How Leaders Speak
Like Duolingo, but for How Leaders Speak. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
For the part of you with thirty open tabs that never became anything.
A short one: 12 levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes end to end, roughly 5 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Daily Speech Shifts and Speaking Under Pressure. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in How Leaders Speak
- 'What should I do?' pushes the burden of analysis and decision-making onto the manager
- Prompting with 'What do you intend to do?' forces the speaker to formulate and own a plan first
- Intent-based phrasing frames the speaker as the owner of the action rather than a passive executor
- Rubber-stamping approvals keeps the manager as a mandatory operational bottleneck
- Validating reasoning ('Makes sense based on your data') reinforces independent decision-making skills
- Praising the logic behind a choice builds lasting confidence better than granting permission
- Asking 'What do you recommend?' interrupts the leader's reflex to jump in with an immediate answer
- Redirecting inquiries trains team members to bring proposals alongside problems
- Recommendation-seeking prompts place the diagnostic work back on the person closest to the problem
- 'We' works well for shared alignment, vision, and team culture
- Overusing 'we' for single-person deliverables creates ambiguity about who actually delivers the work
- 'You' explicitly pins accountability and execution to a specific individual
- Minimizers like 'just' and 'quick question' subtly apologize for taking up space
- Stripping out conversational softeners conveys calm confidence without turning rude
- Direct requests communicate respect for both your own time and the recipient's time
- Polite hints disguise an actual requirement as an optional preference
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives How Leaders Speak the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
Picture a teammate arriving with a broken tool. How does asking 'What do you intend to do?' change the scene?
Get it right to open this lesson and 11 more in the app.
Where How Leaders Speak takes you
Upgrade your daily conversations from hesitant suggestions to clear, empowering leadership. Learn the specific phrasing shifts that build team autonomy, set crisp expectations, and deliver feedback without defensiveness. Turn everyday language into a tool for trust and ownership.
- 1
Daily Speech Shifts
- Speaking for Autonomy
- Giving Clear Direction
- 2
Speaking Under Pressure
- Questions That Coach
- Delivering Direct Feedback
2 sections · 4 units · 12 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
How Leaders Speak is taught in the The Storyteller style: every lesson is a story. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start How Leaders Speak today.
Download Tomo, search How Leaders Speak, and play your first lesson in under a minute.