Whoa there Motor Mouth!

Civility opens the door to credibility where it’s not how loud you shout that gives you clout but what your audience thoughtfully hears, critically believes and clearly concedes that ultimately leads. Collaboratively.

With civility, you ratify your right and their right to be heard without vilifying each other for what they heard.

With civility, you defend your point of view without dismissing another’s point of view.

With civility, the most credible speakers are quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger as James writes in the Bible (1:19).

And with civility, leaders anticipate the questions and concerns of the audience to fertilize even more common ground.

That’s why the first step in parlaying your power in speaking like a leader is to strengthen and sharpen your sense of empathy: your ability to participate with others in their ideas and feelings. Then you will argue less and listen more.

Then you will seek a mutually satisfying solutions that balances the needs and concerns of both parties.

That’s why the most effective speaker/leaders seek a compromise based on integrity and anchored around an inherent promise to treat their listeners/followers with dignity and respect.

That PROMISE to others is instructive in the way the most effective leaders earn credibility through civility.

After all, the word PROMISE is clearly prominent in the word compromise.

When you make and keep your promises, your credibility soars on the winds of your civility. Then your voice is heard no matter how loud the shouting.

To help you develop your credibility through civility from the podium and assure that your voice is heard over the shouting, consider purchasing a copy of SPEAKING Like a Leader.

The 298-page book now available on Amazon.com.

SPEAKING Like a Leader is part of the Leadership Mints Series that also includes a book on creativity —THINKING Like a Leader , a 284-page book filled with 77 Leadership Mints and a 300-page book on empathy filled with 77 more Leadership Mints-LOVING Like a Leader.

All three books in The Leadership Mints Series are designed for busy leaders seeking to refresh their feeling for leading in 5-minutes or less — the average reading of a Leadership Mint.

What ‘s a Leadership Mint?

Consumed like a breath mint — quick and on-the-go — a Leadership Mint is a short story that energizes leadership behaviors and personalizes leadership principles so they are more easily remembered, more readily acted upon and more fully applied.