The Top 3 Mistakes in Leadership Communication To Avoid

My conversations with clients this month have taken me across the globe; working with graduates to board room executives, working in a range of different industries. Some themes have evolved which prompts me to share what works well… and what to avoid.

As always, and as a disclaimer… the theory of communication is easy… the practice of it is not. This is about rigour; that’s the challenge. Doing this well, whether we’re prepared or not, whether the audience is receptive or not, whether it’s our area of expertise of not, being a brilliant communicator in the hybrid world of work today means:

1. Replace Speed with Specificity: too often the pace of discussion is very quick with almost no ‘thinking time’ before the speaking starts. As a result, the length of contributions is too long and not sufficiently relevant. Instead, slow down, pause, reflect and then comment in a specific and relevant way.
   
   
2. Replace Data Density with Decisiveness: A wall of data is just that… a wall. It overwhelms and confuses the audience. Decide what your message is and then decide the most compelling data around which to convey your story.
   
   
3. Replace Being Clever with Being Curious: Managers have all the right answers; leaders have all the right questions. Proving what you know all the time persuades no-one. Ask more; tell less.

What can you dial up now?