How to Speak Like a Leader | Executive Coach Bill Smartt

what people can do to be more effective physically when they're presenting. But really, when you look at the messaging, you look at who is the audience and you really think in terms of what's going on with the way you're communicating with people, what a leader needs to think about when they're communicating, whether it's providing feedback, uh whether it's, you know, trying to get new business. Leaders have an idea of this is our message. It's just so important to really check in with your audience first and make sure that it's relevant to them. If you are the CEO or you're the subject matter expert, you have so much information, right? And it's hard sometimes to get outside of that. And that's one of the things that I bring when I work with clients is like, look, I'm the dummy here. I'm going to be your audience and I'm going to tell you when I'm confused about things. If anything, just be louder and use more energy. When are the most important times or when are the stakes the highest? When is the presentation that you really need to get across? Here's a basic rule. No matter what, do not read your slide. One thing I ask, record yourself. Take some time to pull out your phone and record yourself leading that meeting, sharing that communication, whatever. Even if you just record yourself for a minute and I want you to stop it, watch it back and look at it and think, "What am I noticing? Welcome to the Let's Talk Business podcast, a project of the PEX Group. Gain valuable, actionable ideas from the world's top business leaders to help you take the next step in your business journey. And now, here is your host, Manny Hoffman. Coming to you from the PEX headquarters in Brooklyn, New York. This is the podcast for nononsense advice to help you learn, grow, and lead. Today, I'm so excited to welcome our guest, Bill Smart. Bill has a fascinating background. He started as a classically trained actor and is now one of the most soughtafter executive coaches, helping leaders at all levels become powerful communicators. His worked with teams here at PEX and the results were incredible. In this episode, Bill breaks down the art and science of effective communication into simple, practical behaviors everyone could learn. We'll get into the one exercise you must do to improve your presence. A simple three-part framework to structure any conversation. Why being a great communicator has less to do with being an extrovert and more with how well you connect. If you're ever felt nervous before a big presentation or struggle to get your team aligned, this conversation will give you the tools you need. Without further ado, here is my interview with Bill Smart. Bill Smart, thank you so much for joining me on the Let's Talk Business podcast. Absolutely. I'm so glad we reconnected. Um, for our audience that don't know, um, we had you come into our office, speak to our team, and because we're in the business of communication, we constantly have to present the work we have done. Um, we we had you come in and actually go through the best practices because the end of the day, uh, the way you present yourself, it makes all the difference. Yeah. So I want to get a little bit of the backstory of how you got into the space. Um what made you this uh you know the expert in this in this field that you are and everything you're doing around the space. Obviously there's everybody has a story. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. I so I actually have a background as an actor. Um, so I moved to New York in 2002 um after getting an MFA in acting and um I ended up getting a temp job at Credit Swiss of all things turned into a perm job. I ended up working in IT in IT project portfolio management. But at night I was teaching acting classes at Queens College and I just had a real light bulb moment one night where there were all these folks were coming to the class and it was a beginner's acting class. So there were a lot of folks who were from all over the world, a big rage rage of angels um that were there and they left feeling so much more confident and and there was just a a level of they were just more comfortable being in front of people and I thought there's so many people in it and I see so many town halls that are just terrible that could be so much better and people could improve. So I started to lead trainings internally at Credit Swiss and found I really loved it and I I got great response and I was like ah now I know I can do with my MFA and acting and it really directly applies to so much of the work that I do. Um, so I branched off and started my own practice and been doing it for 15 years. And so initially it was, you know, based on kind of like directing, right? Um, but a lot of the things that I learned as an actor, it's really about presence. It's also about connection with other people. It's also figure out what you're going to say. So initially, you know, I was working with people to help them with their actual presence and presentation, but then it also I soon found out that helping people craft their message was just as important. Right? So uh it's really when I think about the work that I do, it falls into just three main areas, which is what do I say? So, it's figuring out your content. How do I say it? What may be getting in the way of my delivery? Whether that's low energy or filler words. Um, and then the third piece is what's my mindset and what's going on in my head, right? What's the scenario? What's the situation that may be driving some of the nerves that I might be feeling? Um so yeah so that and it's really I've branched off into so I've worked with a wide range of folks right from uh you know people who are just starting out mid you know mid-level management you know you know high potentials to seauite uh and found that there's a lot of common ground there or a lot of people have nerves um that are driven by ultimately their desire to succeed and their desire to want to do better and um but that's those nerves can really get in the way and be really debilitating. So I branched out into executive coaching and also uh do some team coaching as well because you really look at how people communicate and it can make or break the success of teams their effectiveness in so many different ways. Got it. So let me ask you just a fundamental question