Welcome back to the Look and Sound of Leadership, and I'm going the series of

executive coaching tips designed to help you be perceived in the workplace the way

you want to be perceived. I'm Tom Henschel, your executive coach, and today

we're talking about captivating your audience. Years ago, I had the opportunity to train the high profile keynote speakers at the Ken Blanchard companies.

Ken's Enduring Brand grew out of his many best-selling management books beginning back in 1982 with leadership

and the one-minute manager.

A magically inspirational speaker himself, Ken only hires top-notch presenters to represent him in his company.

All of them are stars in their own right.

Working with these pros was great fun.

The day was full of the crackling energy that comes

when experts have the luxury to focus on what they love. We talked at a pretty geeky level

about subtleties like the length of a pause and the tilt of a head.

We taped each presenter in seven minute blocks and then played the blocks back.

On a whole other level of geekiness, they competed to see who could hit the

exact seven minute mark on instinct alone. When it was their turn, each of them would get up and cross the room. This would put distance

between us and them. They were, after all, working on their platform skills. Often, I would see

them turn on their keynote-speaking persona, their energy would rise, and a gleam

would spread over their face.

The performance had begun, and they were great.

During the afternoon, Ken came to sit in.

I'd never met him, and I was delighted to have him join us.

The speakers, of course, had known known him for years and the warmth they felt

...