Everywhere you look, the stats are alarmingly clear: Leaders are not effectively communicating, and it’s negatively impacting their organization’s success.
- 86% of employees and executives cite the lack of effective collaboration and communication as the main cause of workplace failures (Salesforce).
- Only 7% of U.S. workers strongly agree that communication is accurate, timely, and open where they work (Gallup).
- 78% of employees surveyed agree that communication should be a higher priority for their companies (Firstup).
This is tough to hear because we know that leaders who practice strong communication skills are more effective across all measures, and these stats are preventable. Leaders with capable communication skills form stronger connections with employees, partners, and customers; build trust; and inspire action, and ultimately, their organizations achieve better business results.
So, what can leaders do, and where should they focus their attention? It’s important to remember that strong communication skills are learned skills that take continual practice, even for the most senior leaders. Focusing on these three key areas for communication skill development can increase leaders’ effectiveness inside and outside their organizations.
Learn to Speak to Audiences of Any Size
Effective leaders must be prepared to speak in all types of situations, ranging from investor calls to industry association meetings to all-staff meetings.
Depending on the leader or the circumstances, this can feel overwhelming. Presentation skills training is not just for midlevel executives. Getting one-on-one or small-group opportunities to practice and refine skills and get real-time performance feedback is necessary for all leaders and levels. This kind of training helps speakers maximize presentation effectiveness when sharing key messages or stories and communicating difficult news. Getting third-party support on this training can be especially helpful in removing the burden on HR or other managers in providing critical feedback on this skill set.
Here are some tips for maximizing any speaking opportunity:
- Understand the rationale for the speaking opportunity in order to deliver the greatest value. Why are you doing the presentation, and what’s the purpose? Who is your audience, and why are they there? What do you need them to know, think, feel, and do?
- Take time to practice, and then practice again. Content is critical, but how speakers connect with their audience is a much more significant factor in a presentation’s effectiveness. This is the area many senior leaders often shortcut, and it often shows.
- Identify the best way to engage the audience early and build connections throughout the presentation. Bring personality, emotion, and authenticity to the engagement.
Develop Skills to Speak to the Media
Beyond their organizations and industry, leaders are often called upon as thought leaders and company spokespeople through media interviews, podcasts, and other digital conversations. Giving a compelling interview that generates a great media story is most often a learned skill. Media interview preparation training, sometimes known as spokesperson training, can help leaders become more comfortable in communicating with reporters to tell compelling stories and generate high-value coverage. Preparation is key to successful media opportunities.
These topics are typically covered in a media training session:
- Best practices to evaluate media opportunities and prepare for specific interviews;
- Tips for developing goals and key messages to tell your story effectively;
- Recommendations on how to build confidence through preparation and by anticipating specific questions;
- How to help reporters experience the story through visuals, data, and testimonials; and
- The importance of follow-up after each interview to maximize the story and ensure accuracy.
Become an Expert in Communicating About Organizational Change
Strong communication is critical for managing organizational change and maintaining trust. And we all know that change is constant in today’s workplace, and the pace of change certainly isn’t slowing down. According to Gartner, a typical organization today has undertaken 5 major firmwide changes in the past 3 years. And nearly 75% of organizations expect major change initiatives to multiply in the next 3 years. Yet half of all change initiatives fail, and only 34% are a clear success. Not great stats.
Business leaders play a key role in leading teams through transitions, and employees report they want to hear from them. Delivering messages around organizational change well takes practice, commitment, clarity, and consistency in communication. Leaders can improve their effectiveness by participating in a change management communication training that outlines a structured communication process to achieve the best results.
Here are some tips for successful change management communication:
- Start with why. Explain why a change is necessary so employees are more likely to engage in it and understand their role.
- Rely on ongoing communication that focuses on your employees. Consistently share progress and celebrate success along the way to keep employees excited and engaged.
- Identify leaders who can be active champions for change and who can motivate others to embrace what’s new.
- Provide ongoing feedback to gain insights into questions employees may have or roadblocks that may inhibit forward movement.
Strengthening communication skills is for all leaders at all levels. Additional leadership communication skills training and practice can help leaders increase their confidence and implement best practices. The result? Trusted leaders who have an impact and the ability to maximize all opportunities.
Abigail Greenheck is a Group SVP at Beehive Strategic Communication. She has more than 15 years of experience in the public relations and advertising industry, with a primary focus on strategic communication. Greenheck has extensive experience in change management communication and developing channel-agnostic strategies that effectively engage key audiences.