about the topic. Um so there are people that are presenters. So those people could be presenting creative work like our team does. It could be people presenting a pitch deck to investors. It could be anything in terms of presenting or even on stage. And then there is basic communication as a leader. You constantly communicate. Yeah. Uh would you say that the work you do um on both are more in the presenting side and not in general communication? Um, you know, it it definitely delves into both. And that's what I was saying like it it it started out for me as a performer thinking, okay, look, I'm an actor. I understand that piece of it. I know what people can do to be more effective physically when they're presenting. But really, when you look at the messaging, you look at who is the audience and you really think in terms of what's going on with the way you're communicating with people, right? Uh and that really leads into all facets of what a leader needs to think about when they're communicating. Whether it's providing feedback, uh whether it's, you know, trying to get new business, right? Uh whether it's strategic planning and the way that you are, you know, lead yourself in meetings or lead other people in meetings, right? All of those things are all ultimately about that connection that you have with other people, right? So it's not and so much of this work is really about that, right? How present are you right now in the room? Are you listening to people, right? Or are you talking so much that you're not taking anything in, right? And how connected are you to the people that report to you and to the people in your company, right? Um it's really key and important that people feel like that people feel that connection with you. Got it. So, um I know that um today's day and age, you know, communication could really make or break your organization. Um we see it internally and externally. You know, sometimes a company goes through an issue externally and they just don't know they're just not um they're not just communicating well. But more importantly is internally where you know there's a disconnect from leadership to to to the next level of employees and so on and so forth. Um what would you say based on your experience? Um is it a you know people want to communicate it's not like they're hiding something. Uh what is in the way of good communication or effective communication? Well um you know there can be there's a lot of different factors right? Um so if you think in terms of well what is poor communication? Well, it's it's when there the connection between the person speaking and the person listening is breaking down in some way, right? Um, so if you think in terms of a leader, right? If you don't if you're not communicating clearly or inspiring confidence, you're slowing everything down, right? You know, teams hesitate, business decisions get revisited, high performers disengage, right? So it's not really just how you kind you look but it's how you move the business forward. So in terms of in terms of a leader listening to this to the to our conversation now um what would you say is best practices in terms of of basic communication mean to say because we also know that overcommunicating sometimes creates the same issue of of of of not communicating at all. So there's a balance there's a fine balance. What would you say? You know, obviously you said before, which is a strong word is in terms of the you have to know the breakdown between the person speaking, the person listening. That's that's a great uh tip right there. Question is, what else would you say goes into good communication? Um that you would say, "Oh, this these guys are really communicating well." Yeah. Well, I mean, it it it all So, there's factors of who is the audience. So that's really one of the first things that anyone any leader wants to think about it. Who am I talking to and really what's in it for them, right? So being really clear about that. So first being very clear about your audience and and how this is going to ultimately benefit them, right? So that then the audience is going to be more tuned in to what it is that you're saying and then you're going to be clearer about what it is that uh you know, how you want to direct your message. Um, you know, a lot of leaders that I work with who, um, you know, go in to pitch an idea or they're pitching for funds, you know, they they go in and they immediately just launch into a presentation. Like, they don't stop and say, "So, before I, you know, I just want to check in with you. How are things going? Talk to me a little bit about, is there any questions you have or things that are top of mind that you'd like me to address or any questions you have before I get started?" So it's really like establishing a connection with people and understanding it is so much about how you relate to someone else. So that's the key thing. I think people jump in immediately um and try and talk about themselves and they have this thing that they ready to present but yet they're not really connecting with people. Yeah, it's it's it's so important. And I've I I know I've spoken to a group of salespeople in the past and I told them that you don't know what you're missing out by not starting chitchat when you start with the lead because sometimes you could tie directly in your solution to a problem they just shared with you right there and then. Exactly. And you can fine-tune. So maybe you you're speaking about something in a general sense, but if they pick up something specifically, I do this in my training is where I'll say, "So first, I want everyone to tell me what's the biggest challenge you find when you are presenting." And so someone may bring something up that maybe I'm not necessarily going to cover or won't want to go in depth on, but because they've mentioned that, I can specifically speak to it. And there's a couple things that happen. They feel heard. Um, and also too then I can actually speak to something that's actually relevant to them in the moment. Um, so I think that that so I think part of it is we often as leaders have an idea of this is our message, but it's so important to really check in with your audience first and make sure that it's relevant to them and their situation and what are the ways that you want to fine-tune it. And I think it also that builds into I would say another