Recently, I had the I had the privilege of joining some incredible leaders from my EOS™ community to learn from master acting/CEO coach, Michael Allosso. Who would have thought a day spent with an acting coach would be so beneficial?

While I approached the meeting with an open mind having heard some really amazing things about Michael, I didn’t really understand why this would be beneficial to me in my leadership roles but I was curious to explore the concept.

Through our time together, Michael showed us how great actors and leaders are very similar and how the subtle nuances can make all the difference.

Michael had us create a list of the attributes of great actors. We came up with about 20 characteristics that all the best actors possess: authenticity, voice control, use of silence, timing, body language, eye contact, compassion, confidence, memory, ability to connect with audience, preparation/planning, believability, passion, humour, focus, presence, concise, intentional, self-awareness, and emotional intelligence.

Then we were asked to consider the list as it relates to leaders. We were asked to remove any that do not apply to great leaders and communicators. Would you remove any?

Ultimately, we didn’t take a single thing off of the list. That caught my attention.

It’s All About Nuances

Leadership and great communication are full of nuances that have a tremendous impact regardless of their subtlety. Who obsesses over nuances of communications more than actors? Leaders tend to be more, “here I am, this is me, deal with it.”

But when micro-messages are incongruent with what you as a leader want to convey, it causes confusion. Have you ever been “turned off” by someone because what they are saying doesn’t match up with their body posture and voice control? These subtle cues need to work together to have the greatest impact. A lot of great actors don’t even need to speak to convey a very impactful message. Can you imagine if leaders grasped this power?

To help us identify how these nuances showed up for us, we were asked, “Who am I on my best day?” This concept really resonated with me.

So ask yourself these questions to begin to explore this concept:

  • Who am I on my best day?
  • Is my body language aligned with what I am saying?
  • Am I using my voice to effectively create impact?
  • Do I know when to ‘shut up’ and use silence effectively?
  • Am I showing up as my “true self”?
  • Am I truly connecting with my audience?

If you’re having a hard time answering these questions, or perhaps you discovered something you’d like to elevate, consider hiring an acting coach to enhance your leadership skills.

If you’re like me, when I’m “on” I’ve covered off most of these attributes. Others, I haven’t spent much time working on and they aren’t natural for me. If I improve these, my message will come through that much stronger. I know if I’m not well prepared, I don’t use my voice as well, I’m not as confident, and my eye contact is less because I’m thinking. Therefore, my message loses impact significantly.

I promise that I am not being paid by the acting coaches guild. But I see huge value in working with acting coaches to communicate more effectively as a leader.

Hiring an acting coach may be a great way to gain some insight into your particular nuances as a leader. They are skilled at identifying and teaching how to improve upon both your verbal and nonverbal communication skills. So having an acting coach may be one amazing tool to add to your leadership toolbox.

If you’d like to learn more about Michael Allosso, please visit his website. I extend my sincere thanks to my EOS™ community and Michael for this incredible experience.

Curious about EOS™ and want to learn how it helps leaders get what they want out their businesses? Start here. Have questions about EOS™? Feel free to contact me.

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