Page 130 - Great Communication Secrets of Great Leaders

Ch08_Baldoni_141496-7 5/22/03 1:09 PM Page 108
8
P
A
H
C
R
E
T
Real communication is an attitude, an environment. It’s the most
interactive of all processes. It requires countless hours of
eyeball-to-eyeball back and forth. It involves more listening than
talking. It is a constant, interactive process aimed at [creating]
consensus.
Jack Welch

DELIVERING

THE MESSAGE

S HE WAS NOT BEAUTIFUL. She was overweight. She was confined to a
wheelchair. And she was one of the most dynamic speakers of her age.
Despite her cosmetic challenges, Barbara Jordan had the voice.
You only had to hear it once to never forget its powerful resonance. Her dic-
tion was always precise, clear, instructional, and at times reverential. She
spoke with the conviction of a preacher, but the insight of a scholar. Born to
a poor black sharecropper, she earned a law degree from the University of
Texas and became a law professor there. She represented her Texas district
in Congress in the 1970s and served for a number of terms until her health
forced her to retire.

108
Copyright 2003 by John Baldoni. Click Here for Terms of Use.