thing is super important around communication for leaders which I see is a challenge is actually listening. Right. Right. We're in such a fastpaced environment. You got so many things you're trying to keep on top of. And so slowing down enough to be present with someone and listen because fact of the matter is people don't aren't listened to that much these days, right? They just aren't. And so for someone to feel like they're being heard is huge, right? And again, that's building that relationship and that foundation with your client that can really differentiate you from a lot of other people. Got it. Before we dive into this week's episode, I wanted to share an opportunity that many business owners are already taking advantage of. If you're feeling stuck or unsure about your next move in your business, there's still time to turn things around. That's where a clarity session comes in. This is a focused one-time strategy session with me personally where we'll break down your biggest challenges, identify opportunities, and map out your best next steps for your business. You walk away with a clear action plan to move forward with confidence. Now, I want to make this clear from the get- go. This is not an ongoing consulting offer. You know your business best. This session is simply about giving you the clarity and direction you need to take action and make the rest of the year a success. Many entrepreneurs have already gained incredible value from those sessions. So don't miss out. Reach out to me now by emailing podcastroup.com. I look forward speaking to you and seeing how I could bring more clarity to your business. So now let's talk about presentations. Um, so I want to ask you just a general rule of thumb is when you speak about presentations, is that the same thing about public speaking or there's different rules that apply to doing a presentation than doing public speaking? You know, it's funny. I put it under the category of ultimately of a conversation, right? Even though it may not be the exact same situation as a conversation because someone isn't necessarily speaking back to you, although they could. I really frame it from that that way. So I don't really differentiate it so much because again if you're thinking first of okay who am I talking to? What do they care about? Am I speaking to that concern? Right? And have I organized it in a way that makes sense for me to be able to communicate it and for them to be able to digest it. That's the most important thing, right? Because you know, okay, it's let's say public speaking. We think, oh, someone on a in a po behind a podium that's speaking to thousands of people. Um there are some skills that you know that against it's a little bit different in that there's less likely to be the same kind of interaction it would be in a meeting with 10 people but at the same time you still are thinking about who am I talking to and how can I connect with them in a way that makes sense what's relevant to them how can I talk about things in a way that's not overly verbose overly technical I think a lot of thing one of things I see a lot is people come to me and they have these slide decks with way too much stuff crammed into them and they're talking so much and then they're stressed because they feel like they have so much they want to communicate and you know I'll say look can you break this down to one concept per slide I want to see one concept per slide and then you can make that one slide 10 slides if you want right now I know that there are situations where there are decks that are created by someone else internally and that's what they have to present and If that's the case, there are some things you could do. You can reveal each point as you make it. Um, you could say, "Look, there's a lot of stuff on this slide, but one thing I want you to focus on is or you could just say, I want everyone to just take a minute, look at this slide. I'm going put this up and just take a minute and go through this and then we'll talk a little bit about it." Give people that time to do that. You know, my my my pet peeve is always when somebody goes up on podium and says, "I'm going to go fast because I have 76 slides to go." So, next time don't have 76 slides and go slow, right? And I think that that's the hard thing because look, if you're if you are the CEO or you're the subject matter expert, you have so much information, right? And it's hard sometimes to get outside of that. And that's one of the things that I bring when I work with clients is like look, look, I'm the dummy here. I'm going to be I'm going to be your audience and I'm going to tell you when I'm confused about things, right? So I can provide that perspective and we can really get to the point of look, they don't need to know all of that, right? Maybe you put that in the appendix and you're ready for a question, but you know, a lot of people feel insecure in that the best they feel the best way to come across with authority is to just brain dump. Yeah. And the problem with that is that people fall asleep. They just aren't as they aren't interested in what you have to say because it's too much information. Yeah. I I personally am I'm guilty on that as well. Like sometimes I have these uh presentations at events and I want to give as much value as I can and I'll just give them so much information. They'll say, "You know what? You could have only shared half of it and it would be more than enough for for that hour of time." Um yeah. So let me ask you this is a a very you know very common question I hear from people which is um I'm an introvert and public speaking is not for me presenting is not for me. I I'm always the back of the room type of guy. You have spoken to so many people in the past. Is that is that something that you um you agree on or that's that just a myth? Um, well, I definitely know that that I'm I'm extrovert on way on the extroverted scale. Like I get energy from talking to people that that for me, but I totally but I do have my moments of introversion where I need that as well. We all have it. We I call it I always say that like where sometimes they're damaged introverts or damaged extroverts, right? But I have met introverts who know that in certain situations they have to shift gears. And I work with a lot of introverts. I worked with so I worked in IT so then I worked with a lot of