This week in the world’s #1 newsletter on leadership communication:

7 Signs You Are a Weak Speaker
On the Show: Your Hands are Lying
Book Recommendation: Are We Really Surrounded by Idiots?

7 Signs You Are a Weak Speaker

“How good of a speaker am I?” a CFO asked me in a coaching session last week.

To find out, I asked her to open her last presentation and hold it on the spot.

The kicker: I filmed her. Watching herself, she immediately noticed a number of things she wanted to improve – and omg she did.

When watching her final run-through 90 minutes later, she had a killer opening, on-point body language, and a narrative arc to land her message.

That’s the power of self-awareness in leadership communication.

One way to become highly self-aware of your speaking skills is to ask yourself: how many of these 7 signs describe my speaking?

(Add up your score and get your result below.)

1/ You Use Lots of Fillers & Qualifiers

“You know”, “Like”, “Uh, um”.
“Just an idea”, “I think”, “Maybe we should”

Cheat code: Delete qualifiers and replace fillers with pauses – you come across as much more confident.

2/ People Don’t Take Notes

Are people listening without taking notes or screenshots or asking “can we get the slides?” It’s a sign that the audience is bored.

Cheat code: Create surprise moments. Re-engage them every two minutes with humor, stories and audience participation.

3/ You Don’t Answer the “So What?” Question

People don’t care unless you make them care.

Cheat code: “This matters now because…”

4/ You Share No Big Idea – Or Several

Don’t create Frankenideas or leave the audience guessing which of your ideas matters most.

Cheat code: Ask “What is the one thing I want to get across?”

5/ You Don’t Speak in Quotes

Audiences forget almost everything you tell them – unless it’s sticky AF.

Cheat code: Turn your big idea into a sticky soundbite like “Don’t read the room – lead the room.” Use rhyme, melody, surprise. Avoid jargon and clichés.

Yes, this does take some work, but it is what elite communicators do. They don't worry about the small print. They make sure that their one big idea will never be forgotten.

6/ You Don’t Start with a Structure

Weak speakers have 8-point agendas to fact-tell instead of story-tell.

Cheat code: Start with a plan on a page and use tried-and-tested story structures like “Excite, Disturb, Assure” or “Vision, Commitment, Execution”.

7/ You Don’t Practice Your Delivery

You obsess about slides but never check how you come across.

Cheat code: Rehearse, record, repeat – like it did with the CFO.

Now check your results:

0-2: Congratulations, you are a strong speaker.

3-5: You are on the right track. Keep going.

6-7: Lots of work ahead of you. Just get started by focusing on 1 thing.

If you prefer this as a 1-page cheat sheet, here you go.

ON THE SHOW

I do a weekly show to help you become a top 1% communicator. Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or Youtube.

In the first 10 seconds, people decide if you’re credible – before you even finish your first sentence. That’s because of your body and the subconscious signals you send.

This week on Speak Like a CEO, I’m joined by Mark Bowden – ranked the World’s #1 Communication Keynote Speaker and Body Language Professional.

He shows how the exact same sentence – “Last year we made $5 million in profit” – can sound convincing, exaggerated, suspicious, or like a lie. Nothing changed. Except his hands.

He introduces another provocative idea: The Importance of Being In-Authentic – and explains why intentional behavior, not raw authenticity, is what separates average communicators from the top 1%.

This episode will change how you think about body language, authenticity, and first impressions – I’m giving you a pinky promise with my hand :)

Watch and listen to the full episode here:

BOOK RECOMMENDATION

Are We Really Surrounded by Idiots?

Thomas Erikson’s answer is far more comforting: no — we’re surrounded by people who communicate differently.

There are four types of people in his DISA model:

🔴 Dominant – direct, decisive, results-first.
🟡 Inspiring – enthusiastic, social, idea-driven.
🟢 Stable – calm, loyal, harmony-seeking.
🔵 Analytical – precise, structured, data-focused.

Most leadership teams are heavy on Red (dominant) and Yellow (inspiring). Which means speed, vision, and strong opinions win the day.

But here’s where it gets interesting. If you’re Dominant, you’ll lose a Stable colleague the moment you push change without reassurance.

If you’re Inspiring, you’ll exhaust an Analytical by pitching excitement without evidence (ooops!)

So when leaders label someone “difficult,” what they often mean is: “They don’t respond to my style.”

Strong communicators are aware of this and are able to adapt their communication style to the person rather than expecting the person to adapt to theirs.

Erikson, a Swedish behavioral expert, turned this simple framework into a global bestseller because it’s immediately usable. Surrounded by Idiots has sold over 3 million copies worldwide in 55 languages. Together, his books have sold more than 10 million copies.

For context: most “bestsellers” sell under 100,000 copies. Selling 1 million is elite. Selling 10 million is global phenomenon territory.

And this global phenomenon is joining me on the Speak Like a CEO show next month.

On that note, have an inspired weekend,

Oliver