Transformational Leaders

Question 3
Leaders want their audiences to perceive positive ethos in their tone, to see them as
confident, and to trust and believe them. For transformational leaders, it is crucial to
know how to use the best “Tone and Style” for concise, direct, and memorable impact.
Please give your advices or guidelines on how leaders can achieve this objective. Do not
hesitate to use example if necessary.
Answer :

Delivering tone and confidence when we speak and writing is about expertise in our
knowledge of the subject and our ability to deliver content with the right words used in the
right way. The tone or what the reader receives is perceived as our attitude towards them or
towards the subject. This can influence the success of our message and inspire others to
believe in our message and vision.

We need to have confidence and confidence when we speak and write. This is, of
course, not only in terms of hard skills (our knowledge of a subject) but also about our ability
to elaborate on the right words to use. The words we choose to combine in sentences will
form a pattern as a characteristic or tone and style. Through this, we can influence the
audience about the context of the communication we convey. For transformational leaders,
the use of sentences that positively impact will be crucial in forming a good tone and style. In
the next discussion, we will provide an example like the one below to compare if the word
written or articulated becomes part of our tone and style.

According to Deborah Barrett, here are some guidelines for creating a positive ethos
in writing and speaking to achieve a leader's goals; 1) Pay attention to good leadership
communication models, but be careful in imitating other people's styles. Develop and
maintain your own voice. 2) Read what you write aloud to hear the sound, and if something
is particularly sensitive, ask others what they think before you send it. 3) Never send
anything when you are angry or upset. This guide is especially applicable to instant
communication channels, such as e-mail, text, and tweets. 4) Be careful in using complex
language or "thesaurus" look up the word in the thesaurus and use it because it is a "big"
word, whereas simple is better. 5) At the same time, be careful when using shortened words
and phrases. "LOL" may be understood in general terms today but is not suitable for use in
professional texts or emails. Remember, abbreviations can mean different things to different
people in different cultures or contexts. 6) Use strong verbs and avoid passive voice unless
you have a specific reason for using them. 7) Choose positive constructs over negative
constructs whenever possible. 8) Avoid using too many modifiers or empty words, such as
"sort," "type," "maybe," "thing," or too many "ly" words in particular. 9) Be careful when
using qualifications, such as "in my opinion," "I think," "I believe," "I can," and "I feel." 10)
Remove fillers, such as "like," "you know," "uh," and "um" from your speech. 11) Avoid
"speaking frankly," making statements sound like questions. 12) Be careful with the use of
jargon. Use it only when it's the best way to say what you want to say, and when you know
for sure, your audience will understand.

As an example, the company decided that there would be a layoff for its employees.
The following online mail or email is a notification for employee layoffs:

The email in the example above looks harsh and very inhuman. Several things can be
improved from the sentence structure, such as:

● Don’t write, “We did everything we could to avoid taking this step,” Such language,
paired with a layoff announcement, can feed employees' angry cynicism and
encourage them to strike back in court.
● Instead, write, “We are sorry to have to inform you that you will be laid off from
your (name of position or title) with (name of department) at (time and date).” Show
empathy without superfluous sugarcoating. Example: “We appreciate the work you’ve
done.”

Apart from the examples above, we actually have the option to express how our own
tone & style is. This can be started by asking ourselves some questions like whatever we
write and talk about should reflect the ethos we will project from ourselves, whether it will
look too formal and stiff, whether it is too passive or too relaxed. Tone & style as a
professional in communicating greatly influences when and where (situational) the speech or
writing is given.

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 In today's professional environment, various communication media make the delivery
of information more complex. For example, emails often appear indirect and disguise our
personalities. The choice of words and sentences will again determine the tone & style of the
message's delivery. This determination will show that the leader has made effective
communication. Also, the media and messages conveyed are closely related, with the media
greatly influencing how our audience perceives the tone and intent of the message to be
conveyed. Before starting a speech and finishing writing, at least we should be able to see and
analyze the drafts we have made. Indeed, more practice and practice will make a big
difference when communicating in communication. Besides that, we need to know how other
people perceive the language we use and the tone of the tone we speak. The more we can
anticipate audience responses and hear how we speak to others, the more able we will control
tone & style and use it to influence our audience. Being aware of our tone & style brings us
one step closer to developing our leadership style and positive ethos.