engineers I work with a lot of people super smart but it's a it can be a challenge for them to communicate most effectively for a number of reasons and the introversion andor um the situation that being in front of people puts a stress on people for many different reasons. Um but one of the ways when is to really think of it as switching gears and limiting the amount of time you do it. So when I a lot of people one of the things I say to people is typically when they're presenting is they need more energy usually right if you're lower if you're an introvert or h happen to have lower energy you tend to have you know a little bit lower presence a little bit like this right and so I'm often asking people to turn that up a little bit if anything just be louder and use more energy um but I'm like but I'm understand I'm not saying you should do that all day it's really just a you just have to cherrypick when are the most important times or when are the stakes the highest when is the presentation that you really need to get across a and that's when you can flip that switch and and make that change um but a lot of this comes around particularly around that and I'm speaking mainly about expressiveness and energy for many people that feels very weird and very difficult and when I'm working with them and I'll say I need you to give me more right um Then the line that feels so big and when and when I record them or when they watch themselves back they'll usually say oh it doesn't seem as weird as it feels to to do that right so you know you asked earlier about tips and I think one of the best tips to give anybody that's presenting uh or who is a leader is if you have not recorded yourself and watched yourself back you really need to do that because the camera does not lie And a lot of people hate doing that. Most people hate doing that, right? But you will learn so much by watching that because it'll give you a lot of information that you didn't have before. And in a lot of my trainings, that's what we do um is people watch themselves back. And um you know, with a tweak or two, you'd be amazed what difference you can make. It's not really rocket science. It's but it is a change in behavior. And that feels weird. Um but if you practice it, record yourself um you know then that that is a tactic that's super duper important. One of the things I heard you speak in the past is about simplifying communication which is if you present something dumb it down. You might have jargon, you might have expectations of complicating things but in the end of the day simplify it. um talk a little bit about that like where like give us give us some some um you know examples where simplifying would mean Yeah. Yeah. So and I I I understand the tendency to say dumb it down. It really is more like just clarify like how can you take a complicated thing and have it be understandable to somebody and that is there's a real art to that. uh one of the ways when I'm working with clients to help them because look you know first of all you start with okay where am who am I talking to who's at this event right what do they care about how can I speak to that and then once you've figured out that you want to think in terms of okay break it down into threes I'm sure you've heard of the rule of threes right yeah uh and and because there if three things are easy for you to remember and easy for the audience to follow and So, there are a few different ways to look at that, but one that I found works with clients most often is pretty simple. It's past, present, future. All you got to do is take postits, past, present, future. Put it on the wall, put it on your desk, whatever, and then brainstorm based on what your main point is. How does it fit into that? and and in in I would say 90% of the time that's going to be a great way to share what it is that your your your topic may be right so you know if you're you're sharing research on something was okay well in the past this was the way things were right now this is how it's looking this is the plan that we have going forward and you know so any team could use this when they're pres presenting an idea if you're asking for a raise you know it's past present future and so That is a a really helpful way to frame it so that then you can create things in a way that that are clearer for your audience and it's easier for you to understand. Now under that you may have okay under past I've got three things right under present I've got three under future I've got three and then you know if you need to have some a couple of bullet points to guide you through that then that's what you do and then this brings me to uh the other really important thing about presenting is to practice speaking it out loud and so many people um are they have a lot of hang-ups around it one it feels like a ridiculous waste of time like why am I saying this to no one, right? But what you're doing is you're translating what's in your brain to language. And when you see people trip up or go off on tangents or go way over time, it's because they literally did never actually took the time to do that. And that's a really important process for your for you to do, go from your brain to language. And so if you do that, speak it out loud and practice it, then there's multiple things that will happen. One, you'll be clearer and more concise. Two, you will be better because you've actually had some time to practice and do some runthroughs and the clarity will it will just get clearer and clearer and then you'll know that doesn't sound right or I need to talk about this etc. So really very very important the practice piece. Yeah, I think I think you mentioned some some very valuable tips over here. I want to go back a second. And you mentioned the the past, present, future. And I think for our leaders listening listening to this episode, I think it's important to um to to take this um this uh to the bank as you call it because this is something you could use almost on a daily basis. I I know a lot of a lot of leaders with you know they fall into a fear. Let's say they have to give feedback for an employee. Uh let's say it's it's negative or constructive, let's call it. um and they they're so tense because I have to have that conversation and how it's going to go, what's going to be, and you get stuck in the nuances and therefore you're delaying it, not even