today you're going to walk away with 12 ways to communicate and speak like a CEO when I'm coaching CEOs of billion-dollar companies I learn how they operate their life how they talk to their team how they talk to me and how I have to communicate with them so you're going to learn all kinds of techniques around messaging around communication not just speaking but also generally how do you communicate like a CEO in no particular order number one and I would say one of the more important ones get to the point do not waste time with fluff if you come to them and you say hey this happened and that happened and this happened and that happened they're thinking the entire time why do I have to process all of this information just to understand what you're trying to tell me instead get to the point as soon as possible how can you tell them in as few words as possible what the point is hey we have this person who resigned we need to hire somebody else sales have been really low marketing is not working get to the point first and then backtrack into the detail so always start by telling them hey this is the problem this is the issue this is what I want you to think about and these are some of the details around it then you add and in some you would just start with a point and then you would ask hey so this person leaves do you want me to get into the details of that and you let them choose if they want more details or not because sometimes they already know the situation or they might have information on that from a different source and you don't want to go going into a 5 minute bit when they already know that information so you would start with the point see how they respond then add details accordingly it really affects your credibility when you show up with five minutes of material because then it shows that you haven't thought about these things yourself you haven't evaluated the information yourself to get to the point you're expecting them to do the thinking on your behalf where let me throw all my thoughts at you and you can unscramble those thoughts and hopefully you find what's important don't do that so get right to the point if you don't do that you've got too much fluff you will be interpreted as a lazy thinker and that's not valuable in a company number two everything if not every single thing that I have seen has been scheduled especially for CEOs weeks in advance they've got this day where they do hiring this day where they have these types of meetings this day where they only focus on XYZ so I I have to fit in my coaching on specific days and it does not move if it's 400 p.m. on a Monday it's going to be 400 p.m. on a Monday for the next 3 months straight and I have to give them a month in advance they're tied by their schedule now one other thing from this I've noticed is they're very respectful of other people's time so if I'm working with let's say a mid-level manager if I was working with an entry-level person I've done this before last minute cancels all the time hey sorry I'm here I can't make it even before we start working together hey yaser I need your help I can't get better at public speaking I need to do this right now one minute before they'll email me hey sorry I had some family emergency have to cancel and and by the way you'll be shocked how many family emergency happens just the minute before the call it's insane how many times that happen so if you're trying to get out of a meeting by the way and it's last minute please don't say family emergencies because anyone who's done sales before anyone who's had enough conversations with prospects knows that people say that just because when someone says family emergencies you can't say anything to that you can't say well you still have to show up to work or wait what do you mean family emergency okay deal with that and come back to work you can't it's vague enough where no one can set anything that says anything and another way of phrasing that is oh something personal arised or something personal happened in my life again you can't say anything to that now obviously things actually happen but if things happen usually they will not happen one minute before the meeting starts they'll happen way before and you can be proactive sending a text or sending a voice message does not take a lot of time I've had people who've literally had their spouse giving birth and they had to go to the hospital and they still let me know so be proactive stick to the schedu you no last minute cancellations because then it just shows you're unpredictable unreliable number three podcasting and media is becoming extremely important I'm actually surprised by this many CEOs now are seeing the importance of branding where I have to talk on camera I have to be on a podcast I have to talk to different people who talk about my product my industry and that's a new skill they're not used to being interviewed they're not used to being interviewed live they're not used to being on YouTube so training how to talk virtually how to talk in a podcast and many people I work with a lot of CEOs in the crypto world the web3 world many of them are technical people so they know how to build the product but now Community is so important where people need to be raving fans of your product in order for them to be convinced to use it you need to sell the vision you need to tell the stories they know all the technical bits but they don't know how to tell their stor so I'm noticing a big shift in more podcast more video interviews more live panel interviews just more how can I show up in as many places as possible so if you're a CEO or you're planning to grow your brand you best prepare yourself to be on podcast and not just to talk about your company because I've I've literally had CEOs whose previous strategy was I'm going to show up I'm just going to read what's on the notes that my team printed out and this is what the interview would sound like they say okay so tell me about your company our company is a Cutting Edge company that deals with this product and it changes and it aims Revolution this is what they would sound like so I'm seeing a big shift in hey we got to sound more conversational we have to work on this skill set so many CEOs are now investing in Communications training that's why they're coming to me number four you have to have as many touch points as possible