Today, I spoke to Harrison Monarth, who is the New York Times bestselling co-author of The Confident Speaker, and his latest book is called Executive Presence: The Art of Commanding Respect Like a CEO. In this interview, Harrison talks about the natural laws of perception, why professionals should care about social intelligence, highlights some core communication strategies and more.
How do the natural laws of perception affect the way we’re perceived in business?
While we all take the data and stimuli around us in through our five senses, rarely do two people bring the same set of criteria–tastes, biases, experiences, memories and preferences–to the process of filtering and interpreting the incoming information.
That’s why identical sets of information can result in very different perceptions among different recipients. Listening to Mozart can amount to torture for one listener while another is transported to a state of emotional bliss at the sounds of Eine kleine Nachtmusik. Similarly, watching the confident presentation style of your company’s star sales executive may inspire you to reach the same level of success for yourself, while the same presentation might have the more introverted colleague sitting next to you shudder at what he perceives as unjustified swagger and cockiness. Same sensory input, entirely different perceptions.
That’s why the more you know about your target audience and anyone you communicate with, the more you can apply your working knowledge of the perception process toward the generation of a favorable outcome for you.
Why should professionals care about social intelligence?
“Social intelligence is really about how you are perceived by others, or better put, the management of what will be perceived by others.”
It is an understanding– and when you get it right, the mastery–of what elicits a response from other people, both in relationships and in casual encounters, and even in front of an audience full of strangers.
Why is it that some managers get people to line up behind them with staunch to-the-death loyalty, while others remain the butt of cruel water cooler banter and reluctant hierarchical deference masquerading as respect? The answer is social intelligence—the first manager has it, the second doesn’t. And if the second one has somehow risen to the position of “boss”–more and more unlikely in today’s business culture–then everyone has a problem.
Social intelligence can be as simple as knowing that a smile and the remembering of a name aligns with attraction and loyalty much more than a scowl and a limp handshake, regardless how well you execute the job description. Social intelligence is not just a buzz word; it’s an entire spectrum of survival skills that can make the difference in one’s career.
What are the core communication strategies of Executive Presence?
I would say, knowing the impact of how you come across is the most critical. Everything else is based on this. From ethically engineering buy-in and gaining compliance to learning how to change attitudes and behaviors to managing interpersonal conflict and always seeking to improve relationships. And of course the awareness that personal branding is not a choice anymore but a requisite for a successful career.
It’s also critical that we are constantly on the lookout for reputation busters, often self-inflicted through careless online communication and social media activities. Everyone needs to carefully manage their reputation in our world of search engines, 24/7 visibility and instant communication.
How can professionals make media work for them and their personal brand in our 24/7 news culture?
It’s critical that professionals understand how the media creates meaning in the minds of the viewing public and incorporate that knowledge into their own messages when they communicate through any particular media channel.
One of the keys in successfully promoting one’s personal brand through the media is knowing how to communicate in pithy sound-bites. Those are the compelling quotes and clear messages that cut through the noise and stand out.
Another is mastering the art of responding to difficult questions while enhancing your credibility. The media is not interested in promoting you. They’re interested in the back-story and the answers you’d rather not give. Therefore, anticipating and being prepared to answer difficult questions is critical to protect one’s reputation and credibility.
It’s important to remember that everything about us communicates a message to a watching, listening, judging public. And from our grooming and style to our content and delivery and of course our behavior, we tell the world who we really are, whether we like it or not. That’s why paying attention to all of the communication signals we’re sending is critical as we craft a powerful personal brand that is consistent and elicits positive emotions and valuations.
How does your company GuruMaker help executives with personal brand and perception management? Why did one of your clients dub you “The Speakinator?”
The concept behind GuruMaker was to help people become authentic and powerful communicators who get their message across with impact. We teach people from all professions and walks of life to craft messages that resonate with their audiences and then communicate those messages persuasively so the result is a change in thinking, a change in behavior or perhaps the reinforcing of lightly held attitudes that need strengthening. Whatever the intention of the communicator—be it an executive, politician or other professional—we help them communicate powerfully, persuasively and consistently to build and maintain a strong personal brand. We are to a large extent in control of the perceptions we create in others and that’s what my book, EXECUTIVE PRESENCE is about and what GuruMaker as a company teaches.
As for having been called the “Speakinator”, one of my clients felt that a presentation I gave to his company’s sales team resonated powerfully with all attendants and had them really fired up. Add my slight native German-Austrian accent to the mix and the comparison to the “Terminator” was born.
How have you built your personal brand over the course of your career?
I’ve always been aware that everything I put out—from my writing, speaking and behavior to the reputation I create—will leave certain impressions that will either be reinforced or changed depending on what I do next. It’s no different for any brand. Powerful brands stand for something and elicit certain perceptions and emotions in people. We do the same as professionals, friends, peers, colleagues and leaders. I have made certain choices in my life of what I want to communicate and figured out ways to do this consistently in order to create the executive presence and the perceptions my public has and future constituencies will have of me.
Personal branding and the competencies that lead to executive presence is something everyone can learn and master in their quest to become successful. It is also something every professional should aspire to if they want to make a difference in their lives, the lives of others and their chosen professions.
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Harrison Monarth is the New York Times bestselling author of The Confident Speaker, with coauthor Larina Kase, PsyD, MBA. His new book Executive Presence: The Art of Commanding Respect Like a CEO is packed with the high-impact information and research Harrison has gained through his extensive experience as founder and president of GuruMaker – School of Professional Speaking, a high-impact communications consulting firm that counts Fortune 500 executives, professionals and political candidates as clients. Harrison has personally coached senior corporate leaders from top companies such as Merrill Lynch, Hertz, Intel, Cisco Systems, as well as the American Heart Association and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. He also provides coaching and message development services to various members of the United States Congress. Harrison is also a frequent contributor to the media on the topic of effective communication and an international columnist, penning the monthly column Across the Pond for the British magazine Training Journal, the UK’s leading publication for learning and development professionals.
