Seth Rigoletti says he’s both kind and blunt when he meets executive clients who fall short of their goals because of communication problems. It’s the delicate balance needed when a C-level executive or other high potential leader finally realizes they are getting in their own way when trying to influence others to accept a new […]
Get Instant Access to This Article
Subscribe to Mainebiz and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
- Critical Maine business news updated daily.
- Immediate access to all subscriber-only content on our website.
- Bi-weekly print or digital editions of our award-winning publication.
- Special bonus issues like the Mainebiz Book of Lists.
- Exclusive ticket prize draws for our in-person events.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
Seth Rigoletti says he's both kind and blunt when he meets executive clients who fall short of their goals because of communication problems. It's the delicate balance needed when a C-level executive or other high potential leader finally realizes they are getting in their own way when trying to influence others to accept a new idea.
Rigoletti, a former high school English and theater teacher, is founder and president of Valico Group. He says his job is to help his clients understand their voice and body language when they're talking and help them clearly identify the impact they want to have. He's coached TEDx presenters, L.L.Bean and other company workshops, and entrepreneurs pitching to the Maine Technology Institute and Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development.
In some cases communication is a matter of company survival, such as when entrepreneurs can't express themselves clearly to potential investors. Rigoletti spoke recently to Mainebiz about how he coaches clients on how they can change their behaviors to effect change in their organizations. An edited transcript follows.
Mainebiz: How did the company get started?
Seth Rigoletti: The company started in January 2011. When I was teaching I was fascinated with how to help kids and people in general come to the clearest and simplest explanation about what they were trying to do, to take a whole lot of information and boil it down to its essence. The idea of doing that with adults was exciting. People were at a point in their lives where they were trying to effect real change, to do big things with their companies or organizations.
MB: What are the biggest challenges to having effective rhetoric?
SR: People don't listen very well, and they're not very clear about what they're saying. They'll just talk a lot and hope their message gets across. It's as though you were playing catch and you weren't throwing the ball to the other person, but throwing it away as far as you could. The image I give people is called 'CARE,' which means you have to be clear, aware, respectful and empathize. People want to give all the details at once, but we can only absorb usually the basic gist of it. Another problem, which happens to entrepreneurs who are pitching to investors, is that the investors feel that if they don't understand what [the entrepreneur is] talking about in the first 30 seconds, the assumption is the entrepreneur doesn't really know.
MB: One study says that only 7% of the impression we leave on others is from the content of our speech. What is the rest?
SR: That study by Dr. [Albert] Mehrabian looked at how we feel about someone we meet for the first time, if it's content, tone of voice or body language. The majority of why we like somebody, 55%, is body language. So if somebody is saying to me, 'no one listens to me in a meeting,' we may start off with how they are sitting at the table. They'll show me and they'll be tucked in, their feet will be tucked in under their chair. They're making themselves small. So we'll start out with planting their feet firmly to the ground and sitting at the edge of the chair so they're upright and their chest is out.
MB: What advice would you give to people who might consider this type of service?
SR: If you notice you aren't resonating with your company and your idea is just not getting beyond the board room or C-suite, you probably have an issue with how you're communicating. [We offer] one-on-one coaching, workshops and keynotes. Executive leadership can cost $200-$300 per hour one-on-one. The first session for 45 minutes is free. Coaching can take three sessions to 12 sessions [one year].
MB: What does the company name Valico mean?
SR: It's an Italian word for the passes or connectors between mountain peaks. People who have a really big vision or ideas or are trying to connect to a larger group need some way of connecting, and these passes are a way of doing that.
