Carly Fiorina speaks with passion and commitment. Powerful in many ways, she is authoritative, informative, persuasive, engaging and challenging in her delivery. I heard the dynamic Hewlett-Packard CEO speak at Credit Suisse First Boston’s Global Leadership Institute Speaker Series in 2003 about transitioning and restructuring her organization during difficult financial times. She presented a compelling and inspirational talk, one that made me think about what makes a memorable public speaker. Of course, the following names come to mind: Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Winston Churchill.

How many times, as an executive or leader of an organization, have you been called upon to introduce a guest speaker or propose a toast on the occasion of the signing of an IPO? How often must you address a large audience within your company to impart important information or difficult messages? Because CEOs and senior management are often highlighted in the media—usually during a 10-second sound bite—and bask in the public’s limelight as a leader, speaker and decision maker, good public speaking skills are essential now more than ever. A good leader must be a good communicator.

Photograph by Tan-Ya Gerrodette.

Having taught public speaking and improvisational acting classes in New York, Los Angeles and London to both senior management and professional actors, I have discovered that the common vulnerability among all speakers or performers is simply stage fright or anxiety. As an executive coach in the corporate world, as well as the theater community, my clients, such as Credit Suisse First Boston’s CEO Brady Dougan, have called me a confidence builder. This may be because I am able to tune in to their concerns about public speaking or performing in front of an audience. I listen to their concerns and focus on the blocks they have. Then I am able to come up with a methodology to help make them more relaxed. Even people who think they are in control do not always know how to feel comfortable in front of an audience.

Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia, a royal who speaks seven foreign languages fluently, is bright, beautiful and witty. She was a student of mine in an improvisational acting workshop in New York for five years. Once, after Elizabeth recited a monologue in class, I asked her if she was relaxed. She replied, “Yes, I am totally relaxed and comfortable.” To this I said, “Fine, now unclench your fists!” During our time together, I prepared her for many television appearances, newspaper interviews and, most recently, her campaign for the presidency of Serbia and Montenegro, in which she placed sixth out of 16 candidates.

Finding Comfort
Does one ever conquer that phenomenon called stage fright? I have good news and bad news: no. But you do learn to drive the car rather than let the car drive you. Instead of dwelling on the negative, you must focus on positive goals.

Sondra Gilman recently became the chairman of the American Theater Wing, replacing the legendary Isabelle Stevenson, who passed away in 2003. Sondra called upon me to assist her in the opening speech of the 2004 Tony Awards. She told me straight off, “I am comfortable speaking to 20 people in my living room about my art collection, but we are talking a different ball game when it comes to speaking live onstage at Radio City Music Hall, as well as on CBS national television in front of millions of people.”

Whenever I ask CEOs and senior managers what they think are the magical ingredients that make a speaker compelling, they are unanimous in their judgment: someone who connects.

When I met with her, I saw that deer-in-the-headlights nervousness in her eyes. I gave her pointers on relaxing and focusing on her material that she rehearsed with me for two weeks prior to her appearance. Her confidence grew after we organized her talking points. She learned to calm her nerves by breathing and relaxing her shoulders. We rehearsed her speech in her living room countless times. I videotaped her a few times so that she could see exactly what I as talking about when I mentioned that her forehead was wrinkled and that she needed to gesture in more places. We could play the tape, pause, rewind and talk about areas she needed to improve.