Great leadership and speaking skills don’t guarantee a worthy goal

More good commentary from decency guru Steve Harrison in a Knowledge@Wharton article, and I definitely agree with the Maya Angelou quote, “People will forget what you said, they will even forget what you did, but they will never forget what you made them feel.”It’s especially true when you consider the “aftertaste” of how you felt. The aftertaste is how you feel several days/weeks/months later after rethinking/reliving what was said and done-that is truly what you never forget.

Also in the article is information from public speaking coach Richard Greene. It’s good information on simple things you can do to speak more effectively, particularly the idea to focus on them, them, them, instead of you, you, you.

However, I do have a certain amount of disappointment that all the examples are about positive people, leading one to believe that only those who have positive goals use these speaking skills effectively.

Mr. Green says, when speaking of Martin Luther King, “He had this ability to reach inside his heart and soul and just bring out what was there. What he cared about at every moment was just getting his message across. He wasn’t worrying about how he looked.”

I totally agree, but that statement could also be applied to Hitler.

It is a wise follower who expends energy focusing on the content and avoids being caught up by the oratory and/or charisma.