having that conversation when you should have had it a month ago. Um what what you just said, I think this framework, if you sit down across an employee and say, "This is why we hired you. This is how it ended up being, and this is what we expect to see improvements." like it's the same rhythm, the same framework, and all of a sudden you're so clear with your messaging. The person is not confused, you're not confused, you're not going, you're beating around the bush and saying all kinds of things. You're very, very direct. I think that's that's the essence of good communication when you're simplified, but as as you said before, the other person understands what you're trying to say. Yeah. And what you mentioned too, um, one of the key things is is setting those expectations. And I think that there's often it's not clear. Sometimes leaders don't really make it clear what those expectations are. And there can that can be real problems because of that. And also too, I have I have run into so many um folks who who are reporting to people who do not have one-on ones. I'm like, "What? You don't have one-on- ones? Oh, they don't have time." I'm like, you have to make time to have one-on- ones with your direct reports. You have to because that relationship is so key and important. Just make them shorter if you need to, right? But you got to do that. Reminds me one of our our leaders forum which we do for leaders and we speak about having quarterly one-on- ones and so on and so forth. And one of the leaders at one point asked me like, "How do you have time to do one-on- ones?" I said, "Believe it, look at your calendar. You're spending way more time without planning the one-on- ones with those employees uh than having one scheduled oneonone." Yeah. Because what are you going to do? You got Oh, what? This happened. Why did this happen? This was I was working with someone the other day and you know they have kind of a micromanaging boss and it's because every time that she does something they question that and then there becomes this discussion and all this ad hoc and so she's kind of have to really go to him and say look I what would be most effective for us to be successful would be for us to set up these meetings and this is why and this is how again it will benefit you which goes back to whoever you're talking to how is it going to benefit them so that they understand you know why would they why would they take that advice and remove that way. Got it. Um in general we spoke about introvert extrovert but is there you know there there are people that are just born talented communicators. You know you see this throughout history you see it sometimes with politicians. You see it with great business leaders. Is there something that you could say from your experience that even you're not born with it, you don't you're not gifted with it, that it's something it's a teachable skill? Yeah. You know what it breaks down to is it's a series of behaviors. That's all it is, right? It's a series of behaviors. Great uh leadership presence and communication. That's what it is. So, yes, it that's this is where recording can be really helpful because you can really look at what's going on. Some people don't realize that that by speaking, you know, quietly and and withdrawing, they come across as if they're disinterested. And that's not at all what they think, right? So, it's really there's a um a book uh called uh I'm blanking on the name of it. It'll come to me in a second. Um anyway, uh uh anyway, blanking on the name of it, but anyway, um there are a couple things that this uh author talks about that are um ways to show instant charisma. It's called the charisma myth. That's what it's the charisma. And um she says, one is to pause for a couple sec seconds after each sentence. Uh the second one is to lower your intonation at the end of sentences. So instead of saying today's meeting we're going to talk about this that and this and say today's meeting we're going to talk about this that and this. It's literally just lower your intonation at the end of sentences. And the other one that she recommends is to lessen the amount of head nodding that you do. Now that's very specific. And look, head nodding I I I get that, but I also see head nodding can be helpful in that you are listening to someone and they see that particularly on Zoom. Um, but anyway, so those are some of the uh a few things that she mentions, but I I mention that because it is what is it? It's actual behaviors and when I'm working with people a lot of times it may be literally just pausing, right? We h sometimes if we're we have a lot to communicate like you said you mentioned someone who said I got a lot to get out and I've got to talk fast right the problem with that is that it comes across like things are out of control whereas if people slow it down take pauses practice that and one way to do that if you're with someone else and in meetings this so I I want to make the work that I do with clients the tools that I give them I want them to be able to practice them in their daytoday and one of the ways to do This uh slowing down piece is when you're in meetings with someone, you give them a thought, you ask them a question, you stop, look to see if they've got it, and then once you get the sense that they've received it, then you can move on. Right? So, and it's just it's a little bit of just a like a second, but it actually establishes connection with that person and gives them chance to really receive it and have you connect with them. So, it's really key and important um to slow it down. So, you're not talking at people, you're actually communicating with them. Beautiful. Now, in general, um like u we spoke in the beginning where there's different types of presentations. Um are there different rules, let's say presenting to a VC versus presenting on a stage, like are there certain things do not the dos and don'ts that you could share some basics? Yeah, you know, uh again, I think look, here's a basic rule. No matter what, do not read your slides. That's just like don't read your slides. If if what is printed on your slides and you're reading that, please do not do that. That's that's not helpful for people. Um I think that sometimes if you are presenting to senior leaders, you want to be very clear upfront with what the main message is, right? Here's the main