Beth Noymer Levine - Jock Talk: 5 Communication Principles for Leaders as Exemplified by Legends of the Sports World

Published by Greenleaf Book Group Press

Austin, Texas

www.gbgpress.com

Copyright 2015 SmartMouth Communications, LLC

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Design and composition by Greenleaf Book Group and Debbie Berne

Cover design by Greenleaf Book Group and Debbie Berne

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Ebook ISBN: 978-1-62634-172-2

Ebook Edition

For anyone who wants to raise their game as a presenter or effective communicator, Beth Levines 5 principles are spot-on! Beths broad experience in coaching others coupled with great stories of athletes offers a refreshing set of insights from the field into the boardroom. A great read for all those who want to continue to master their voice and communications impact.

AMY JEN SU, Co-Author, Own the Room: Discover Your Signature Voice to Master Your Leadership Presence

As someone who has to speak publicly on a regular basisbut almost has a phobia of public speakingBeth Levine has given me a sense of confidence in my own style and a focus on how to communicate effectively in a variety of settings. She presents her approaches and principles with humor that continually reminds me of ways to effectively deliver messages.

MAYOR RALPH BECKER, Salt Lake City

Beth simplifies a process that can be very intimidating for many people. Her guidance makes it easy to incorporate key messages when speaking to the media, large groups, or even co-workers on a daily basis.

LINDA LUCHETTI, Executive Vice President of Communications, Utah Jazz

Skill on the field or in the C-suite is no guarantee we can engage an audience or nail a media interview. Beth delivers razor-sharp insight for delivering a message in ones authentic voice. These simple principles work!

DEE BREWER, Marketing Executive, The Taubman Company

Thanks to Beths media communications expertise, the next time I am unexpectedly confronted with a camera and a mic, I feel confident that I will be prepared to present our message with confidence.

SARAH LEHMAN, CEO, Enve Composites

Beth Levine knows her stuff! Shes a communicator, trainer, and connoisseur of the written word. Sit back, relax, and let her take you on a wild ride to find your true voice.

DAVE WENTZ, CEO, USANA Health Sciences

This book is dedicated to my father, Arthur Noymer, an athlete and a gentleman; and to my mother, Barbara Noymer, a prolific communicator.

Thirty years ago I made one of the best business decisions of my career. I hired Beth Noymer Levine.

I had just started work in the worlds largest PR firm, one of twenty-five people devoted full-time to a single Wall Street client. I was a mid-level member of the group, tasked with assembling a small team to promote our clients nascent investment banking business. Beth became part of our five-person investment banking communication team. It was 1985, the go-go years on Wall Streetjust a few years before actor Charlie Sheen captured the pace and possibilities, as well as the consequences of overdoing it, in the film Wall Street. We spent our days at our clients Wall Street offices and trading floor, grazing for news by morning and early afternoon, and speaking with the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and other media by late afternoon, all to earn our client a disproportionate share of voice in the papers.

We were young and brash and somewhat fearless. We began not knowing a thing about Wall Streetin my job interview I had to point out that I didnt know the difference between a stock and a bond. My future boss reassured me, you will. And indeed we learned. And Beth was a star, earning not only our trust but also that of our (sometimes difficult) client and the news media. She was very, very good at it.

After a few years, I left for another firm, and Beth also left for yet another. We reconnected at the end of the decade, when I became head of communication for a large investment bank. I retained Beths firm. Beth became my advisor, and I discovered that she had assembled her own team of young, brash, and talented investment banking communicators.

A couple of years later I had begun teaching investor relations and financial communication at New York Universitys Marketing & Management Institute. They asked me to teach another course, so I needed to hand off Investor Relations. I could think of only one person to take over the course: Beth. She joined the NYU faculty and taught brilliantly for the next several years. Then her career led her to Atlanta, where she became head of corporate communications for a large bankone that eventually would become part of Bank of America.

And then we went our separate ways. Beth started her own consulting practice and got involved in the world of Olympic and professional sports in addition to the corporate world. I spent the next twenty years building a crisis and leadership coaching practice, with a heavy emphasis on Wall Street, healthcare, and the military.

We reconnected over coffee in New York when she came to meet with people about her book ideawhat became the book you are holding in your hands. And we discovered that we were each working on similar booksbooks on how to lead, build trust, and inspire loyalty through effective communication. Only I was doing it through the metaphor of military strategy, she through sports. We didnt really compare notes. But we agreed to stay in touch.

My book came out in mid-2012; Beth read it only after she had finished writing hers. Butperhaps not surprisinglythe two books are completely aligned. We come at things from different directions and use different vocabulary. But were fellow travelers, applying and interpreting the same principles in ways we have found to work for our clients. And why not? We came of age together, discovering the hard way what works and what doesnt. One small example: Beths First Principle is audience-centricity. My books Second Principle is that you cant move people unless you meet them where they are. Same idea. But hers also embodies her Fourth Principle: Brevity.

I was honored and humbled when Beth asked me to write this foreword. I devoured her book. It is brilliant. It is witty. And it works. I know that after youve read the book, and taken to heart Beths principles and techniques, you will become a more effective communicator, and therefore a more effective leader.

Beth and I agree on this: If you cannot communicate effectively, you will not lead. Whether youre an athlete, a candidate for political office, a business executive, or just someone trying to build a career, you will benefit mightily from Jock Talks approach.

Onward

Helio Fred Garcia

New York City, December 2014

Helio Fred Garcia is Executive Director of Logos Institute for Crisis Management & Executive Leadership and an Adjunct Associate Professor of Management and Communication at New York University. He is author of, among other books, The Power of Communication: Skills to Build Trust, Inspire Loyalty, and Lead Effectively