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Question 4
Leaders need to become comfortable and confident in all kinds of presentation
situations so that they project a positive ethos for themselves and their organizations.
They need to apply a sound strategy and structure communication as well as an
effective language for their presentation. Your group is asked to give some guidelines on
to plan a presentation strategy in terms of context, purpose, audience, timing and
feedback to attain the above objective. (Assuming the presentation is about a Business
Presentation and will be executed by a small group of people between 3 to 5 members
presented to the executive forum in a room with capacity of 150 people.)
Answer :

Just as there are strategies for communication in or drafting the previously discussed
speech and writing materials, we must also deliver a good presentation. This needs to be done
to understand the context and explain our goals to the audience. During the presentation,
several things must be considered. First, the scope of the presentation that we will do. In this
case, it is assumed that there is a business presentation and is conducted by 3 to 5 people, and
the audience is an executive with a room capacity of 150 people. Under these conditions, we
consider that the preferred presentation method is a stand-up presentation with computer
projection. The presentation method has the advantage of being able to provide comfort in
conveying messages; it can also provide visual display support to be able to support the
message and meaning of what is being conveyed and can attract audiences both those who
like oral and visual presentations. However, this method also has drawbacks. It depends on
the technology to be used (computers, presentation tools such as pointers, even the speaker
microphones used). Sometimes, it takes several plans considering the unpredictable
conditions and 150 people in one room. Will make it difficult to maintain the focus of the
audience when delivering the presentation. To make it easier for the examples to be provided,
we decided on the presentation theme, which is about "COVID-19 Impact on Indonesia
Economic Outlook".

The following are some of the arrangements in the planning that will be presented:

Context
We first need to consider the context of our presentation. Because executives will
attend, it is necessary to consider whether the latest things in the stock market, some of the
latest government regulations, economic issues, and the position of the trade balance in
Indonesia. This is an important matter to form a stimulus from our audience so that it is

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interesting to hear. When delivering the main idea, the right discussion is about the risk
forecast for Indonesia's economic performance at the end of 2020 and 2021, which is
supported by how the market will remain stable and the potential for regulation from the
government that will be implemented later. The more we can relate our presentation to what's
on the audience's mind, the easier it will grab their attention and build a relationship with
them.

Purpose
We also need to set clear goals. What is most important for us to achieve in the
presentation? What do we want our audience to do in response to what we say? These
questions will lead us logically into our audience analysis. In the example presentation theme
above, the main objective is to tell executives that the Indonesian economy will remain under
control despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to focus on developing their
businesses amid the pandemic.

Audience
The more we know about our audience, the easier it will be to present it to them. At a
minimum, for any presentation, a presenter should be able to answer the following questions:

1. What is my main objective in delivering this presentation to this audience?

With the main aim of convincing these executives to keep operating to move the
wheels of the economy in Indonesia and maintain their health protocols, it would be
perfect for giving some of these key points during the presentation repeatedly.

2. Who is my main audience? Will any secondary audience be affected by what I say?
The executives will certainly not act alone. This secondary audience can also be
anticipated by providing short, straightforward, and clear material. If the audience
gets handouts or insights from what we convey, it can minimize any disinformation
that occurs later.

3. What motivates the audience to attend or participate, and how do I motivate them to
listen to me?
These executives attended the presentation because they expected some inputs to be
applied directly to their current work. Some of the things we emphasize in inserting
leadership in delivering presentation materials in the form of data and facts are as
follows:

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 a. In a pandemic like this too, a company must be able to protect its leaders so
that it can have a positive impact so that it can impact employees as a whole.
Leadership itself is a way for a leader to seek voluntary participation from
those around him through his social influence to achieve the organization's
goals. Companies at critical times like this need effective leaders who have
intelligence (this is usually related to effective communication, smart decision
making, and translating the organization's vision and mission well),
dominance (dominating in terms of being reliable, decision-maker,
responsible, and able to act and direct), self-confident (good self-confidence
will be able to influence other people to act, persuade and persuade others),
level of energy and activity (usual leaders have energy and activity
characteristics which affect not only oneself but also those around him) and
also task-relevant knowledge (an effective leader can be relied on in carrying
out the tasks he assigns well because he has good knowledge of the task).
b. Also, at a time like this pandemic, leaders must be able to adjust themselves
through situational theory, where the effectiveness of a leader's style and
behavior greatly depends on the situation they are facing at this time, which in
essence must be relevant. Leaders must also have control as described by
Fiedler's Contingency Model, namely leader-member relations (the extent to
which the leader has support, loyalty, and trust from the workgroup), task
structure (related to the number of structures contained in the tasks performed
by the group. work) and position power (the extent to which the leader has the
formal power to reward, punish, or get obedience from employees).

