L03: The Language of Leaders

          

The goal of this chapter is to help you create a positive ethos through the effective use of language the use of the right words in the right way to achieve the outcome you intend. You reveal your ethos through the language you use. If you are unsure and lack confidence in your writing or speaking abilities, your choice of words, your style, and your tone will reveal it. If, on the other hand, you are confident in your ability to use the language of leaders, that confidence will resonate in your words and enhance your influence with all your targeted audiences.

 

In this chapter you will learn to do the following:
1. Achieve a positive ethos through tone and style.
2. Communicate in a style that is clear and concise.
3. Use business language correctly.
4. Employ efficient editing techniques.

Achieving a positive ethos through tone and style. To project a confident tone when you speak and when you write, you need to posses confidence not only in your knowledge on the subject but also in your ability to capture the content in the right words used in the right way. You want to sound confident and speak with authority. You want to be clear and crisp in your language yet not sound too harsh or brusque. The words you select and how you decide to combine them in sentences create your style as your tone, and through that tone, they make assumptions about your ethos. The tone, or what your readers perceive as your attitude toward them or toward the subject, influences the success of your message to such a great extent that you must always be aware of its impact.

Creating your writing is an important skill that involves practice and discipline. The key method to creating is proofreading and using computer tools to spell check and make grammar corrections for you. This will make you look professional and well manage.

The employing efficient and effective editing techniques are a very important skill that requires discipline and practice. The more control we have over the use of language, the greater our influence and our ability to achieve the leadership communication.

 

Question

1. How to Communicate Concisely?

To communicate concisely, avoid being redundant and giving out too much information. Focus on what you want to communicate and try to eliminate any unnecessary language. When more is said than is needed, your message can become lost in translation and the receiver may have to make assumptions. Some people will tune you out if you start to ramble. Chose specific, targeted words that help you focus in on your message effectively.

2. What the Successful Writing in Social Media Tips?

There are too many companies out there that don’t know how to write for social media, and these companies don’t see much social networking success. If you want to learn how to write effectively for social media, you need to use the following tips.

Don’t over share. Only push out the content that is the most important for your following to know, and keep the other stuff to yourself.

Don’t under share. You need to generate content on your social networks on a regular basis. Make sure to post regularly so that your audience knows you exist. If you don’t post, you’re not going to have a successful social media strategy.

Don’t sell directly. You should be using social media to establish yourself as an expert and provide valuable information to your audience.

Don’t bore. Make sure you’re providing content that will interest them not just you. And make sure that everything you share via social media contains value. When you share knowledge about your industry that they can use in their own lives that’s interesting.

Don’t go at it blindly. When you plan out your social media efforts, you’ll be able to create the right posts for the right audience that will provide you with your intended results.

3. What about Editing and Proofreading?

Editing is what you begin doing as soon as you finish your first draft. You reread your draft to see, for example, whether the paper is well-organized, the transitions between paragraphs are smooth, and your evidence really backs up your argument. You can edit on several levels.

Proofreading is the final stage of the editing process, focusing on surface errors such as misspellings and mistakes in grammar and punctuation. You should proofread only after you have finished all of your other editing revisions.