in order to build rapport by touch points I mean if I have one hour conversation with someone and then the next conversation is next month there's not a lot of communication being built so what I try to do is I try to have Micro micro touch points as often as possible to build a relationship so I'll give you an example if I'm training a CEO to speak on the news I will train them for the hour I will go through their previous interviews and I'll say hey this is what I found I notice you do this every time someone ask you a question you have this face that you make just be aware of that I'll just send that to them as a message they'll say oh I didn't know that and I won't say anything for a bit maybe the next interview rolls up hey you notied this interview happened you did really well here this time you didn't do that thing that we talked about just these little quick touch points between each of your conversations it gives the illusion that you've known them for a very long time because they're thinking about you a lot more often they might not have spoken to you but because you're texting them maybe you're seeing videos maybe you're sending email whatever it might be because you have more touch points by the time you meet them next first meeting and next meeting it gives them the illusion that they know you better because they've had many more touch points so even if you're in corporate and you want to you want to be visible ible if you want to get promoted you want to get seen in the organization to get more opportunities you know you have to be known in the organization and the way you do that is by establishing touch points with important people how can you talk to the CEO as often as you can how can you get on their radar as often as you can can you get people talking about the work you've done in the meetings with the CEO can you have a message that you sent to anything like that the more touch points you have the more visibility you have the more important you are there is nothing worse than being the best employee who's completely invisible and people have no idea who they are so it's not enough just to be good technically you have to be good in terms of being visible and that the way you do that is by having touch points the next point point number five there's not a lot of place to be insecure or shy when you're speaking to a CEO and when you're speaking as a CEO the reason for this is because when you are shy and you are hesitant you are communicating uncertainty uncertainty meaning I'm not sure about what I'm talking about can you imagine you're a CEO of a billion- dollar company and someone asked you a question hey what does your company do and how does it compete with XYZ yeah our company is really good and and you know what what we're trying to do is hopefully can you see how how big of a ripple effect that will create in how your company is being perceived so there's no room to be shy you can be a shy and quiet person but you have to be able to turn that switch on when you're on the media when you're talking to people you should be able to do that similarly when you are talking to a CEO or when you're talking to someone who has high Authority you cannot sound unsure because then they will not trust what you're saying right so if you come with a proposal and you say I think this is what we've done and and hopefully it's okay have a look at page three because of the lack of confidence you feel they will feel the lack of confidence and they will not be able to trust your idea and if they can't trust your idea you've wasted their time and now they have to reanalyze everything again so just with the tone you talk just with the confidence you talk you create a problem for other people if you're in secure so it's in your best interest to sound confident because otherwise people will not believe you if you speak with confidence and certainty and people feel that they'll believe you so remember this write this down if you need to if they feel it they believe it if they feel it they believe it if they feel that you're shy and insecure they believe you're shy and insecure if they feel your high in conviction and confidence they will believe your high in confidence and they will believe your plan as well so there's no room to be shy and this comes from a fellow shy person too I have to learn how to turn that switch on as well number six make them think differently here's a quote that I like that I created good speakers will tell you what to do memorable speakers will change what you think is true in other words people will have you question your beliefs and if you want to communicate with a CEO and you want to add value you have to change how they see the world you have to change their existing beliefs if you just tell them what they already know what value have you added now this might create a lot of pressure well I don't know what they know how do I create new ideas in their head the best way to do that is just by asking questions the best way to do that is sharing your subjective opinion on what you think and chances are it might be different so I'll give you an example I had a CEO client of mine who really relied on the notes hey I need the notes all the time I can't speak without the notes and I said hey totally fine I get it let's just try it without the notes I'm just going to interview you right now on Zoom I just want to see what you sound like and then he answered the question and I asked him the next one the next one we did 15 minutes as a mock interview and I said okay let's stop here and let me ask you this what did you feel about the quality of the answers so they were pretty good what else did you notice well they sounded very conversational okay what else did you notice well I wasn't as stressed and I wasn't so afraid of missing a word or missing a sentence okay do you think that would be better than you sticking to the notes now that I think about it I didn't really need the notes so in that moment I helped him shift his perspective I helped him learned something that he didn't already know and you'd be surprised how many basic things many people don't know and the only way I did that was by asking questions I asked questions I got them to rationalize their thoughts and they learn something new in the process if I just said hey you can use notes you don't have to use