You know a presentation is effective when you are still thinking about it days later. This morning I found myself reflecting on T-Mobile CEO John Legere’s 45-minute fireside chat at the GeekWire Summit with GeekWire co-founders John Cook and Todd Bishop. It got me thinking about why it was so penetrating. Here are my thoughts.
1. John Legere seems authentic and very comfortable in his skin with his colorful language and ability to make humorous, self-deprecating remarks.
Even in jest, it takes confidence to make self-deprecating remarks, which Legere did at several points in his presentation. As Forbes points out in one of its articles, “We love people who don’t take themselves too seriously. We applaud self-deprecation. And we like to use it ourselves—especially in the office.”
Legere‘s personal stories, in which he poked fun at himself, generated laughs, made it easier to relate to him, and were disarming. Just check out minute 15:01 of the video when he spoke about being home alone in the evening and, because he has no friends, is listening to T-Mobile customer calls via his observation number.
One word of caution, before attempting to emulate Legere: Be sure to read the full Forbes article entitled “When Self Deprecation Goes too Far” – it is a good reminder of how this practice can backfire.
2. Legere shared information that was inspiring, helpful, and relevant. He clearly knows his subject matter.
He offered some important reminders throughout the session. For instance, he spoke about the importance of listening to customers, finding the fun in everything, and the importance of being able to move quickly.
Specifically, Legere mentioned he learns everything he needs to know to run T-Mobile from the information and insight he gleans directly from customers on Twitter and by listening in to customer service calls. I also found it impressive that, as the head of a publicly traded company, Legere manages all his own Twitter and email messages.
His other advice for the GeekWire audience was to push the envelope. According to Legere, “The world is waiting for people to step out.” Whether it is leveraging Twitter or setting lofty goals, he thinks folks need to take it to the extreme.
Finally, he reminded us of the importance of both the “what” and the “how.” Most HR teams in the corporate world are looking at both “what” you have accomplished as well as “how” you accomplished it. Clearly, Legere – like all of us who are working – needs to deliver tangible results and he is doing so in the form of new customers, a robust network and strong brand, and rising share price, but he is doing it in a unique and bold manner that is refreshing to watch.
3. Legere seemed to relish the shock value but at the same time has a playful approach.
His language was colorful and profane, but he kept things light. For instance, he did not get defensive when John Cook pressed him about the launch of the Amazon Fire phone and how Legere was visibly upset at the time of its unveiling that Amazon announced an exclusive deal with AT&T Wireless. Legere did a fantastic job of diffusing John’s question with humor as well as explaining his perspective on Amazon’s decision to get into the phone business, and if T-Mobile will carry the Fire if Amazon offers the product to them.
With regard to the profane language, it seems to work for Legere. My take is that he uses expletives to show strong emotion, catch attention, sound cool, and relate to a younger, more informal workforce and customer base. I would encourage most executives to take the safe route and avoid this practice when speaking publicly. There are other ways beyond profane language to make your presentation exciting, and when you use profanity, you run a risk of alienating people. In fact, even Legere has run into issues with his choice of language.
4. He directly engaged the audience during the presentation.
Legere spoke to the audience with his body language and eye contact as well as by directly asking for audience input on things like his Twitter poem for National Poetry Day. He also asked for a show of hands of people on Twitter, as well as for the number of people who had run a marathon, and finally suggested that someone in the audience try to bend an iPhone 6. It is widely known that the practice of directly engaging your audience is a smart move and it is not that difficult to do. Surprisingly, many speakers at the GeekWire Summit did not do this and missed a tremendous opportunity to establish a deeper connection with attendees. More people should follow Legere’s lead around this as they work to improve their art of public speaking.
5. He stayed afterward and spoke with people
Unlike many of the CEOs I have heard speak, Legere posed for pictures and mingled with the crowd after his session. He made himself accessible in a warm and approachable manner that I have seldom seen with executives. People flocked to him and he seemed wholly comfortable chatting with them and engaging in small talk.
All and all, I thought Todd Bishop and John Cook staged an entertaining and informative GeekWire Summit, but John Legere was truly the highlight of the day and his presentation is one that I will remember for a long time.