Cambridge Business Association
The Language of Leadership
Book

The Language of Leadership

How to Engage and Inspire Your Team

Joel Schwartzberg
Berrett-Koehler, 2021
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6

Qualities

  • Applicable
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Recommendation

You may possess a wealth of valuable information, but if you don’t deliver your message or organize your ideas in a compelling way, says public speaking coach Joel Schwartzberg, then you’re unlikely to inspire anyone. Schwartzberg shares easily applicable communication hacks, tactics and mind-set shifts to help leaders engage and inspire their teams. His useful reference book, with its many helpful lists, divulges the secrets of effective communication to prepare you to lead with power and purpose.

Summary

Use two forces – purpose and power – to communicate effectively as a leader.

Even if you possess abundant leadership qualities – empathy, authenticity, vision, and so on – these traits won’t serve you unless your team perceives them in you. Use the language of leadership to help people view you as someone worth following. Start by thinking before you speak and by cultivating the strategic mind-set you need to communicate your message meaningfully.

Overcome common misconceptions, such as the insistence that sharing useful information is the hallmark of a leader. If you merely present PowerPoint slides and rattle off information without connecting the data to your core message, you won’t inspire others to act.

To effectively communicate as a leader, you must blend two forces: purpose and power. To convey purpose, use a vision statement or goal. Explain why your ideas are valuable – for example, “This product will enable people to save thousands of dollars every year and live healthier lives.”

To convey power, grasp your team’s attention. When you deliver your message, you want others to perceive you as confident, authoritative, credible and competent. Manifesting...

About the Author

Public speaking trainer Joel Schwartzberg is the author of Get to the Point! Sharpen Your Message and Make Your Words Matter. He teaches presentation techniques to employees at large corporations.

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