source. When you build a business exclusively with keynote speaking, you are the business. You only have 24 hours a day and that puts a cap on income potential. It’s also economy dependent. When the economy is slow, meetings and conventions get cut. Without another source of income, a professional speaker can go broke. In a good economy, it means you are constantly on the road which can lead to burnout. If you burnout, your ability to generate income will be compromised.

There’s a better solution. By scaling your business you’ll have additional streams of income, which will give you more time to enjoy your life and you’ll ultimately have peace of mind during an economic downturn.

Allison Mason, author of Scale or Fail, identified five stages of scaling:

1. The Seeker

2. The Pioneer

3. The Ringleader

4. The Co-Creator

5. The Visionary.

Once you decide to expand beyond keynote speaking, there are a number of ways to add revenue streams to your business. Here are 8 ways to scale the stage:

Digital products-A digital product can be an Ebook or audio file that customers can purchase from your website.

Online classes-These classes are usually a series of videos and require some back office technology. A quicker and easier alternative is to offer videos on an existing portal that sells online learning.

Membership Programs-This requires building a community. Customers pay a monthly charge and meet with you on a weekly or monthly basis to learn from your expertise and to share knowledge and feedback with their peers. It requires an all-in-one platform that can create email funnels, create pdf or audio files and track the database.

Licensing-A speaker can sell programs to a company and then train them to do it in-house for a fee. The company pays to use the intellectual property.

Certification-A speaker or expert can train others in their process. Let’s say a keynote speaker wants to learn coaching skills. They can pay you for your knowledge and they’ll receive a certificate. They’ll then be able to start coaching their own clients with their newly acquired skills.

Subcontracting-Here is where the speaker can duplicate themselves by hiring other trainers to deliver their programs. The speaker who owns the program pays each subcontractor and takes a percentage of the fee.

Sponsorship-A speaker may offer a public program where other experts would love to have access to the audience. The speaker can then charge the experts to give a commercial or buy an ad.

Franchising-When a professional speaker has a robust, growing business complete with employees and replicable systems. it may be time to consider a second location by offering a franchise. This allows for expansion nationally and internationally.

The time to start scaling is now. By scaling the stage you’ll have additional revenue sources and greater opportunities to grow.

How will you scale?

What Do I Do With My Hands?

The question I hear frequently from audiences is “What do I do with my hands?” It’s amazing. We communicate daily and never think about our hands until we stand up. As soon as we become public speakers it’s as if we discover theses long appendages scraping the floor.

Body language is more than half the message so how you use your hands is important. And gestures are a vital part of the message. Consider this: Have you ever seen an enthusiastic person stand at attention as they share their exciting news? Nobody stands stiffly when they’re expressing emotion. How do you gesture in a way that’s effective yet not over the top?

Here are some of the most common mistakes people make when they gesture:

Don’t Do This

Figleaf Position. This is where you clasp your hands in front of you. It looks sedate-not powerful.

Wooden Soldier. This presenter has both hands at the sides. If you start with this position, move out of it quickly or else you’ll look stiff and unapproachable.

At Ease. Both hands are held behind the back in military fashion. If you maintain this position people will soon wonder if you have hands. Why are you hiding them?

Hands in Pockets. I don’t see this posture as often. The word must have gotten out. If you keep both hands in your pockets, you’ll lose energy and expressiveness.

The Juggler. Here is where your hands are in perpetual motion and never come to a stop. The impression is nervousness and it’s also distracting to watch.

Pointing Finger. Beware of pointing at the audience. A pointing finger can be perceived as accusatory, or chastising. Instead, use an open handed gesture to refer to an audience member. It’s warmer and more neutral.

Fidgeting. Overall fidgeting communicates nervousness. It’s your body telling you to move your hands. So stop holding back Gesture, but do so effectively.

Do This:

Above the Waist. As soon as possible, bring your hands above the waist. Hands below the waist are perceived as tentative. Your power space is between your waist and your face. Keep your gestures in this box. When Bill Clinton was running for president, he used wide, sweeping gestures that made him look untrustworthy. His coaches told him to gesture within the box. It became known as the Clinton box.

Find a Rest Position. When you start flailing and over gesticulating, it’s time to come to a stop. Find a resting position. It may be one hand on top of the over with your elbows at your waist. Think of the resting position as home base. You can continue to return to it when you’re hands are moving too much or you need to take a pause.

Hold the Ball. A powerful position is to hold your hands above the waist as if you’re holding a basketball. Steve Jobs used this gesture.

Count Off. When you have 3 or more agenda items, you can tick off the points on your fingers as if you’re going through a list.

Palms Up. To convey honesty, hold your hands waist high and turn your palms up. (Don’t shrug your shoulders or you’ll look unsure).

Palms Down. Keep your palms waist high and turn your palms down so that the tops of your hands are visible. Now make a downward movement. This conveys authority and can be good for quieting a crowd. President Obama used this gesture.

Steepling. Position your hands at waist level and bring your hands together with just the fingertips touching. This posture communicates confidence but can also convey authority. Use this gesture sparingly. It can be meant to intimidate or establish dominance.

Consider Culture. Body language has different meanings in certain cultures. For example, if you’re speaking in Brazil, do not use the A-OK hand gesture. It’s considered an obscenity. Realize that not all cultures value gesturing as much as in the U.S.  The Mediterranean and Hispanic cultures are expressive and use a lot of gestures. In Asia, Skandinavia and Germanic cultures, they use fewer hand movements.  When I was first starting out in my business, I had a sales call at the United Nations. The person interviewing me was from Germany. When I gestured her eyes would look at my hands. I’d make another gesture, and she would be riveted on my hands. Very quickly, I put my hands in my lap. For her, gesturing was a distraction.

Why Use Gestures? There is research that demonstrates the impact of gestures. Harvard Business Review interviewed Professor Josef Cornelissen of Erasmus University.

Erasmus University conducted a study whereby they asked experienced investors to watch a video of entrepreneurs pitching a medical device. They hired actors to play the entrepreneurs. The result was that the Venture Capitalists were more interested in the presenters who used gestures to explain the idea than when they used anecdotes, metaphors and other rhetoric.

This flies in the face of current emphasis on storytelling. What they researchers discovered was that gesturing made the product more concrete, helping investors to understand the product. Gesturing also conveys excitement and passion is a quality that investors value. However, too much gesturing can work against the presenter, making it look like pantomime. Use a few strategic gestures to add impact and influence to your presentations.

If gestures don’t come naturally to you. Practice some of the gestures mentioned above.

Practice but be natural. Use these tips and gesture often and you’ll win over the audience hands down.

Press release: Diane DiResta Delivers Keynote at the FEI Leadership Summit

Grand Floridian Resort

On May 19th, the FEI Leadership Summit kicked off in Orlando Florida. The opening evening reception opened at Epcot Center. The three day conference held at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort, offered keynote speeches, break out sessions and events.

On May 20th, Diane DiResta delivered her keynote, Influential Leadership: Transforming High Stakes Communication into Massive ROI, to an audience of 500 FEI members. And the following day presented a one hour concurrent session entitled How to Give a Knockout Presentation.

Other keynote speakers included, Craig Kielburger-Making Doing Good, Doable, Roberto Masiero-A Better Way to Work, former NFL player Anthony Trucks -Trust Your Hustle and artist Erik Wahl-The Art of Leadership.

The Financial Executive of the Year award was bestowed on winners from public, private and non-profit organizations.

About FEI

The 2019 Financial Leadership Summit offers professional and personal development, including networking opportunities in a knowledge-intense and enjoyable atmosphere. It’s an opportunity to join the conversation and interact within a prestigious community of like-minded peers to challenge thinking and share in challenges while strategizing for tomorrow.

About Diane DiResta

Diane DiResta, CSP, is Founder and CEO of DiResta Communications, Inc., a New York City consultancy serving business leaders who deliver high stakes presentations— whether one-to-one, in front of a crowd or from an electronic platform. DiResta is the author of Knockout Presentations: How to Deliver Your Message with Power, Punch, and Pizzazz, an Amazon.com category best-seller and has spoken on 4 continents.

Diane is Past President of the NYC chapter of National Speakers Association and former media trainer for the NBA and WNBA. She was featured on CNN, and quoted in the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, London Guardian, and Investors Business Daily and Bloomberg radio.

Diane is a Certified Speaking Professional, a designation held by less than 12% of speakers nationwide. And her blog, Knockout Presentations, made the Top 50 Public Speaking blogs.

Does Your Voice Sound Like a Cat in Heat?

Take your thumb and index finger. Pinch your nostrils. Now say “Welcome to the Staten Island ferry.” That’s the voice commuters hear every day over the PA system as the ferry leaves the dock. And that’s a Voiceover!!! Really? Yes, somebody paid for that nasal voice that sounds like a cat in heat.

Have you noticed a trend toward nasal voice quality? I hear it more often in the vocal quality of young women but nasality is not gender specific. It’s perpetuated on American television mostly by young actresses in sitcoms. A perfect example of this preferred television voice can be heard on the show Two Broke Girls.

