Page 72 - The New Articulate Executive_ Look, Act and Sound Like a Leader

THE STRONG FINISH 63

to use the power of your voice and your vote to help make the
world a better place.

4. Appeal to the positive. If a situation is not favorable, seek what-
ever good news you can and put a good face on an otherwise not
encouraging story. As a matter of course, we often overlook the
occasional pieces of gold buried in all the gravel we deal with every
day. For example, if the dollar is weak, tourist travel overseas will be
down, but so will our trade defi cit because our products will cost
less. If earnings were off again this year, that’s bad. But if they were
up from what they were last year, that’s good. If we project that
curve upward into next year and beyond, we could soon be making
a lot of money again.
In business as in life itself we can choose to view setbacks either
as obstacles or as stepping-stones. We can see a problem as a body
blow or view it as a challenge. We can complain and feel sorry for
ourselves and our situation, or we can look forward to the challenge
of making it right.
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Mistakes, challenges, obstacles, and setbacks all off er opportunities
to sharpen skills, focus energies, stir the creative juices, think
smarter, act faster, and perform better. The same is true for your pre-
sentation, not only in the preparation and delivery, but also in the
message. Leave your audience with a sense of hope, a looking up and
ahead at things rather than down and back.
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For example, a beleaguered CEO talking to her own troops
might wrap it up like this:
So I would ask you to forget about the bad news. Forget about
what you see on TV and read in the newspapers. Stop listening
to the naysayers and doom-and-gloomers. Dismiss the pundits
and talking heads.