February 2019
ELECTRIC IMPULSE COMMUNICATIONS
NEWSLETTER
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HERBIE'S HINTS
(named after my dad!)
Watching football with my dad I learned a lot about football and life. Enough about football that I looked in amazement – not the good kind – at anyone that would bet against Tom Brady. Like him or not, how could you bet against his talent and cool under fire? Plus the fact that he actually listens to his wife!
It was actually the coin toss at the very beginning that to me spelled out the fate of the Rams.
The Rams win the coin toss and defer the ball. I understand traditional football advice to the barely 34-year old coach with the second youngest quarterback in Super Bowl history would say to defend rather than go on the offensive. Probably sounded something like "you are better off to get out the jitters on defense rather than on offense and risk an interception or some other morale-destroying mistake."
My dad would not have seen it this way. He would have said something like, “Leslie you were not put on this earth to avoid challenges. Do what you want but winners take the ball."
When Goff chose to receive- let’s be clear that was a team decision made way in advance. The RAMS might as well have made a neon sign or tweet that said to the Patriots, we are wimps, we have no backbone. We are hoping to get a backbone during the game, but we have no backbone at the moment.
Football advice would say, defer the ball. An outside mirror trying to help you identify and communicate your value as an equal to the GOAT, would say take that ball and march it down the field.
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ASK LESLIE
Stay on Your Cutting Edge
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Are you a step ahead of your team or step behind your team? Whether in the round pen or in life, it is always about the right message, at the right time, from the right place. Come to the round pen and experience one-on-one coaching from a horse!
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Insights from Dead Presidents+ Boot Camp
Whether you are as Frank Sinatra crooned; a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet, a pawn or a king: you can learn lessons from the most famous speakers in history.
Here are a few:
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1. Gettysburg Address
We all know the Gettysburg Address is famous. We may not know why. As you may have heard me say, the magic is in the why. If we don’t why the speech that began four score and seven years ago is still remembered and held in high esteem then we can’t understand and/or replicate its strengths seven score and sixteen years later.
Think about how the address started, four score and seven years ago. Lincoln could have just said 87 years ago, but he didn’t. Because he didn’t, we continue to quote it 156 years later.
Lesson Learned:
Lincoln was actually not even the key note speaker at Gettysburg. The keynoter spoke for two hours, Lincoln spoke for alittle over two minutes. At 270 words the address was concise, simple and eloquent.
Can you implement those big three?
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2. The Torch is Passed
JFK tasked his speechwriter with studying every inaugural speech that had ever been given and the Gettysburg Address. He wanted to know what had worked in the past and why a speech had been remembered. JFK’s inauguration speech included some lines that live 50 years later:
the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans ... we shall pay any price, bear any burden ... ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country
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Lesson Learned:
Three things made JFK’s Inaugural Address a stand-out. One, the imagery that Ted Sorenson wrote, and JFK used in the speech. Two, parts of it are lyrical in nature and were delivered in a poetic manner which makes them easier to remember and repeat. Three, it was brief. At least brief for an inaugural address. President Obama’s first address was five minutes longer and that was considered short! And JFK worked with a “speech coach” to nail the rhythm and cadence of the speech.
Can you benefit from a coach?
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3. Fear Itself
Eighty years after its delivery, FDR’s first inaugural speech is often referred to as one of the greatest speeches of its kind: the Inaugural Address. The speech is often known for its one gripping line,
“We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”
FDR’s predecessor, Herbert Hoover, had argued many times that the Depression was as much a state of mind as a financial situation. Hoover did not have Roosevelt’s elegant turn of phrase and oratorical skills.
it is important to note that most of the speech was written not by the president-elect, but by Columbia University Law professor Raymond Moley. FYI Moley became a conservative Republican and one of Roosevelt’s staunchest critics.
Lesson Learned:
Roosevelt’s delivery was masterful, and the speech’s most famous phrase, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself,” was his own invention. A lesson to be learned is the value of collaboration on a speech. JFK used a speech coach for cadence and a lower voice pitch, FDR for words and thoughts.
