No offense, but these phrases make you sound rude

As a leader, you can graciously "hold space" for those around you by practicing "radical curiosity," set explicit norms for diversity, equity and inclusion and ensure all voices are heard while teaching your team how to handle conflicts gently, writes Yasmin Davidds, the founder and CEO of the Latina Global Executive Leadership Institute at USC. "This practice embodies 'Confidently Humble' -- being confident in your ability as a corporate leader to create a safe space yet humble enough to recognize that this space is fragile and needs protection," Davidds concludes.

Put it into practice: You can become that "confidently humble" leader by suspending judgment, creating a culture of emotional safety, practicing active listening and embodying radical humility, Davidds advises. "Accept others as they are, without trying to change or judge them. This fosters a sense of belonging and respect."

If you lead off a conversation with phrases such as, "No offense, but," or "You should have," don't be shocked if those you're speaking to will judge you as rude, writes executive coach Lolly Daskal. Instead, change your opening words to, "I noticed areas where you could improve," and ask if the person wants feedback before jumping in with your opinion, Daskal advises.

Put it into practice: Daskal suggests other new phrases to try. When you're tempted to say, "That's not my job," try saying something like, "Although this isn't within my scope of work, I'd be happy to point you in the right direction or connect you with someone who can help."

Just before you step out to give a speech or presentation, forget giving yourself a pep talk, writes public speaking coach Gary Genard, who recommends thinking instead of all the ways you need to connect your audience to your message using stories and activities that reveal how they will benefit from listening to you. "As you get close to going on, the best use of your time is to remind yourself how you're going to make your points come to life in terms that these listeners can relate to," Genard writes.

Put it into practice: Think about your audience's experiences and interests and how you can directly link your information to that so they make a personal connection with your speech, Genard advises. "The point is, you should always be strategizing about ways to make what you're saying ultimately about them."

Stakeholders get things done. Eighty-two percent of you report having good relationships with your stakeholders across your organization. That's how things get done.

These relationships take time and effort to build. For those of you in the 18% who are struggling to build them, recognize you need to make a concerted effort to spend time with them. This might feel like "unproductive" time if you're not discussing specific projects or initiatives but investing in the relationship itself will make future project and initiative conversations move more quickly. You'll also find these relationships can improve your career trajectory and your levels of workplace satisfaction because of increased connectedness within the organization.

Get to work now. Reach out to those stakeholders and have a call, a coffee or a conversation. These are long-term investments that definitely pay off.

-- Mike Figliuolo is managing director of thoughtLEADERS, which includes TITAN -- the firm's e-learning platform. Previously, he worked at McKinsey & Co., Capital One and Scotts Miracle-Gro. He is a West Point graduate and author of three leadership books: "One Piece of Paper," "Lead Inside the Box" and "The Elegant Pitch."

Lego incorporates play into every level of what CEO Niels B Christiansen calls "the leadership playground," including being focused on projects, curious about doing things differently and being brave enough to improve. "It must be part of us to also allow play and have that as part of who we are. If we didn't do that, we couldn't serve kids in the right way," Christiansen notes.

Carrie Fisher once remarked that the golden bikini she wore as Princess Leia in "Return of the Jedi" made her "very nervous," and she had to sit up straight to keep creases from showing. That bikini has now sold at auction for $175,000, along with one of the two miniature Starfighter aircraft used in the first "Star Wars" movie that fetched $1.5 million.

We are seeking speakers who are willing to share their experience transforming workflows, teams and enterprises with AI in an upcoming event where we will explore the future of work in the age of AI. This won't be a technical event, so keep your leadership hat on. We're looking for insights into how AI is transforming work today and (more importantly) tomorrow in an effort to arm leaders to make the most of the AI opportunity. Your perspective can address strategy, HR, change management, mitigating risk and more.

If this sounds like you, please send an email with your name, LinkedIn profile and a few sentences describing how AI is moving your team forward and the process you went through to get where you are today.

The highest compliment I could ever receive after giving the weekly talk at my former spiritual community was this: "Your message really spoke to me." In that moment, I knew I had accomplished what Gary Genard writes about: I had kept my words focused on my audience, giving them stories, examples and even ways to participate that resonated with them and helped them solve their problems and overcome their challenges.

Whether you're giving a monthly financial presentation, a sermon or a speech, the key to being memorable is to include stories and anecdotes that make people think about themselves and not about you. How are the current finances of the company affecting them, for good or for ill? How will your words or advice help them overcome a personal or professional obstacle? How will the information you are providing make their lives easier?

These are the questions I tried to answer every week as I put my talks together, and for the most part, I hit the mark. Often, the words I wrote would not resonate with me, but after I delivered them, others would tell me it was just what they needed to hear. I would always reply, "Then I wrote it for you!"

Try focusing on your audience for your next presentation, and if someone -- even one person -- shares that it affected them personally, then you know you've hit the mark.

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