Real Leaders Don't Do Powerpoint

About the Author

Christopher Witt is a seasoned speechwriter, consultant, and coach known for his expertise in helping leaders craft impactful speeches. Witt's philosophy emphasizes the importance of genuine communication over the reliance on presentation tools like PowerPoint. His work focuses on teaching aspiring leaders how to speak with authenticity, charisma, and influence, ensuring their messages resonate deeply with their audiences.

Main Idea

When leaders speak, they’re not trying to dazzle their audience with their mastery of presentation technology. Instead, they speak to make a difference, to promote their vision, and to change the way people think. Leaders speak to influence and inspire, thereby changing the way people think and act in the future. To speak like a leader, you must move away from presenting information for its own sake and learn to shape your message in a way that encourages your audience to think and act differently.

Table of Contents

• A Great Person
• Compelling Messages
• Masterful Delivery
• Ooze Charisma
• Do Some Good
• Know Your Audience
• Manage the Event
• Be Expressive
• Incorporate Q&A
• Be Bold, Not Brash
• Forget the Jokes
• Expect Calamities
• Break the Rules

A Great Person

To be a great leader, you don’t need to be the president of a country or even a company. A great person has experience, passion, character, and a sense of humor. You simply have to be the best you can be.

Your character shapes the message listeners hear. To ensure your message is in sync with who you are:

• Know your reputation: Ask your peers what they think of you.
• Match your image to your message: Watch a video of yourself speaking to see if your perceived image aligns with your intended message.
• Be yourself: Stop imitating others or sounding like a corporate clone. Take a contrarian position and defend it with all you've got.

Compelling Messages

Compelling messages are powerful enough to change listeners' lives, even if only in a small way. To achieve this, you must prepare thoroughly and understand what the audience needs to hear. A compelling leader’s message has three essential elements:

• A big idea: A powerful idea that commands attention.
• A good and logical structure: The speech should flow naturally, with one idea leading to the next.
• Appropriate words and phrases: Use words that illuminate and motivate rather than impressive-sounding fluff.

Keep your speeches focused and brief. For instance, Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address took just 2 minutes, Martin Luther King’s "I Have a Dream" speech was 16 minutes long, and Ronald Reagan’s response to the space shuttle Challenger tragedy was under 5 minutes.

"Brevity is the soul of wit." – William Shakespeare

To ensure your speech is well-received, organize it around one big idea and provide 3-5 main points that support that idea. Start strongly to grab attention and finish even stronger to leave a lasting impression.

Masterful Delivery

A great speech requires masterful delivery. This means projecting your authentic self in the most powerful way possible. Here are some tips:

• Be yourself: Talk about things you care about and use gestures you're comfortable with.
• Be passionate: Always talk about things you care about and nothing else.
• Be dramatic: Use props, raise your voice, and give it 100% of your energy and passion.

It’s important to be expressive and dynamic. Leaders are animated because they talk about ideas they believe in passionately. If you want to be perceived as a leader, you need to do something similar. Overcome stage fright by feeling good about your preparation, taking slow, deep breaths, and practicing in front of a safe audience first.

Ooze Charisma

Charisma is easy to spot but hard to define and almost impossible to fake. It can’t really be learned, but there are a few things you can do to project a more charismatic presence:

• Be yourself: Don’t try to imitate anyone else. Use your appearance, beliefs, experiences, and sense of humor genuinely.
• Live in the present moment: Don’t be distracted or preoccupied. Laugh at yourself and let the audience in on the joke.
• Be interested in what you’re saying: Only talk about things you want to know more about yourself.
• Be bold: Don’t worry about making a fool of yourself. Let your natural enthusiasm be obvious.
• Build rapport with your audience: Look them in the eye and connect. Make your speech more of a conversation.
• Be well grounded: Stand your ground philosophically and physically. Let everyone know you can’t be swayed.

"Speak every word into the eyes and heart of one other person." – Lee Glickstein

Help people achieve what they passionately want to do, and you will win their hearts and minds. That’s the true mark of charisma.

Do Some Good

Leaders don’t do what everyone else is doing. They stand out and are distinctive. They make what they say memorable because they break the mold and are entirely unpredictable.

In practice, there are only two ways you can stand out:

• Say something different: Stake out a position that’s the complete opposite of what people expect and defend it with humor and wit.
• Say things differently: Reframe your message in a fresh way. If everyone else uses PowerPoint, you do not. If others lecture, ask the audience for suggestions.

"‘Safety first’ has been the motto of the human race for half a million years, but it has never been the motto of leaders. Leaders must face danger. They must take the risk and the blame, and the brunt of the storm." – Herbert Casson

To increase your influence as a leader, you must show genuine concern for your audience. Oprah Winfrey has built her empire by showing she cares about her audience. She tells details from her life, listens to her studio audience, and promotes timeless values like self-acceptance, forgiveness, and compassion.

Never stop caring about your listeners. Forget trying to impress or merely please them. Focus on what really matters, say and do things that are good for them, and work hard to build appreciation for that.

Know Your Audience

Before you agree to speak, learn as much as you can about your audience:

• Who will be in the audience and what do they have in common?
• How knowledgeable are they about your topic?
• Will they support your position or be somewhat hostile?
• What are their most pressing fears and concerns?
• What is their preferred style of learning?
• What subjects are taboo and should not be mentioned?
• Is there a preferred terminology they use when discussing things?

"Know your audience. Remember WIIFM?" – Christopher Witt

WIIFM stands for “What’s in it for me?” This is what everyone in the audience will be thinking. Answer this question by showing how acting in a certain way will align with their values, desires, or dreams. Touch on a variety of reasons why your audience might want to listen to you.

Manage the Event

Leaders manage the events they speak at and ensure everything supports their message. Be selective about the presentations you give. Turn down speaking opportunities that are not noteworthy or would cheapen people’s perceptions of you. When managing an event, follow these steps:

• Know the event: Ask who will be there, the nature of the gathering, the time and place, and the purpose of the event.
• Shape the event: Try to tweak the event so it aligns with your objectives. If it’s not feasible, politely decline the invitation.

Only accept invitations to speak if you can do some good. Great leaders learn as much as they can about their listeners before taking to the stage.

Be Expressive

Most people tend to be inhibited when speaking in front of a large audience. They tone down their natural enthusiasm and gestures. However, leaders are expressive and dynamic. To project your authentic self:

• Stop trying to become a clone of other speakers: Be yourself and talk about things you care about.
• Be bigger and louder than normal: Exaggerate your gestures and speak louder than usual to inject liveliness into your speech.
• Be passionate: Talk about things you care about and stake out a position.
• Be dramatic: Use props, raise your voice, and give it 100% of your energy and passion.

Leaders like Lincoln and Churchill never eliminated stage fright but succeeded despite their fear. Take control of your fears by preparing well, breathing deeply, practicing in front of a safe audience, and befriending the audience before your speech.

Incorporate Q&A

Q&A is one of the best ways to drive your message home. To use Q&A effectively: