or to extract something useful, whether that is a confession or business data.” Pope explained that AI can measure pitch changes,


speech rate, and vocal tremors because when someone is nervous, their muscles tense, including the vocal cords, which creates micro-tremors detectable at 20 microseconds. “From a management standpoint, it’s very im-


portant for them to convey their message in the most confident, compelling way possible, because inves-


“You should know where the questions are coming from; understand and anticipate what the market is likely to ask and prepare to answer those questions, ideally with numbers...”


tors view confidence as competence,” Pope noted. “Tere are numerous examples of two companies delivering the same bad news, and one stock craters and the other goes sideways. So, the way we deliver messages is very important.”


The Confident Executive A way to show confidence is to be fluid in your move- ments, Dr. Maroño recommended. “It’s very easy to spot an executive who lacks confidence, because you can see signs of distress,” she said. “Someone who is confident simply lacks signs of distress.” She added that people calm down by rubbing their


hands together, touching their face, or twiddling with their hair. Tey do this because there are numerous nerve endings in the fingertips, and when they touch their face or hair with their fingers, the signals sent to the brain quickly help them calm down.


2 2 FA LL 20 2 5 ■ IR UPDAT E


“If you want to appear confident, the first step is to


reduce those visible anxious behaviors,” Dr. Maroño said. “Confident people look like they’re moving through water. Teir movements are very fluid and relaxed, and when standing, their limbs hang slightly away from their torso to avoid appearing confining.” “We analyze every sentence because context is


everything, and we measure speech rate, breath rate, vocal tremors, all the different ways we can break down the energy emitted by the executive’s voice,” Pope explained. “We want to know when the executive is confident and when they’re nervous and how that ties back to what they’re talking about at that moment.” One important way executives can appear more


confident is to slow down, as they often talk too quickly, adds Pope. “Most CEOs talk at approximately 180 words per


minute or more, when they should be in the range of 140 to 150 words,” Pope noted. “When they speak quickly, they can make mistakes, use a lot of ‘ahs’ and ‘ums,’ repetition, other disfluencies, and get off topic, so slow them down.” Pope says his second tip to a more confident,


public-speaking CEO is to preempt the questions. “You should know where the questions are coming


from; understand and anticipate what the market is likely to ask and prepare to answer those questions, ideally with numbers,” advises Pope. “If the executive can field a tough question and give a solid, well- thought-out response with concrete numbers, they come across as credible.”


Video With a Smile “Everything in your environment says something about you on a video call,” Dr. Maroño said. “Te way your CEO is dressed and the chosen


background is communicating what’s important to them, and what their personality is like,” she explained. “Meanwhile, the audience is looking to see who the person is, what is important to them, and if they are trustworthy. Your background says something about you.” Dr. Maroño points out that people now have


fake screens that can be very distracting because they diminish the power of nonverbal communica- tion. Her advice is to consider what the background


ni ri .org/ irupdate


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31