How leaders must communicate: Andy Bounds

A leader needs to communicate on many levels

What must leaders learn about communication?

Episode 175 (Andy is based in the UK)

In this conversation with Andy Bounds we explore:

• Critical communications lesson from his blind mother
• The preparation technique of "guess and ask"
• What's more important than your intended message
• Why the message is simply part of the process
• How to cater your road show presentation to different audiences
• The power of changing the subtitle on your opening slide
• Why your message starts with the desired outcomes
• Why follow-up is crucial to achieving the end goal
• The four steps to achieve the goal

About our guest, Andy Bounds:

 

Award winning sales consultant – Andy was voted the UK’s Sales Trainer of the Year, as a result of all the sales that I helped my clients win (over $35billion so far)

 

Best-selling author – his three books on leadership communication and sales are all international best sellers.  In fact, the first of them was only kept off the Amazon #1 slot by the final Harry Potter book!

 

Blind mother – his mum is blind.  This has given Andy a lifetime’s experience of communicating from the other person’s point of view. A critical skill for leaders to master – especially since others who are blind to what they are trying to achieve!

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Excerpts from this conversation with Andy Bounds:

There is a wonderful quote by the Irish author, George George Bernard Shaw. And he said, the single biggest illusion with communication is the fact that it has taken place.

In other words, let's use simpler language, the biggest mistake people make is they think they've done the communication so it's finished. Okay, or they do a 20 minute events and think that will change everybody for the next year.

The world doesn't work that way.

Yeah, bluntly, habits are long term things. And communication is a short term thing. So we need rigorous reinforcement.

And that's another thing when I'm talking with leaders and how we're going to reinforce things, I say, what are the questions you're going to relentlessly ask?

So make sure people have adopted the new strategy? So let's say we have a new strategy, and it's going to be I don't know, we're going to speak to our customers more?

Well, the leader needs to ask their team almost every single time they see them. How many customers have you contacted this week? Every time so as you walk towards me, I want you thinking Andy's going to ask me how many customers I've contact because he always does.

There has to be this relentless, consistent follow up. Because as a leader, if you ignore that behaviour, you empower it, right? If you ignore that behaviour, you empower it. So if someone doesn't do what you want, if you ignore that, you're empowering them not to do what you want.

So you have to continually reinforce it, use charm, be persuasive, but you can't just ignore it. Otherwise, you're saying you just carry on.

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Your Intended Message is the podcast about how you can boost your career and business success by honing your communication skills. We’ll examine the aspects of how we communicate one-to-one, one to few and one to many – plus that important conversation, one to self.

In these interviews we will explore presentation skills, public speaking, conversation, persuasion, negotiation, sales conversations, marketing, team meetings, social media, branding, self talk and more.

 

Your host is George Torok

George is a specialist in communication skills. Especially presentation. He’s fascinated by the links between communication and influencing behaviours. He delivers training and coaching programs to help leaders and promising professionals deliver the intended message for greater success.

 

Connect with George

www.SpeechCoachforExecutives.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgetorokpresentations/

https://www.youtube.com/user/presentationskills

https://www.instagram.com/georgetorok/