notes now I'm arguing against his belief he thinks he needs notes I'm telling him he doesn't needs notes he's not convinced so I have to show him I have to ask questions and I have to make them think differently so how can you make people think differently how can you make them question question what is true and you do that through questions whether you're the CEO or whether you're speaking to a CEO or you want to be an influential person change the way people think and a great example to end on this is Simon syic start with why he changes the way you think about where you should start should you start with what or why he says why that's a change in philosophy a change of thinking that's what some of the best speakers in the in the world do they don't tell you what to do they change what you think is true next one up do not make stuff up if you're a CEO or you're talking to a CEO do not make stuff up they will find out you will not you're not going to lie as well as you think you're lying and if you're if they ask you hey did you get this done on time do you know how to do this just say no there there are better ways of saying it so for example if you're in the media and they say hey where do you think the market is going you can't say I don't know because it just sounds like you are ill informed but instead you can say something like that's unclear at the time but what I can tell you is this or I don't have the exact numbers but what is what we are sure of is this that's a very popular technique in the media where you don't sound stupid by saying I don't know I think it's this you have to be able to say I don't know and you have to be able to say it in words that don't make you sound stupid and don't reduce your credibility and you also don't want to make things up because the moment you make things up and people find out and people are smart if you're especially if you're talking to a CEO or SE Suite these people they know the business they've been around a lot of people they know how it works do not make stuff up it will reduce your credibility I promise you number eight find Opportunities to advise them on other areas their life so for example if you are if I'm coaching them on public speaking right I occasionally have people say you know what my my kid he's a lot like me he's very very shy I don't know how to fix it what do you recommend I'll give them some recommendations for that or yaser I know we're working on presentations right now but I always have these negotiations I'm doing with my clients and sometimes when it's a professional buyer I'm talking to I don't know how to negotiate with them what do I do what would you recommend I would give them recommendations for a book I would give them a technique or a tactic for example I have a someone in the government of Saudi Arabia I'm working with right now and working on a speeches but he's launching a podcast he says Hey how do you interview guests how do you get them to talk so now I'm helping him with that so you find Avenues to help not just in the sole area you're focused in but what other things can you help them with you can be an advisor for them and then they will not just trust you in that domain they will trust you in everything and you just become a credible asset to that that if they don't need you for that thing they'll need you for something else and then they will recommend you to other people for that thing as well so be an an adviser number nine carry yourself and act like a CEO if you are talking like a CEO and you are walking like a CEO and you talk to a CEO they will perceive you to be at the same level as themselves and if you sound like you are hey I'm just here to help you with your speech or I'm just a lower level employee I'm here to do the work you're not going to look credible so you you have to sound very confident in your ability and you have to carry yourself like a CEO because people like people who are like them and if you carry yourself with confidence first of all if you carry yourself like a CEO people will be able to see you in a CEO role like hey this person he's got Charisma He's Got No Lack of confidence we can see him moving up in the organization so you have to see yourself as worthy carry yourself and act like the person that you want to be and other people will see you as that and then again you'll have an easier time building rapport with these highl people because you are acting like them and you're not acting like a subordinate we talked about it earlier where if you're not confident they won't believe you if they don't feel it they won't believe it so you have to show up as a person who deserves respect deserves Authority so know your stuff be very confident in your opinions your body language should not show that you're very shy when you're talking come with come with all that confidence act like a CEO walk like a CEO number 10 don't use gimmicks don't use use rehearsed canned lines don't use prepared presentations that are packed with sales tactics so for example if if you want to impress a CEO and you say okay I I've heard I've heard that I have to start the presentation with a hook and you start a sales presentation or presentation in front of a CEO with something that they can immediately tell you plant it in there specifically to get their attention you lose all credibility because then they're thinking this person came here to grab my attention more more so than actually providing value they just wanted to try this little gimmick to get my attention so don't do things like that we've had people where they'll wear a flashy suit and they'll take it off right at the start with some logo or something save that for Shark Tank for actual presentation in front of CEOs it has to be conversational it has to be less of a performance the more it sounds like you've it's very good to rehearse but don't sound rehears don't sound like you're robotic don't sound like you memorize everything and God forbid if you come reading in front of a reading from a script in front of a CEO and a seet tweet team you're not getting the deal you're you're not going to sound credible you're not going to sound like you know what you're talking about so it has to be a conversation don't come with gimmicks I've also seen many CEOs and leaders who go watch other speakers and they comment on which speaker they liked