This week in the world’s #1 newsletter on leadership communication:
- How Assertive Leaders Speak With Strength
- The Summer You Turned into a Top Communicator
- How to Supercharge your Professional Presence
- Alchemy: The Magic of Original Thinking
How Assertive Leaders Speak With Strength
Last year I worked with a senior leader everyone considered to be nice.
The problem: his peers walked all over him, his team didn’t take him seriously and he risked missing his targets for the year.
For many leaders, it’s their worst nightmare. Better be too assertive than being a doormat – they think.
True, as a leader, you need to be assertive to get things done. But if you are too assertive, your team will disengage and you also won’t get results.
Having helped thousands of leaders become top communicators, I know how hard it is to hit the right level of assertiveness. It is one of the toughest aspects of speaking like a leader.
But assertiveness is a communication skill – not a personality trait.
I compiled these 8 scripts that give you the right level of assertiveness – not too little and not too much.
These alone will help you speak with strength in 80% of your conversations:
1 – Opening a Conversation
❌ “So sorry to bother you.”
✅ “Do you have time now to talk?”
❌ “We need to talk.”
2 – Being Late
❌ “Sorry for being late.”
✅ “Thanks for your patience.”
❌ “I’m here, let’s start.”
3 – The “We Got This” Talk
❌ “I think we can get this done.”
✅ “I’m confident we’ll get this done.”
❌ “Failure is not an option!”
4 – Stating Your Opinion
❌ “I’m probably missing something.”
✅ “Here’s how I see it – tell me if I’m overlooking something.”
❌ “That’s it – let’s move on.”
5 – Asking for Someone’s Opinion
❌ “You probably know better than me.”
✅ “You’re closer to this than I am – what’s your take?”
❌ “This isn’t up for discussion.”
6 – Giving Someone a Task
❌ “Would it maybe be possible to have it ready like end of the week?”
✅ “Please complete this by Friday.”
❌ “Just get it done.”
7 – Handling Feedback
❌“Let’s try to avoid this going forward.”
✅“I need reassurance that this won’t happen again.”
❌“Don’t ever let this happen again.”
8 – Asking for Help
❌“Could you maybe help me with this?”
✅“I need your help with this.”
❌“This can’t wait — let’s go.”
You can get these scripts as a neat one-pager here. (Apologies for the spelling mistake - that’s how you know a human is writing it :)
SPEAK LIKE A CEO ACADEMY
Do you want to work with me over the next 3 months, create your thought leadership talk and become a top 1% communicator?
We’re opening the Speak Like a CEO Academy for a brief period for just 10 new members who want to join by 30 July.
We've packed a ton of value into the next 3 months, including 12 live coaching sessions with me: 3 to create your thought leadership talk, followed by our 9-week program to help you become a Top 1% communicator.
You can check the details and enroll on the Academy home page.
Once the 10 seats are filled, we will close enrollment again because we want to keep the group small so everyone succeeds. To be completely transparent, when we open again, the price will go up for new members, so now is a great time to join.
Hope to see you inside!
PODCAST
How to Supercharge your Professional Presence
I do a podcast to help you become a 10 out of 10 communicator. Please subscribe.
What makes someone unforgettable in today’s noisy, distracted world? I sit down with Lorraine K. Lee, author of Unforgettable Presence, keynote speaker, LinkedIn Learning instructor with over 300,000 followers, and former editor at LinkedIn.
Lorraine shares her deeply personal and professional journey from being a high-performing, yet overlooked team member at LinkedIn to becoming one of the most in-demand voices on executive presence, virtual communication, and career visibility.
Her transformation didn’t happen overnight – it was fueled by a clear realization: being good at your job isn’t enough if no one notices. You need presence – and that’s a skill anyone can learn.
She introduces listeners to her signature frameworks, including the EPIC Career Brand: Experiences, Personality, Identity, and Community; and the RAVE model for influence: Relationships, Appearance, Visibility, and Expertise.
You’ll learn why micro-behaviors matter more than you think, how to manage your energy like an athlete, and how to leverage LinkedIn not just to go viral, but to build meaningful professional relationships.
Lorraine emphasizes that presence isn’t about being the loudest voice in the room – it’s about being the most intentional.
Listen to the full episode here:
BOOK RECOMMENDATION
Alchemy: The Magic of Original Thinking
My brilliant summer read! Rory Sutherland is an original thinker, advertising legend and non-fungible human being.
Funny as hell and full of wisdom, Alchemy argues that it doesn’t pay to be logical if everyone else is being logical – while getting average results. A good dose of non-sense can set you apart.
Because, in the words of OG adman David Ogilvy, “people don’t think what they feel, they don’t say what they think, and they don’t do what they say.”
That’s because human nature hasn’t changed in millions of years and we simply do not have access to our genuine motivations. Rory’s advice: Test counterintuitive ideas because no one else will.
What’s your brilliant summer read? Hit reply and let me know!
Have an inspired weekend,
Oliver
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