This week on Earned, Brit Starr sits down with Tim Fortescue, Executive Communication Coach for Global Leaders and Teams.
A high school basketball coach turned sought-after advisor transforming communication strategies at major companies, Tim shares invaluable strategies for overcoming nerves and imposter syndrome through genuine expression.
To start, we dive into Tim’s journey, from his early days as a high school basketball coach to his current status as a sought-after advisor for leaders at companies like L'Oreal, Intel, and Google. Tim's path was shaped by a serendipitous encounter at a public speaking workshop, leading to the creation of his business, 40 Watt Coaching. In his conversation with Brit, Tim unveils the profound impact of authenticity and storytelling in leadership communication. He shares insights into overcoming nerves and imposter syndrome, emphasizing the importance of adapting messages to diverse audiences while leveraging one's innate strengths to build confidence. Tim delves into the interconnectedness of communication and leadership, highlighting how effective storytelling can connect teams like nothing else. Listeners will discover practical strategies for enhancing their communication skills, whether navigating company mergers or addressing the unique demands of remote work. To close the episode, Tim dives into the art of leveraging both left- and right-brain communication strategies to connect authentically and effectively.
Check out highlights from the episode below, or or tune into the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen!
The following interview has been lightly edited for concision.
Brit Starr: We talked about being authentic and really understanding where your audience is. Meeting them where they are, and using constructs like why, what, how, in order to do that. Anything else that we missed in terms of the approach you bring to your customers that we can keep in mind today?
Tim Fortescue: I know there's much, much more. The main things I teach when I teach a course are the what, why, how framework with left and right brain. That's the basis for everything else I expand into. From there it's stuff like being a better, more active listener. How do I take this framework and then drive alignment within my company with it? I do teach some actual presentation skills where you get up and have the executive presence. Generally, what we've talked about here is the heart of what I teach. It's also what makes my business different. What I find in my industry is, if someone wants to be a better communicator, either through their work or just personally, there are resources available that teach you how to be a better public speaker. There's Toastmasters, there's masterclasses, there are workshops. There are companies that do a fantastic job. I used to work for one of them, and I used to teach those courses.
But most of what we do in our daily lives is not what most people would consider public speaking. 99% of our communication, at least for some of us, is one-on-one conversations. It's meetings with small groups of people and that's it. There might be these moments where you're in front of a larger audience, but those might be once a quarter, once a year, depending on your role. If you're a senior leader, maybe it's every day or most days, but even still, in those situations most of your communication is smaller, it's informal.
So, given that we've got this wealth of resources for how to be a better public speaker, if you put in the time you can do it. If that's the path you want to travel, I would take those insights and then translate it to, ‘how I can do this in most of my conversations or in my smaller meetings?’
Then with the frameworks that I created, I think they hit those 95% moments a lot more effectively When I have an idea that's kind of complicated, or I have an idea that I want to get my colleagues on board with, or I need to get them on board with it, have I answered the what, the why and the how? Have I spoken with the left and right brain, not just one or the other? If I've done those things and I've done it off the cuff, I generally had these things mapped out—I kind of thought through the answers to those questions, and then applied the left and right brain frameworks. I did it in two minutes, so it's not like we have all this extra time to sit and craft all this stuff, but if you can even pause and think through those things before you go communicate about something, that's what I think makes the big difference, and that's what I do.
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