message. this is what we're going to cover today. I'm going to first talk about this for a couple minutes, then we're going to talk about this, and then we're going to open it up for questions. Right? So, being very, very clear and specific about what it is you're going to speak about, um, and what the expectations are for your time, um, that's a really important one. Um, other things, again, I think that most important is to back up and think, who am I talking to and what do they care about? I think that oftentimes when people are going in to talk about their company or they're talking or they're pitching an idea, the first thing they talk about is themselves. And I know that it's like this credibility slide, but why don't you start out by talking about what's the problem that you're going to help solve that that client is totally going to relate to, right? Start out with that. Got it? And then you can say, "I'm Bill Smart with better technologies and here's a little bit about our team." Right? You can always do that later or show it later in the deck. But really, you want to start out by being uh as compelling as you can. I've worked with a lot of people who are pitching and one of the that that uh that hook at the beginning, the first thing you say is so important. And a lot of people start out with, "Hi, I'm Bill Smart. Today we're going to be presenting on Right." And it's just okay. It's sort of not that compelling, right? But you could start out by saying, you know, one in five people will be a victim of cyber crime within the next two seconds all over the world. Today, we're going to talk about how we're going to deal with that and how we can help your company avoid that. Something like that, right? But it's being very specific at the beginning and then introduce yourself. It also intrigues their interest. They say, "Okay, this guy is speaking about something that bothers me or something that pain point that we have." Um, we see a lot of people that are maybe great communicators one-on-one, but then they get lost on stage and on stage could be in a boardroom, could be in front of five people even. They always they become just they they freeze. Yes. Uh, what are some best practices in terms of of getting over that? Okay. Yeah. Well, I this is very absolutely super common and I work with this a lot of clients around this. This is where there's one physical thing you can do and this is across the board in a lot of situations where you're going into a scenario where the stakes are high and um you're stressed out about it. Breathing, right? And we all breathe or we would be alive. But I'm talking about breathe in for five, hold for five, breathe out for five, hold for five. So do that for a cycle of six times to just ground yourself. Now that's before you get up, like when you're sitting around, you know, before things start or if you're in the green room, whatever. But physically trying to ground yourself is the one physical thing you can do because you've got the fight orflight which happens which means your heart rate is increasing the blood is coursing through your body. You know you're sweating profusely all of those things that you physically feel. Um this deep belly breathing can actually counteract and sometimes even reverse that fight or flight. So that's one of the things that you can do in the moment that we the last thing we remember right when you're in those situations like you don't remember to breathe you just start to breathe in a more shallow way. So breathing is a foundational thing that you can start with. Um other than that it's really this is where you think about preparation right okay so and think through and this again I help clients with this think through okay who's in this room why is this stressing you out or what you know let's talk about this scenario right and then um have you gone through and prepared and as I said earlier have you spoken through what you're going to say right have you clarified that have you done it in front of anybody else and ask for their feedback. Right? So, there's a lot of preparation things that you can do, but as far as in the moment, breathing, trying to ground yourself is one of the most important things you can do. You can reframe it sometimes. Again, that's a little bit more of a preparatory thing to think, okay, this is uh the next 30 minutes of my life. it will event it will come it will go I will probably no one will die on the table most likely right so refraraming can be helpful uh in those situations but I always go back to the breath because it it this comes you know with most of the clients I work with centering yourself and this comes with any difficult conversation you mentioned earlier having to give negative feedback to an employee that's stressful right that you don't know how they're going to respond So, taking the time to center yourself, calm yourself before you meet with that person, right? Got it. Really important because a lot of people rush from one thing to the next and they you've got to take that time. Hey listeners, are you struggling to create beautiful looking proposals? Is it a hassle every time you need to prepare a quote or proposal for your clients? Is collecting signatures still a manual process? Well, it's time to upgrade to Panda. At PEX, we use Panda for all our proposals, employee documentation, and so much more. It saves us time, keeps everything organized, and our documents look incredibly professional. With customizable templates, real-time collaboration, and e signatures, Panaduct turns creating documents into quick and easy steps. Plus, it integrates with so many other tools, streamlining your workflow and boosting productivity. Try Pandock today by visiting pex.co/pandock and start your free trial. Trust me, it's going to be a gamecher for your business. That's ptex.co/pan da d. Let me ask you another question which is um what what could you give us as as practical advice in terms of body language, eye contact, um how much that adds to a conversation in a presentation? Yeah, thank you for asking that. um you know so one thing is interesting about eye contact particularly on Zoom is that let's say um I'm talking to you but I'm um I'm doing this right and so people are like okay the audience is thinking is he looking in email is he looking at chat is he shopping like what's going on so really think