A nasal voice sounds whiny and pleading - not exactly a power voice. And when paired with a high pitch, it can be irritating to the listeners.

There are two types of nasality: hyponasal and hypernasal. The hyponasal voice is the absence of nasality. It sounds like your nose is stuffed up as if you have a cold. The hypernasal voice has an excess of nasality and is the sound that emerges when you pinch your nostrils. The sound is coming through the nose instead of the mouth.

Why do people sound nasal?

A nasal voice can be a result of modeling. If your family members speak with excessive nasality, you may, too; or it may sound cool to mimic popular television voices.

It can also happen when the soft palate (back of the throat) doesn’t close properly. Instead of sealing off the nasal cavity, it allows air to flow through the nose. The reason may be sluggishness of the muscles or it can be anatomical.

How do you know if you’re voice is too nasal?

• Ask friends for feedback. Has anybody said you sound whiny?

• Record your voice. Compare it to professional voices that you hear on the news.

• Place a mirror beneath your nose when you speak when saying vowels. Does the mirror fog up?

If you determine that your voice is too nasal what can you do?

• Practice speech drills on your own. Pinch your nostrils and say a sentence. Now say the same sentence without pinching your nostrils. Listen for contrast.

• Say vowel sounds (a e i o u). Place your index finger against the side of your nose. If you feel vibration there is too much nasality.

• Make an appointment with a speech therapist who can evaluate and provide exercises to reduce nasality in the voice.

We all have some nasality. When it’s excessive it can be irritating to hear, it can have a negative effect on how you’re perceived, and it can distract the audience from your message it they are focusing on your voice.

Fran Dresher, the television actress and star of the 1990s sitcom The Nanny, made her nasal voice her trademark. For the rest of us public speakers it’s best to avoid negative speech habits and not let nasality cloud the message.

Optimize Your Speaking Business Through International Bookings.

If you’re a professional speaker and wondered what it would be like to speak internationally, take heed   from A-Speakers Bureau. The leaders of the speaker’s bureau gave a presentation in New York City to a group of professional members from National Speakers Association New York City Chapter. Soren, the presenter, warned us that there are two concerns European companies have regarding working with Americans: contracts and travel.

We were advised to keep our speaker contracts short and no longer than four pages. In some countries, professional speakers are hired through email and a verbal agreement. U.S. speakers need to explain all the legalese and special clauses because it scares off European companies from hiring them. In countries like Denmark, there are no contracts for fees under $10,000.

While speaking in Europe sounds glamorous, the reality is the fees are lower. The highest speaking fees are paid in the U.S. The U.S. also has a large association market which is not the case in Europe where the public sector (hospitals, schools, ministries) account for 70% of the bookings. In Denmark, 88% of bookings are for the public sector. France has a low demand for speakers. Germany values educational titles and credentials. Professors and PhDs should fare well.

The average speaker fee in Denmark is $2000-$2500. In Norway or Sweden, speakers would profit a little better at $3000-$3500 per keynote speech. In the UK, be aware that there’s a tradition of free speakers. They meet and speak in clubs. In Germany it’s possible to command fees of $5000-$15,000.  In the UK, decisions are made from the top down. The CEO approves everything. Denmark has a flat structure which streamlines the process. In the U.S. it may take 22 days to select a speaker. The same decision can take only four days in Denmark.

Europeans are also concerned about travel costs and are afraid they’ll be billed for first class travel. It was recommended that speakers quote one flat fee that includes the speaking fee and travel cost. Go online and estimate the travel expenses and use a currency converter.

When it comes to content, American keynote speakers planning to speak in Europe must guard against their own assumptions. Soren shared a growing trend in Northwest Europe that is the antithesis of the U.S. positive self- improvement movement. A popular psychology professor tells audiences it’s okay to say no to self-development and to want to be rooted in tradition. This trend started around 2008 during the financial crisis.

Overall, there is a demand for U.S. speakers. Europeans want inspiration but don’t worry if you’re not rocking the room. Europeans are not as responsive as U.S. audiences. And they don’t get excited by “free stuff’. In the past, the most desirable speakers were heavy on entertainment with less focus on information. Today the trend is shifting. While entertainment and inspiration are important there’s an increasing demand for stronger content. The most successful keynoters will create a change in the audience that they can go home and implement.

Speaking in Europe can be an exciting adventure to learn about other cultures and spread your message to an International audience. Do your homework and adjust your expectations and you’ll expand your speaking business beyond borders.