In the children's tale, "The Emperor's New Clothes," by Hans Christian Anderson, the Emperor's pride deceives him into buying a set of clothes made of nothing at all. The cloth is not only invisible, it doesn't exist. ( Although, I bet they could sell it on the Home Shopping Network.)

The faithful old minister tells the Emperor, "Oh, it is excellent!" Another officer of his court says, "The cloth which the weavers are preparing is magnificent." Even the common people exclaim, "Oh! How beautiful are our Emperor's new clothes!"

This fairy tale came to mind recently as I watched an "Emperor," a business and civic leader give a one hour
presentation to a large group of business managers.

After the presentation, he was surrounded by members of the audience telling him what a great speech it was and what a good job he had done. It sounded exactly like the Emperor's officers, ministers and common people praising the non-existent clothes.

In reality, this speaker used the crutch word "ah" 90 times in the first five minutes and by my calculation had approximately 900 "ahs" during a one hour presentation. This is possibly a Guinness World Record pace for "ahs." I've watched speakers for twenty years and never seen anyone quite so dependent upon this crutch.

The sad fact is, this man will probably never hear the truth. He may never hear what he needs to do to improve.

In the fairy tale, there is a solution toward the end of the story. A young child blurts out, "But the Emperor has nothing on at all!" Unfortunately for many leaders, there is no child to tell them the truth.

The "Yes-man or woman" is all too prevalent in today's business environment and few are willing to confront the "Emperor," especially if he doesn't want to hear the truth.

If you're an organizational Emperor, with a title like Vice- President, Manger, Director, CEO or simply "the boss" there are a number of ways to get honest feedback on your presentation style.

1. Join Toastmasters and become part of a great communications self-improvement program.
http://www.toastmasters.org/
I've been a member for 20 years and have benefited greatly
from their collective wisdom and honest feedback.

2. Videotape your presentation, and then review it to see yourself as others see you.

3. Hire a Presentation Skills Coach to evaluate your style and give you honest advice about your technique. This can be in the privacy of your own office.

(If you'd like a free consultation and initial evaluation, that's
one of the services I provide to Emperors and budding Emperors.
tom@tomterrific.com )

It takes work and practice to overcome bad habits.

Whatever you decide, remember Hans Christian Anderson's story was a fairy tale, but do your audience a favor, and please don't stand up there without any clothes.