like that's what people will think right so sometimes you may need to do that for whatever reason so you could just name it and claim it and say so um I'm going to be actually taking some notes and referring to this if you see me looking over there that's what's happening that can be helpful for the audience but um when you are speaking to someone on Zoom remembering the camera is their eye right that is so you have to sort of think like a news reporter uh or an anchor person they are looking at that camera and that camera is the the person they're speaking to there are some tricks you can do like depending on how high stakes You can put a picture of something above there. It could be a friendly person that you remember or or have an association with to remind you particularly if you're speaking publicly um that this is a friendly audience. Um but that's really important. Now in person eye contact is very important and some people it's makes them uncomfortable to um make direct eye contact. Now of course you don't want to like stare down someone right? So it's really there's a balance of 70% right time that you're you're making eye contact. Um but it's also culturally it's different in different cultures that is very different. So you need to be mindful of the culture in which you're communicating as far as eye contact. Um but that's important. Body language. Oh my god. I see this. So in my team meetings I keep seeing oh the eye rolling and the oh crossing the arms and the throwing of the head around. Oh my you and and so it it's and that is communicating a lot to and really changing affecting the team dynamics right uh when someone you know justiculates or rolls their head or you can really get a sense of how they are feeling and what they're thinking about um yeah so as a leader I would say look one thing is be aware of be aware of your posture too right how are you sitting. Um, it depends on the scenario, right? But, uh, you want to as much as you can be as present, lean in as much as you can, right? Have the energy forward like you're interested. Um, avoiding arms crossed if if at all possible because that just kind of comes across as maybe guarded and defensive. You know, it also depends the person standing are they standing in front of the room? There are a lot of best practices around that. Uh but you know and there's so many situations now there's Zoom is a whole another thing too where um it's interesting. So I'll if if I if I go like this on Zoom let me show you a lot of people I see like this and they're talking like this. I'm like okay they don't realize they have this huge gap above their head. Right? So just look at your camera. They just move the camera down so we can see more of you and maybe use some gestures. Gestures are are a lot of people feel like they're not they're not good. I Jessica can actually help more clearly communicate. So, you know, that's a simple thing you can do right now. What think about your background like what's going on in your background? And you know, yeah, it's it's so cool what you're mentioning because like um a lot of times I speak to speakers, first-time speakers or people that are just not that uh you know, they don't speak that often and they'll ask me like um you spoke for 3,000 people, you spoke with 2,000 people, how it probably was so hard. I said the preparation is hard. The speech itself is actually easier than speaking to 20 because you don't see how, you know, 2,000 people, you don't have that focus. This person is making these these body body movements and stuff like you don't know is he is he is his back um aching or is it because he doesn't like how I'm speaking, right? And that's funny because that can you can really in those situations you can really get thrown off, right? I had a situation where I was performing. I was doing this show. I'd moved to New York and um there was someone in the front row and she kept going like this and she come up like like this and I didn't know what was going on and so I was getting very distracted and I and I um almost said something almost broke out of character and said something. I was getting so irritated. It turned out they had some sort of disability I didn't know anything about. Um, and they were u they they were came in a wheelchair and if they if I had said anything we would have had to stop the show and the wheelchair was behind the stage. It was like it would have been a nightmare and it just shows I don't know what's going on with this person, right? And also too if someone is sleepy or dozing off, you have to just think, okay, maybe they have a new child at home and they're not getting any sleep with me, right? You have to just really but it's hard, you know, in those situations not to take it personally. Um, very cool. You just never know what's going on with other people. Okay. So, I want you to leave us with one or two simple practical exercises. um guy listening to the show, a guy like anybody listening to the show and they want to go and become better communicators in general, where should they start? Okay, first thing is um look at your calendar and find look and see when is the next time you're going to be communicating, presenting. It doesn't have to be a formal presentation. It could be presenting to a team. It could be presenting an idea. It could be um having a a a pitch for the new client, something where you have to share some information with somebody, right? Where this, you know, there's somewhat stakes. So, I want you to look at the calendar and find that or really think about it as, you know, as a leader, when do you communicate, right? When is it most important? When are the stakes highest? And then, um I want you to uh prepare for that particular situation, right? And how are you going to do it? One thing I ask, record yourself. Take some time to pull out your phone and record yourself leading that meeting, sharing that communication, whatever. Even if you just record yourself for a minute, and I want you to stop it, watch it back, and look at it, and think, what am I noticing here? Do I have low energy? Am I using a lot of filler words? What am I doing by eye contact? All that. So that's really one of the most important things that you can do is to just se inform yourself and then choose one thing you're going to improve. So say it's filler words. Okay, how are you going to