most often it's the one that told the story or gave them some new way of looking at the world not the one who started with some amazing joke or someone who had some pool at the start like a bell or a fireworks at the start of the present none of that stuff will stick because it's a gimmick so don't start with gimmicks number 11 don't bring up problems without thinking first about the solution this also goes into corporate communication where everyone's a big fan of complaining if you're that person please don't do that do not complain nothing good will ever come from just complaining about other people complaining about other processes in fact other people will just be repelled by you they do not want to hear you complain about your job when they have their own problems and in corporate what happens is unfortunately one person complains the other person complains and they bond based on they're complaining and that entire group is just a group that complains sure you'll feel left out if you don't complain but you don't want to be around those people because those people never go up the people who go up are the ones who are positive who find Solutions so if you do have problems and you need someone's help with it never go into it without thinking of the solution first hey we had this problem I'm wondering why we're not doing that instead or we we could do that what do you think about this go in with an plan because even if that solution is not correct it might give them ideas to what is the right solution yeah I see what you're saying well this probably won't work but I can see us doing this with that that might work better so you might not be the Sherlock but you can be the Watson meaning you can say the ideas the ideas might not land but it might give them enough information or enough of a light bulb moment where they think okay that might not work but what you just said about that thing I can see how that applies to this other area so just by you sharing your solution what you think you would do is very beneficial so do not complain especially to the top tier CEOs they have enough problems the last thing they need is more problems and more problems that you could have found solutions to yourself so don't just come with problems do not complain just in general in life folks don't complain it does not bring anything good to your life it just makes you sound negative and it attracts more people to you who also complain and the last one a big big Focus that I'm seeing for CEOs and even people who are rising above the ranks is focusing on managing perception managing perception what does that mean focusing on how you are being perceived how you are being seen and heard by other people and what conclusions people are making about you Carla Harris says this best all the decisions about you all the most important decisions about you are being made when you are not in the room about your promotion about you moving up in the ladder about your performance all of those things are happening when you're not in the room so you need to be perceived as a leader you need to be perceived as someone who's on time reliable if you happen to come up late to work all the time or you don't show up and you do everything last minute or you don't do things on time you don't do them well you will start to create that reputation people will perceive you that way if you show up and you're you're never wearing good clothes or you never brush your teeth you might not think not brush your teeth brush your well maybe you've got bad breath too I don't know but if if you always act like that over time you're giving people repeated messaging that this person doesn't even care about how they look they don't even care about combing their hair in the morning they never show up on time they're never reliable you're being perceived that way so then when you have a conversation about your promotion hey what's what's this person like well they're never on time I've never really seen them in meetings say anything you're being perceived as someone who's not likely to become a CEO become someone important in the company so Carla Harris recommends describe yourself with three adjectives what are three adjectives that you want to be described as and what are those three adjectives that the company values so let's say if you want to be promoted the company wants someone who's detail oriented who's really tough and someone who's action oriented how are you repeatedly showing that at work are you showing up reliable are you showing up that you're tough with clients meetings you're tough with deadlines you're tough on other people you're tough with your sales targets are are you showing up as that because whatever you repeatedly show up as that's how you're going to be perceived so the most important thing you got to do if you want to be seen as a leader is manage your perception so we're putting all of it together get to the point everything should be scheduled no last minute scheduling be predictable when you do that number podcast and media just becoming accustomed to being interviewed is very important now number four the more touch points you have the more valuable you are the more visible you are in the company number five there's no place to be shy you have to learn to switch that on and and share your opinion number six make them think differently don't just tell them what to do or tell them what they already know make them think differently about things they they didn't think of before number seven do not make stuff up if you don't know it you don't have to say the words I don't know you can say it in a different way that doesn't reduce your credibility but do not make stuff up advise them on other areas don't just be useful in one thing be useful in other areas act like a CEO that's number nine where if you want to be SE as a CEO you have to carry yourself like a CEO number 10 no gimmicks don't try to just grab their attention or when you show up on stage don't make them remember you for the gimmick make them remember you for the idea that's more important number 11 don't bring up problems without thinking first of a solution again it shows how much work you've done before you've gotten to them and number 12 managing perception if you can manage perception if they see you as a leader they're more likely to give you the role of a leader