How can you benefit from collaboration?
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4. RFK - The Art of Answering a Question
In many ways Robert Kennedy’s assassination had more of a negative impact on our world than his brother’s assassination. JFK left us the footprint from part of a presidency. RFK left us unfulfilled dreams and hope. He was maybe 5’9 and maybe 150 pounds, but Robert Francis Kennedy was fearless. He handled questions and answers more effectively than I have ever observed any speaker in any location on any topic. (Click his picture to watch
Robert F. Kennedy's speech at Columbia University).
Lesson Learned:
He stood there holding the microphone with no podium, nothing between the speaker and audience. Just this guy in a suit that looks too big, standing there not flinching: not a hair, not a twitch of the eye, not a stammer. Just looking the questioner directly in the eye and explaining his perspective.
Can you stand there and defend your position?
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5. A Speech on the Fly
One reason I was inspired to create my Dead President’s+ Boot Camp was of course the plus one in the title, MLK. I have always wanted to take a deep dive into what made MLK effective, especially the mis-named I Have a Dream speech. The speech ended up being a combination of two different speeches. In communication we say your goal is not to be perfect, your goal is to be effective.
MLK’s iconic I Have A Dream speech was far from perfect. But it was effective. One thing that made the speech less than perfect was when and how he exited the podium. He turned and backed away from the podium while he was still talking.
Lesson Learned:
If there are sins in speaking, leaving the podium while talking is one of them. Half-way through the speech MLK left the prepared text, another sin. His eye contact in the first half of the speech, sin-like. He succeeded in spite of his sins,
can you?
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Leslie in Person
February 21 & March 20 - Communicate Your Value to Akron Public School Students
March 11 - Communicate Your Confidence to Akron Public Schoolteachers
March 27 - Leadership Toolkit, Women’s Network
Forum 360 with Leslie as Moderator
Upcoming Shows:
Jewish Akron
Guest: Todd Polikoff, CEO Jewish Community Board
Self Esteem for Teen Age Girls
Guest: Rachel Whitehawk Day
Watch/ Listen to Forum 360:
Western Reserve Public Media, PBS-TV, PBS Fusion Channels 45 & 49 (Time Warner channel 993) - Mondays at 8 pm and Saturdays at 5:00 pm. After the show airs, you can download it
here.
WONE FM 97.5 Sunday 6 am
WAKR AM 1590 Sunday, 5:00 pm, Monday 12:30 am For online streaming go to
http://akronnewsnow.com/
and click Listen Live.
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We all know that Benji marches to his own drummer. I learned a long time ago that there are no punishments that work for him: no time-outs, no “bad dog." Then there is the “neutral” training approach where you circle your dog away from the problem or sit him through the problem.
Neither work for Benji. So I went back to the training I did with Natcha 6½ years ago. It consists of treat, treat and treat again. With this approach you have to have two hands free at all times and a lot of treats handy. And the catch is that the treats have to be something that has a high enough value that Benji will ignore his worse instincts for them.
Several years ago a company I was working with had an internal contest. The prizes were gifts and experiences that mostly only the men would want to win. One time I spoke for a group that was holding their retreat at a Trout Club. Really a Trout Club! It is like a private golf club for fishing. When I walked in the audience was all men. I inquired about the presence of NO women. The answer I received was that women didn’t want to come to this location. I remember saying, “hold your retreat in the middle of Neiman Marcus and the women will come”.
Whether it is Benji or your team - the reward you offer has to be something your audience places a high value on.
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For your workplace team
Up to 8 members, select your day in the pasture
Early Bird pricing sign up by April 1.
Saturday May 11
Our young people are going to have more opportunities to be visible and change the world, than any other generation has ever had.
*Email us at
[email protected]
for further information or to RSVP to one of our events.
Ask me about my 10 in 10!
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