Page 94 - The New Articulate Executive_ Look, Act and Sound Like a Leader

THE 18-MINUTE WALL 85

last time you asked yourself, ‘Where will I be in fi ve years?’” or
“Where do you think your company will be in six months?”
The downside here is that you can’t let the conversation get out
of control. To pull it off, you’ve also got to be a good facilitator, such
as Charlie Rose of PBS or the hosts of shows like “Meet the Press,”
to get the conversation back on track and back on point.

4. Show a video. Bring along a DVD, CD, flash stick, or videotape
that shows, for example, your company at a glance, a new manufac-
turing process, a new research facility going up, a news clip perti-
nent to the issue at hand, or clips of other speakers—and insert the
video into your presentation at the appropriate time. (This is often

not an option for people in financial services.) The video can run up
to ten minutes or so and be a nice addition to your presentation.
Then you can safely continue to talk for another eighteen minutes.

5. Tell a business story a minute. Borrow a tip from the masters. Tell
one anecdote after another to drive home your theme—a personal
recollection, something you saw on TV or read in the newspapers,
something somebody told you. This is how evangelists can com-
mand a stage alone for two hours—because they are talking about
a subject that is perceived to be of vital interest by like-minded
audiences, using apt illustrations to vividly underscore a single
message.