Unleashing Your Inner Leader: An Executive Coach Tells All

CHAPTER 8

Personal Language: What Does Your Language Say about You?

One of the most important tools for a leader is communication. In this chapter we will examine how your personal language can become an extension of you and help you make the impact that you want. The chapter is full of tools and techniques to hone your communication skills and improve your personal language.

For your Inner Leader to shine through, you must master the art of asking open-ended questions and truly listening to the responses. The simple rule for a business professional is to ask open-ended questions that each start with the word what. The concept is that what is factual; why is emotional. Leaders want to ask open-ended questions that begin with the word what to get at the facts and avoid taking an emotional position. This chapter will explore several techniques for using what questions.

The second concept in this chapter is to stop using certain phrases in your communication. For example, if the word but is used, it negates everything that went before it. It is surprising that subtle changes in your personal language can help your Inner Leader emerge as a strong communicator adept at delivering even the most complicated messages.

CASE STUDY

Meet Howard, a senior partner in a prestigious professional services firm in New York City. Howard hails from the South and his buddies actually nicknamed him Rhett for his smooth mannerisms and easy conversation. But make no mistake; Howard is no pushover. In ...