So the executives who were present could understand what they had to do in terms of
hard skills (such as efficiency, humanism, and moving the wheels of the economy)
and the soft skills side in dealing with situations like this.

4. What do I expect from the audience after hearing my presentation?

Of course, we will conduct an initial survey (pre-test survey, on what expectations
they want to receive) and at the end (post-test, is it by what they want to receive).

5. What do I expect from their feelings?

Relaxation, enjoyment, and developing themselves as executives can encourage all
sides to encourage their optimism in facing crises like today.

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Time Setting/ Timing
We also need to consider the timing of the presentation. If, for example, we are
presenting right after lunch, we may find it more difficult for our audience to engage. If we're
the first in the morning, we may need to deal with being late. If it's the end of the day, the
audience's attention will probably stop working for the day. For this reason, in delivering
materials such as the examples we provide, we think that morning is the right time. We
recommend a time that is not too early, which is 10 a.m. to 12 p.m or before lunch break.

Feedback
Where possible, we should think about ways to get feedback to measure our success
in reaching our audience with our message and make adjustments in our choice of media,
presentation style, or content if necessary. Therefore, we will do a final survey regarding
measuring the delivery satisfaction level from the material we convey. If we come face to
face with our audience, we should know from their reactions how they received our message,
but getting more structured input may be important.

Tips for Giving Effective Presentations

When it comes time to present, we need to concentrate on our delivery style, focusing
primarily on our eye contact, direct if attitude and body posture, articulation, and overall
appearance. This can be a concern if you want to appear comfortable, confident, enthusiastic,
and professional. Since our presentation's success will largely be determined by how our
audience perceives us from the start, we must be prepared to build our expertise and value to
our audience immediately and maintain that positive ethos as a whole. Here are some tips for
giving an effective presentation:

Control Our Nervousness

Public speaking is often cited as one of humanity's greatest fears, and everyone has
advice on how to deal with nervousness when making presentations, from practicing some
deep breathing yoga exercises to pretending that everyone in the room isn't there. The advice
that is often given to professional athletes before they perform is to visualize their success.
We all have to find what is best for us. The most important method of dealing with our
nervousness is to be well prepared. If we know our subjects, tell our stories, and are prepared
to face whatever situations that might happen to us, we won't be nervous. Sometimes it helps
to take deep breaths and think of something nice. We need to be able to appear naturally

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ourselves, to be ourselves. Most importantly, we need to focus on the audience and not on
ourselves.

Making Eye Contact

When effective leaders deliver live presentations, they connect with everyone present.
If we are in the same room with them, we feel like they are personally talking. They do this
by looking at a different person in the audience for a few seconds and actually making eye
contact with the audience. However, we need to be sensitive to cultural differences since
some cultures consider looking someone directly in the eye to be impolite or offensive. Our
eye contact may be glancing and indirect.

Pay Attention to Posture and Gestures

Our posture reflects our attitude towards our subject and audience and expresses our
confidence. A person lowering their head with their shoulders slumped would seem unsure of
what they were carrying. To project confidence and build a positive ethos, presenters must
stand tall and pay attention to their audience. Usually, live presenters want to take an open
position with their feet shoulder-width apart. It aims to maintain a comfortable and relaxed
attitude. Also, try to position your hands as you would in a casual conversation, although if
we tend to move them too much, we may need to hold back more when giving presentations.
Usually, people look and feel most naturally when they bend their arms, keeping their elbows
at their sides when standing and while sitting, although they usually want to rest their hands
on the table in front of them. We should avoid pointing or gesturing at the projected slide.
Instead, we should use the PowerPoint features to highlight the areas of the slide we want our
audience to focus on. If we find ourselves in a situation that requires a screenshot, we must be
careful not to look away. Instead, we should step back even with the screen, face the
audience, and beckon our side. If delivering a stand-up presentation in person, where possible
and appropriate, it is best to get out from behind the podium, table, or desk. This creates a
barrier between us and our audience, and building a good relationship with them will be
easier if we remove that barrier. Usually, we don't need to stand in one place unless the
room's space is limited, or our movement can make the audience uncomfortable. If the
presentation is taking place in a large room, we may need to walk toward the audience and
perhaps even from one side of the room to the other to connect with the entire audience.
Some gestures to avoid:

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 1. Bending down or engaging in a similar informal posture.
2. Lean to one side, on the arm of our chair, for example, or if you stand, tilt your body
to one side.
3. Too pacing or walking around the room.
4. Grasping hands in front or behind.
5. Stand with your hands on your hips.
6. Grasping the podium or table until our knuckles turn white.
7. Gesturing too much or when it is inappropriate or natural.
8. Fidget with keys, pens, pointers, ties, and the like.
9. Shake or shift in our seats or when standing.
10. Lean on the podium or sit on a table in a live presentation.

