Laura Sicola - Speaking to Influence: Mastering Your Leadership Voice

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Copyright 2019 by Laura Sicola

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Publisher: Jesse Krieger

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ISBN: 9781948787321

Dr. Sicola reminds us that if we want to lead, we must focus every day on the how and the what of communicating. Speaking to Influence is a must-read for anyone serious about making an impact and a difference.

Christopher Caine, President and CEO, Mercator XXI, LLC

Ive watched Laura work and prepare clients for media appearances on camera, on stage, and in the boardroom, and I can tell you the skills and principles she teaches make all the difference.

Lu Ann Cahn, 8-time Emmy-award-winning journalist, professional speaker, author, Director of Career Services, Klein College of Media and Communication at Temple University

Speaking to Influence spoke volumes to me. I could not help thinking about our need to navigate our complex world, work, and everyday lives. Influencing is a large part of what we do every day. Speaking to Influence is the go-to book for anyone who desires to control what can be controlled and to influence what cannot.

Angelo Valletta, President and CEO - The Catholic Foundation of Greater Philadelphia

We consistently rely on Lauras expertise to improve the leadership communication skills of our Fellows. She never disappoints. Our Fellows leave prepared to communicate clearly and effectively in their roles around the world. Speaking to Influence is a great resource for anyone who wants easy access to her guidance right at their fingertips.

Tamara Fleming, EdD, Executive Director, Longwood Fellows Program, Longwood Gardens

Dr. Laura Sicola has been a guest on my show a number of times, and with each visit you can see why Fortune 500 companies call upon her to teach their executives how to become more effective leaders. She practices everything she preaches. Dr. Sicolas new book Speaking to Influence: Mastering Your Leadership Voice gives you all the tools you need to be on top of your game.

Gary Alan, Host of The Express radio show

To my sons, Thomas and Dante. May they grow to be examples of the kind of inspirational leadership necessary to make the world a better place.

Image consultants often say that people make their initial judgment of you within the first seven seconds of meeting you. I say the next seven seconds matter even more, because thats when you open your mouth and prove whether or not their first instinct was correct.

In that direction, the Cat said, waving its right paw round, lives a Hatter: and in that direction, waving the other paw, lives a March Hare. Visit either you like: Theyre both mad.
But I dont want to go among mad people, Alice remarked.
Oh, you cant help that, said the Cat: were all mad here. Im mad.
Youre mad.
How do you know Im mad? said Alice.
You must be, said the Cat, or you wouldnt have come here.
Lewis Carroll. Alices Adventures in Wonderland.

One of the most maddening experiences is when you make a seemingly simple point in conversation, only to have it escalate into a mind-boggling maze of misinterpretations, clarifications, ruffled feathers, debate, embarrassment, circular arguments, or worse. Perhaps equally frustrating is to make a great point, only to have it fall on deaf ears. It gets glossed over, as if you had never said it in the first placeor worse, the response is as if you werent even there in the room. Either way, you know that you are not making the impact you want to make, if you are indeed making any impact at all.

Its during these moments that your instinctive reflex is to blame the other person, and ask yourself, Whats wrong with them? Why dont they understand what I mean? Why cant they see that Im right, how important this issue is, and how great my idea is?

Its easy to feel like youve entered some fictional world like Lewis Carrolls Wonderland, where everyone is mad (in the sense of crazy, not angryalthough thats often the case as well). And once youve had enough of these conversations, you may start to believe that the Cats final assessment might be right after all: you must be mad too, otherwise, why would your conversations keep following the same patterns?

Thats why, in attempt to keep a bit of humor within the context of discussing an incredibly important topicinfluential leadership communicationeach chapter in this book begins with a quotation from Carrolls Alices Adventures in Wonderland or Through the Looking Glass. Carrolls masterful word play allows his characters to unabashedly and unapologetically break all sorts of rules regarding everything from simple manners and social etiquette to sports matches and courtroom procedures.

In reading the stories in general and the selected quotes in particular, its easy to appreciate the cleverness in the way the Mad Hatter, the Caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat, and others twist Alices words around and challenge her assumptions about what is normal, good, and right. It can be rather sobering, however, when similarly unprovoked challenges come our way.

With that, I invite you to join me and take a tumble down the dark rabbit hole as we explore what creates that sense of madness when we interact with others, regardless of the context. While I cant promise that youll wake up to realize it was all a dream, as Alice did, I can promise to share with you the tools necessary to help you make sense of the madness and find your way to the clarity of daylight.

There are so many people without whose help and support this book would not have been possible. As I initially sat to write this, a fleeting concern was that some of it would sound repetitive, like the acknowledgements Ive made in earlier works. Then I realized how beautiful that is: to have a core group of people who continue to inspire, love, and support me, in addition to the wonderful new additions who have more recently entered my life. It is an honor and a pleasure to recognize them here.