Audacious Communications Skills I Learned as a Leader with Roy Osing.

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Roy Osing is the only author, entrepreneur, and executive leader who delivers practical, audacious, unheard-of ways to produce high-performing businesses and successful careers. As president of a major data and internet company, his audacious leadership took the company from its early stage to $1 billion in annual sales. He is the author of Be Different or Be Dead and The Audacious Unheard-of Ways I Took a Startup to a Billion in Sales. Here's my conversation with Roy Osing.

Speaking as a Means to an End

Peter: Why do you speak? Is it for the sake of speaking, or do you speak as a means to an end?

Roy: Communications is not an end. A lot of people think about it as an end — they want to be an accomplished speaker. No, that's not what you want. What you want to do is light fires in people to achieve a business end. I had to be really effective at inspiring people to join me on a journey, not follow me, but join me. Without effective communications, we never would have gotten to a billion in sales.

Be Different or Be Dead

Roy: Success in any space is a function of being different — not similar. When I looked around at all the competitive claims being made, they all used what I call claptrap expressions: we're better, we're best, we're number one, we're the market leader. Doesn't mean anything to a customer trying to make a decision. So I created the “only statement” — we are the only ones who. It's a challenge to create, but once an organization has it, it unleashes real power. You can actually prove what you're saying.

Every Presentation Is a Performance

Roy: If I wanted to get an emotional commitment out of an audience, I needed to make it more than just about the content. Content is a necessary piece, but not the most important piece. Every time I spoke, it was a performance. The most important thing was to get an emotional response from the audience. I made fun of myself. I came up with programs like “Cut the Crap” and “Killing Dumb Rules” and “Hiring for Goosebumps” — things that made people stop and think, “What is that all about?” It was all because I never saw the speech as a speech. It was a performance and a dazzling experience.

Roy: Performing is hard because it requires an incredible amount of energy. Every time I went on, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and went: just get the energy up. If they ever saw me in a state of non-energy, why would they believe me?

Appeal to the Emotional Side, Not the Logical Side

Roy: It's not logic that creates high performance. It comes from inside your guts, driven by what you feel, not what you know. I can teach you the business. What I can't teach you is how to feel. A lot of leaders are taught that content rules. And I'm not saying content isn't important — without content, you can't speak. But it ain't enough. The end isn't a great speech. It's content to feeling to result. You roll that chain down and drive superlative performance.

How to Reach Audacious Communication

Peter: What's the first thing someone should do to strive toward audacious communication?

Roy: Two things. First, think through who you are and whether you want to look at the world differently. For me, it all stemmed from a desire to be different — that forced me out of the textbooks. Second, move beyond your content. Your content must flow through your veins. Know it so deeply that it just exudes when you open your mouth. You can't go to feelings first. You have to own the content. And once you've earned that right, then you can move people. You can take them to the next page and have fun with it.

Peter: Roy, where can listeners connect with you?

Roy: Go to bedifferentorbedead.com. You'll find access to all seven of my books, and I blog every week on differentiation and leadership. And feel free to email me directly at roy.osing@gmail.com — if you have a question, think this is crazy, or think it's a great idea, I'm happy to help.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Public Speaking with Peter George. Are you ready to be calm, confident, and credible every time you speak in public? Then visit petergeorgepublicspeaking.com and let's make it happen. I'll see you next time.