But that’s not what most people will remember.
They’ll remember his certainty.
People may not know if an idea is good.
But they do know when a speaker is certain, it is.
Still body.
Measured cadence.
Pauses for impact.
A deep, grounded feeling tone.
Agree with him or not, this is what statesman-like communication looks like.
How does your voice make people feel?
There are voices we trust before we know why.
We feel a voice before we think about it.
Is this person calm? Rushed? Safe? Certain? Worth listening to?
Because we can’t see the voice, we dramatically underestimate how much it shapes trust and authority.
Here’s a short clip of Sam Elliott speaking as himself on the Off Camera show.
He’s not acting. He’s just talking.
Listen for a moment before analysing anything.
What do you notice?
For me, his voice feels:
There’s no push in it. No grasping. No need to impress.
The cadence is slow.
The pitch sits low and steady.
Even when he’s saying something ordinary, the voice itself communicates experience and ease.
It’s a reminder that we don’t just hear meaning – we feel it.
The poet Maya Angelou once said:
“People will never forget how you made them feel.”
Voice is one of the fastest ways we create that feeling.
Two executives can say the same sentence.
One creates calm and credibility.
The other creates tension – and often, neither can quite explain why.
Now here’s the uncomfortable question:
How does your voice make people feel?
And what if it’s not what you intend?
What if improving your vocal tone by just 5% made your ideas land more clearly, made people listen longer, or made your presence feel steadier under pressure?
One simple way to start noticing is something I often suggest to senior leaders.
For seven days, record a 50-second open–middle–close about your day.
Then listen back immediately – not to judge, just to hear what others hear.
Most people avoid this. Hearing your own voice is confronting.
But it’s also one of the fastest ways to discover the signal you’re sending before you ever say a word.
Because whether we realise it or not, people are always listening – not just to what we say, but to how it makes them feel.
How does this person make me feel – before I even process their words?
I just watched a superb 17-minute talk by investment banker Jim Donovan called
“Managing Client Relationships.”
Yes, the content is strong.
But what really stood out to me was how he communicates:
He’s deeply believable.
Not because he’s trying to persuade, but because he looks and sounds like he knows what he’s talking about.
If you watch the clip, try this simple exercise:
Don’t ask, “Do I agree with him?”
Ask, “How does he make me feel?”
Then pick one small thing you could borrow:
That’s how executive presence is built – one borrowed behaviour at a time.
Watch the clip here:
https://lnkd.in/guymZaG5
This 1:42-hour interview between Hans Zimmer and music educator Rick Beato is a masterclass in creativity, performance, and humility.
What struck me was how in sync Zimmer and Beato were throughout the conversation—and how open Zimmer was in sharing his own vulnerability.
A standout moment for me (watch 1:25:00–1:27:00) involved a phone call from Paul McCartney. Zimmer, battling stage fright, told McCartney he was tempted to cancel a performance to avoid the anxiety of going on stage.
McCartney replied by sharing that he too had suffered stage fright—so much so that he stopped performing for three years. But during one comeback show, he made a mistake, stopped the band, and said to the audience: “Stop, stop.” The crowd went wild.
His takeaway?
Just be yourself.
The audience is on your side.
Talk to them.
There’s a lesson here for anyone delivering a presentation.
Be real. Be present. That’s what lands.
Watching Peter Dutton kick a football that accidentally struck a cameraman in the head, what stood out to me wasn’t the mishap itself—it was his reaction. (Please watch 9NEWS clip).
Rather than immediately checking if the man was okay, Dutton first clapped along with the crowd, then hesitated, seemingly unsure of what to do. When he did move toward the man, it was slow and uncertain. His apology, while present, lacked warmth—there was little emotion in his voice or expression.
It was a small moment, but telling. The absence of empathy and instinctive care didn’t align with the qualities we expect in someone seeking to lead the country.
Even the act of kicking the ball into a crowd raised questions of judgment. A more mindful choice—aiming for open space, for example—might have prevented the incident altogether.
We all make mistakes. But how we respond—especially under pressure—can say a lot about how we lead.
What small, unscripted moment have you witnessed that told you everything you needed to know about someone’s leadership?
In this short clip, Canadian PM Mark Carney continues to impress me with his statesmanlike composure and the clarity of his communication. His self-possession shines in his response to a journalist’s question.
Notice how Carney never rushes his answers or loses his cool. He calmly challenges the false assumption within the question with a quiet yet forceful retort. Pay special attention to the 4:00–4:12 mark of the clip, particularly his use of the phrase “From a position of strength,” delivered with a deliberate, decelerated cadence that amplifies his authority.
My only suggestion for Carney is to replace his ‘ahs’ silent pauses.
How could you adapt Carney’s composed delivery to enhance your own communication?
In my view, it is easier to start speaking, to start a presentation, to start a mission et al – than to stop speaking, stop a presentation, stop a mission.
Are you guilty of finishing an episode of speaking with “Yeah”. Or when you’re speaking and suddenly run out of ideas, do end with ‘Yeah’?
First, let me acknowledge, that with last week’s cyber attack on Optus, Chief Executive Officer, Kelly Bayer-Rosmarin faced an unprecedented, extremely difficult event.
Against the benchmark of the affect, body language, speech and language of a credible, believable, self-assured CEO of a major enterprise, presenting to the media regarding a significant crisis – I scored Bayer-Rosmarin’s performance in her 23:55 minute, 23 September press conference as: 6/10.
Overall, the affect of Bayer-Rosmarin’s presentation of herself and communication of her ideas was disengaged, lacking presence and lacking customer empathy.
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To reinforce one point from last week’s post – Measured believable speaking from Union Leader Alex Classens – Eckhart Tolle in this Talks at Google clip, demonstrates when he speaks, that he is not afraid to pause and that he feels deserving of the time he is using.
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