work on those filler words? Okay, you're going to continue. You're going to record yourself maybe in that meeting um and see and and work on breathing putting pauses instead of those filler words. And you could also practice with other people in your day-to-day conversation trying to eliminate filler words. If you have kids, tell them you're working on filler words and they have to I don't know, they get to yell out the same filler word you use every time you use it. Something that's going to uh really uh uh uh help help you make that gear shift. Um this is so recording yourself. Yeah, this is so good. Just last week, just a literally last week, um I had a I had a person that was going back and forth with me about um giving feedback for his one of his team members and he was like going, you know, going bananas. It's the first time he's a he's a new leader in a company. It's a second employee and and he needed to have a very tough conversation and and I actually told him that because you know you the fear is because you don't know what you're going to tell him. As soon as you know what you're going to tell him, half of the fear goes down. And I actually did this exercise. I told him once I I I told him not in the same way that you said it because this is actually a very good um point the the the past, present, future, but I did say to break it up in different like just in your mind like different segments. And then I told him to send me a a voice note in WhatsApp with exactly that m exactly if I would be you and you would leave it to me in a voice note. And I was able to give him feedback. But I would could say that that voice note was 75% there. as soon as he had to say it in a voice note and then he he was able to perfect it and and then the end of the day he said they had the conversation let alone that you know both of them felt so good after the conversation which most people do regardless of what the regardless of what you have to share but he was so much more calmer saying it because he has said it before and and he was able to listen to himself before that was amazing he translated he translated from his brain to language and he he made that that connection action. Um, and which is again why what I'm encouraging you know those who are watching as leaders just that's you you got to practice that. So again think of a a situation where you're you're going to need to you're going to be presenting and then and then really practice that. Um yeah, the other thing you know too is I um I'm working so I'm starting I'm working with teams as well and so I'm um offering if uh a team tuneup. So if if you know some folks listening have a team that for some reason they know in these communications is not going the way that they would like or the team isn't moving as effectively as they would like. Um, then I basically come and I sit in on a team meeting and then I meet with that team lead to give them some quick feedback and some action steps that they can take based on how that meeting went. So, how could people find out more about you and reach out to you? U, yeah, they go to billsmart.com, but that's with two T's. Extrasmart two T's. Billsmart.com and um, you can find information there uh, from my site about how to get in contact with me. Great. Hey, for the links, resources mentioned this episode, check out the show notes at www.pexgroup.com/mpodcast where we'll link up to Bill's website so you could find out more and reach out if your team needs a tuna or maybe you as a presenter need a tuna or you need a tuna. Bill, thank you so much for joining us. I know your time is valuable. That is why in the name of our listeners will forever be grateful for sharing some of your time with us today. It's been a blast. Thank you so much. My pleasure. That's my conversation with Bill Smart. My takeaway from this one, number one, great communication is a teachable skill, not a personality trait. Bill's biggest point is that effective communication is a series of behaviors, not a gift you're born with. Whether it's learning to pause, controlling your tone, or managing your energy, those are all skills you can practice and master. You don't have to be an extrovert to be a powerful presenter. Number two, record yourself. The camera doesn't lie. The single most effective and often most avoided exercise is to record yourself speaking and watch it back. You'll immediately see the filler words, the nervous gestures, and the low energy you didn't know you had. It's the fastest path to self-awareness and improvement. Number three, use the past, present, future framework for almost any situation. From a project update to giving employee feedback, this simple structure brings instant clarity. It's easy for you to remember and even easier for your audience to follow. Start with the past, explain the present, and outline the future, the desired outcome, or next steps. Number four, connect before you present. So many people jump straight into your presentation without connecting with your audience. Bill reminds us to start by listening. Ask what's on their mind, what their challenges are, and what they hope to get out of the conversation. When people feel heard, your messages lands with far greater impact. And number five, to manage nerves, manage your breathe. Stakes are high. Our fight to flight response takes over. The one physical tool you have to do is deep control breeding. Before any stressful presentation or difficult conversation, take a moment to do a few cycles of box breeding. It grounds you and allows you to lead from a place of calm control. This was a great episode. I learned so much and I hope you did as well. If you like what you learned today, make sure you you share it with your friends, followers, and connections. Let them also enjoy and ultimately have better communication with you. And that's a wrap for today's episode of the Let's Look Business podcast. I hope you enjoyed the practical nononsense advice that our guest shared. If you found value in listening, I would be so grateful if you could share the episode with your friends and if you could give the show a five-star rating on Apple Podcast or wherever platform you listen. Subscribe to the show and get notified every time we publish a new episode. The Let's Talk Business Podcast is a PEX Group original production. Until next time, make it a great day. [Music]