Leaders need to be excellent communicators to share their vision, goals, and expectations with clarity and impact. They rely on good communication skills to build trust with employees, clients, and partners. Compelling communication enables them to gather and properly consider different perspectives and clearly articulate their thoughts and plans in response. That’s why effective communication is at the heart of leadership.
In today’s noisy, complex, and unpredictable world, leaders need to re-think the way they communicate
They start by channelling and mastering their own emotions, which helps them find their voice and cut through the noise to reach their audience, land their message, and create a deep and lasting impression.
“Rapid improvements in computing power and advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning mean that jobs left over would be ones that “require emotional intelligence, originality or social skills such as persuasion or caring for others”
Mark Carney, 2018
Effective communicators are good listeners. They work with their team, pay attention to what others are saying, ask questions, and provide feedback to show that they listen and understand.
Emotion inspires action. That’s why effective communication always appeals to the heart. Great leaders harness the emotions of their audience whilst answering their more rational critics.
In a world that’s never been more polarised, successful leaders need to sell their specific goals and initiatives by rallying broad audiences around shared values and ideas.
The clarity and relevance of their message is, of course, paramount. Physical presence, body language, tone of voice and pacing are powerful non-verbal cues that great communicators use to maximise impact.
Great communication is based on a clear strategy. A great strategy can be expressed in a word, a sentence, a paragraph or a whole book.
The most effective leaders come across as confident, not arrogant. They are able to instil optimism and trust in their audience.
In a rapidly changing context, leaders must be able to think on their feet and quickly respond to changes in circumstances without losing sight of their vision and end goals.
Working with them on both the content and delivery of their communication, we help them achieve their goals in the boardroom, the office, the media and beyond.