Under-prepared panels lose the trust of their audience when they read panelist biographies, and read scripted questions followed by memorized answers.

Fully prepared panelist earn and keep the trust of their audiences.  These panels have a consistent Habit of Practice, and a rich Ecosystem for Practice.

During their panels, the audience can expect them to share personalized introductions, to have customized opening questions, and to facilitate organic conversations.

Companies select leaders for their mission.  Investors select leaders for their portfolio.  Conference Producers select leaders for their stage.

In the past, Companies looked for titles and credentials on a resume. Investors looked for innovative products with a decent amount of traction. Conference producers looked for subject matter experts with lots of followers.

These selection criteria will decrease in importance.  Instead, leaders will be chosen because they create connection.  They are skilled at connecting with their audience, and connecting their audience to their message.

We are living in a time where your videos can be evaluated by humans and by artificial intelligence.  Human evaluators will select leaders who can use their voice to communicate trust, create connection and build relationships.

AI technology from Yoodli, an early stage startup, can track your filler words, uncertain words, and the number of times you break eye contact.  Uniphore uses more advanced AI to identify the emotional experience created in the conversations led by your sales and customer service teams.

With an abundance of data available from your videos, it is quite easy to identify those who are fully prepared, versus those who are minimally prepared or "winging it".

In an article from Scientific America, "Brain Waves Synchronize when People Interact", there is a graphic showing the brain waves from two different situations. The left side has no engagement, resulting in three separate brain waves.  The right side features two people interacting, and their brain waves synchronize over time.

In the world of presentations, the left side happens when a leader takes the stage and speaks at their audience.  Unfortunately, these speakers define success as delivering a memorized script without mistakes.

On the right side, you can see why the most successful speakers are the ones who go beyond memorization.  They intentionally engage with their audience for the purpose of creating connection.

Synchronizing brain waves is the first part of the Engagement Loop.  When introducing new content to our audience, we issue a "Call to Think."  The audience has the opportunity to learn something new or to see things from a new perspective.

The second part of the Engagement Loop is a "Call to Feel".   Research from the HeartMath Institute shows that different patterns of heart activity have different effects on our thoughts and behaviors.

When a presenter successfully synchronizes with the hearts and minds in the audience, they can proceed to the  final part of the Engagement Loop.   The presenter sets the pace and extends a "Call to Act", synchronizing the "Urgency of Now" with the audience's "Desire for Change".

The moment you form a leadership team, your primary objective is to achieve synchronization.  The most important investment you will make is to install a Synchronized Communications program.

The first half of a successful Synchronized Communications program begins by developing a Habit of Practice.  Only 10% of leaders are fully prepared for their high-stakes presentations and conversations.   Their message delivery skills are amongst the best because they block practice time in their calendar.

16% of leaders fall into the second tier, those who we consider "generally prepared".  They practice when they can find time on the calendar.  Although their messages delivery skills have plateaued, they have a desire to become a more effective communicator.

74% of leaders overestimate their message delivery skills.   Most are minimally prepared,  and take the stage with little to no practice and "wing it".    When these leaders speak, they confuse the market and the teams they lead.    Because of their poor skills, they will be let go when the leadership team is reshaped.

The second half of a Synchronized Communications program is building an Ecosystem for Practice.  Ideally, you can start with leaders who are already dedicating time on their calendars for individual practice.

The next step is to create a culture where leaders can easily practice with coaches, with other leaders, and even with members of their audience.  In this ecosystem, you find programs that effectively elevate the message delivery skills of each member of your leadership team.

A Synchronized Communications program can be built in three stages:

Minimally Prepared: Build a basic program.  Dedicate a specific time every week for your leadership team to practice.  Provide a professional development allowance for your leaders to improve their message delivery skills.  

Generally Prepared: Invest in coaching hours or training programs.  Internal or external communication coaches can serve as practice partners.  Having coaching sessions or a training on the calendar will help to build a habit of practice.

Fully Prepared: Create an internal Presentation Gym that includes frequency, focus and feedback.  Build an ecosystem that includes trusted practice partners, leadership communication programs, and online and in-person places to practice.

At the Heroic Voice Academy, our solutions are designed to create a Habit of Practice and an Ecosystem for Practice.  In addition to our "Open Gym Thursdays", we have facilitated Presentation Gyms and MasterClass Programs for:

Organizations - where leaders are preparing for a company kickoff event or a sales kickoff event

Accelerators - where startup organizations are preparing for their pitch, and high-stakes conversations with prospective investors and clients.

Conference Producers - where presenters, moderators and panelists are preparing to take the stage and share their vision for the future.

Every Thursday, we facilitate an online Presentation Gym.  Each workout starts with a 15 minute micro-training that focuses on a specific message delivery skill.  This is followed by time for our workout attendees to ask questions, practice the exercise, or rehearse a portion of their presentation.

Register on Zoom (Thursdays 12-1pm pst)

Visit the Gym (Replays and Resources)