Narges Nirumvala: CEO as Spokesperson. Why Public Speaking is So Important

Dubbed ‘The Secret Weapon’, Narges Nirumvala is a world renowned leadership communication expert, international speaker and author of the book ‘Capture the Spotlight’. One of the Top 100 Leadership Experts to Follow on Twitter, she is the CEO of ExecutiveSpeak Coaching International. A trusted advisor to CEOs, Narges works with executives and leadership teams to help them find their authentic voice. A CEO as Spokesperson If you are CEO, Head of a charity, an elected public official, you must speak effectively in public at all times. One wrong sentence in a meeting or a media interview, can be re-tweeted, posted in YouTube and spread quickly. Narges expects four “C” in a CEO as a spokesperson: you need to be Confident, Clear, Concise and Compassionate. The last one needs your emotional intelligence in display, which will enable a CEO to inspire, engage, motivate. There is a natural spotlight the upper you are in the hierarchy, and CEOs and other top executives are aware of that. Also every COO, CFO, CIO, Board member needs to be effective and lead by example. Some CEOs who are great speakers Narges likes Steve Jobs and Darren Hardy (Success Magazine). And she especially likes CEO thought leaders such as Seth Godin, Brené Brown, Simon Sinek, and Malcom Galdwell. They ask questions that challenge us, and have innovative thoughts. Should a CEO have a speech writer? Narges doesn’t believe that a speech writer should do the whole job, as it would end up in a “canned speech”. The CEO or executive must bring the ideas and key points, and the job of the speaking coach or speech writer will be to improve the speech or talk and make it much more effective. Related: Own the Room and Move Your Audience! Favorite quotation “Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul.” — Douglas MacArthur Recommended book Team of Teams by General Stanley McChrystal Routine to Shine Expand your comfort zone.