The Language of Business - Part 2: The Influence Equation

Part 2: How to Communicate for Maximum Influence and Impact

This week is an extension of last week’s post on the Language of Business:

The Language of Business

In Part 1, we explored the science of language, metaphors, and the importance of your executive vocabulary.

In this Part 2, the focus is turning your language into leverage and building actionable leadership influence. We’ll touch on an “Influence Equation” I just created and focus on Tone - how you say what you say. Finally, I’ll bring you some “best of” videos that I really encourage you to watch.

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Most CFOs underestimate our superpower.

It’s not our command of GAAP. It’s not our forecasting model. It’s not even our stiff upper lip and boardroom poise.

It’s our words.
Used sparingly.
Framed precisely.
Delivered with trust.
Timed with purpose.

Many CFOs, including me in my early career, think leading with spreadsheets and decks will speak for themselves and we just have to “voice-over”.

That’s wrong. If this is you (like it was me), you are missing a huge opportunity to create the influence and impact your role requires and the company desperately needs.

As I was drafting this Part 2 post, I realized I needed to model the “headline and naming” thing I spoke about in Part 1 on the Language of Business (last week).

So, I just made up a new Influence Equation to “name it” and capture these 3 language steps in hopes of creating a memory for you.

My new Influence Equation uses my audience’s language... an equation!

Influence = (Language + Timing) x Trust

• Language consists of the actual words + tone (how you say the words).

• Timing is a critical part of any communication to create maximum impact.

• Trust is your influence multiplier. The more trust you have the more your language and timing multiplies your influence.

In·flu·ence noun:

the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something, or the effect itself.

Here’s

Siqi Chen

from Runway just 36 minutes ago. I swear we must be psychically channeling each other on this “influence” and “language” thing.

Perfect timing Siqi - right when I was finalizing the draft for this post!

Notice Siqi’s use of language to get people to “feel it”. In other words, connect with them on an emotional level.

The Best Influence?

• Raises the stakes by clearly defining them.

• Motivates the audience and gets them to “feel it” and “connect” to the issue.

• Inspires the audience to take action.

Back to the equation:

• Language: The precise words you use to raise the stakes + the tone you use. This was the focus of Part 1.

• Timing: They say “timing is everything”. Timing is an instinct. Honed by practice and “reading the room”. It’s knowing when to listen vs talk, when to press, and when to re-frame or reset the path forward.

• Trust: This is your historic credibility score. The “credits” you’ve built in your relationship bank over time. These credits have been earned in the hardest moments. Spend them wisely! P.S. - Don’t be a net “debiter” of either your relationships or trust. I captured this in the Your Network Is Your Net Worth post from last month.

You don’t need to speak often. You need to speak with precision, from a foundation of trust, at the moments that matter.

As I shared this new equation with a trusted colleague, they shared one of their “best ofs” back to me in how their world class org created a culture for hiring “the best”. Their formula?

1 - Safe hands: You need to be able to trust the people you hire with anything.

2 - Opinionated: An opinion delivered in the right way. Not only having a clear point of view and leading with it, but being able to use language and “room reading” to maximize influence and impact.

3 - Extended and large network of other humans: Nobody has all the right answers and the best lean on their networks to make sure the “best ideas win”.

I found their “best of” very aligned with my new Influence Equation. For me, it directly speaks to the variables of Trust, Timing, and Tone (“Opinionated”). Over time, your influence will build larger and larger networks of people.

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Speaking of Tone:

While our precise language will get people to pay attention, our tone will shape how our influence is received.

Your tone can either build alignment and consensus or trigger resistance depending on how you deliver your message.

One of my favorite TED Talks on this subject is Amy Cuddy’s “Body Language,” another form of “tone” showing how confidence can be internalized and projected.

(75M plays!)

Your non-verbal cues, body language, facial expressions and/or your fidgeting are a critical part of “tone” in high-stakes settings.

Strike the Pose! - Madonna

Another critical part of tone is the pacing of your speech. Goldilocks speech. Not too fast and not too slow.

PAUSE

Pausing is critical and maybe the most uncomfortable part of speaking. We are all trained to generally speak too fast. We don’t allow “absorption time”. The best communication coaches try to teach how to strategically pause while communicating.

This all takes tons of practice. It’s work to create a steady, measured tone. When executed properly, you communicate control and thoughtfulness especially when delivering the truth.

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Here’s a TEDx talk on the 7 secrets of the worlds greatest public speakers. It’s 18 minutes but very, very good for anyone wanting to go down this rabbit hole.

1. Words - only 7% of your impact

2. Tone - 38%

3. Body Language - 55%

4. The One Compelling Idea

5. A Simple Conversation (NOT A SPEECH!)

6. Speak How Your Audience Absorbs (Visual, Auditory, Data/Digital, Kinesthetic)

7. Authentic Passion - maybe the most important. You be you. Be real.

Here are those stats (above) that surprised me from this talk. First time I’ve seen them so I’m sharing them.

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Final Words:

We don’t need to shout to have a louder voice. We need a more clear, credible, trusted voice. We need to communicate the right signals, at the right time, and to communicate with authenticity and transparency. We need to have more real conversations with a true intent of sharing something you are passionate about to your audience.

I’ll wrap with Chris Anderson’s, TED’s head curator, 9 minutes of the Secret to Great TED Talks. I hope at least one of these techniques or videos has changed the way you think about giving a presentation and communicating for influence.

Chris really brings home many of the points of this post here:

1. What is the one idea? The through-line to your story

2. Give your audience a reason to care

3. Build your idea with concepts and language - start where they are

4. Make your idea worth sharing

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