Voice and Speech Patterns

The key to changing our speech patterns is knowing what we are doing now, and
recording it ahead of time is the best way to find out. Effective leaders speak clearly so that
their audience can understand them. They control and vary the volume. They pause between
sentences and use little, if any, filler. They sound confident, which comes from making
statements and avoiding "blunt talk," an inflection that occurs when we emphasize the last
word of a sentence, as we do when asking a question. The following are tips for maintaining
the quality of sound and speech patterns in the delivery of our presentations:

1. In person, speak to the last line in the audience, but naturally, turn up the volume. If
we have to strain to be heard, then we need to use a microphone.
2. Articulate clearly, making sure to pronounce very important syllables, especially the
last one.
3. Don't talk too fast. Build breaks between main ideas and be careful not to carry on
ideas together.
4. Vary rhythm and pitch appropriately to avoid sounding monotonous. Our voice
should reflect the enthusiasm we feel for the topic and the energy it generates.
Relaxing facial muscles and smiling will often help.
5. Avoid words that tend to cause pronunciation problems or practice them until you can
pronounce them perfectly 10 times in a row.

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Tips for Delivering Presentations Effectively with Visual Assistance:

1. Maintain eye contact: We should look at our audience or the camera, not at our tablet
or laptop or the projection screen. In most presentations, our delivery should continue
as if nothing was projected beside us, behind us, or in front of us.
2. Sound: We must be careful to maintain the volume. Presenters tend to let their voices
fade as they move to change slides. We have to finish our thinking on this slide and
finish our introduction on the next slide; then, pause talking for a bit and move on to
the slide we just introduced.
3. Transitions: The presenter wants to make the transition from slide to slide as smooth
as possible. One technique is to introduce each slide before presenting it. Most
presenters wait for a slide to appear and then start talking about it as if they didn't
know what was coming until they saw it. We should introduce the topic for a much
more effective transition, which should be "so what?" or the next slide's main message
before it appears.
4. Timing: We have to practice with our slides to ensure we don't have too much for our
allotted time. The rule of thumb is to allow at least two to three minutes per slide. We
must be careful to give our audience time to absorb complex graphic information and
be prepared to guide our audience through that information if necessary.
5. Technology: If possible, we should always check the technology first and make sure
we know how to use it and that everything is working properly.

Handling Q&A
It's not uncommon for presenters to spend more time preparing for the Q&A session
than on the presentation itself. Effective Q&A handling requires careful preparation, careful
listening, and the humility of saying, "I don't know, but I'll find it for you." Leaders organize
Q&A sessions prepared, even too prepared, especially for difficult questions. They anticipate
all questions and prepare answers just in case. They also practice controlling the topic and
themselves. During the team presentation, all participants have to make a plan, determining
who will answer what types of questions. If it is a formal presentation, team members should
position themselves at the end of the presentation to indicate which members are ready to
answer. During the question and answer session, the following tips will help you manage
your audience:

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 1. Determine and announce the timing of the questions before starting the presentation.
If giving a virtual presentation, consider having the moderator collect questions
during the presentation, and use those questions to start a Q&A session.
2. Listen to the questions carefully.
3. Repeat the question or paraphrase to make sure you understand it so your audience
can hear it. This technique also takes time to formulate answers.
4. Keep answers short and simple: Answer specific questions; then stopped. Avoid
talking for too long or intersecting.
5. Don't try to trick your way through an answer. Better to say politely, "I'm not sure I
have an answer to that question at this time, but I'll find out for you."
6. When you're face to face, move away from the questioner who is trying to isolate you
in a two-way conversation, so you break eye contact with him and reconnect with the
rest of the room.
7. Address difficult or multilayer questions by answering them as completely as possible
and in question order, but be prepared to say, "I would love to go into this question in
more detail after the presentation."
8. Remember to repeat the main message after the Q&A so you can control how it ends.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barrett, D.J. (2014). Leadership Communication, 4th Edition. McGraw Hill International
Edition.
Munter, Mary. Guide to Managerial Communication, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall,
Inc.

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