Tips on Effective Communication for Great Leader

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Communication

Tips on Effective Communication for Great Leader

According to Harvard Business Review, “The number one criteria for advancement and promotion for professionals is an ability to communicate effectively”
Effective communication is crucial in today’s world where ideas are the foundation of success. It is not just a “soft skill” but an art form that encompasses writing, speaking, and presenting. This is a skill that is vital to our everyday life. Communication is how we influence others. 
“Leadership is influence. Nothing more, nothing less!” says my coach, trainer and mentor and  leadership guru, Dr John C. Maxwell. 
Leaders like Jeff Bezos and Indra Nooyi recognize its significance and continuously work to improve their abilities. Bezos banned PowerPoint and replaced it with “narratively structured memos,” while Nooyi believes that written and oral skills are critical for persuading others to follow your vision.
Here are four common tactics to try as leaders:
1. Use short words to talk about hard things.
Long, complicated sentences make written ideas hard to understand — they’re mentally draining and demand more concentration. You’ll win more fans if you replace long words and sentences with short ones.
Nobel prize-winning economist Daniel Kahneman advises people to use simpler language instead of complex language to be viewed as credible and intelligent. Persuasive speakers and writers aim to reduce “cognitive strain.”
Jeff Bezos improved his writing skills over time and his Amazon shareholder letters reflect this. His first letter was written at a tenth-grade level, but 85% of his subsequent letters were written for an eighth- or ninth-grade level, making them more accessible to a wider audience.
Bezos simplified the advantages of Amazon’s Kindle in terms that a seventh grader could grasp, as an example in 2007.
If you come across a word you don’t recognize, you can look it up easily. You can search your books. Your margin notes and underlinings are stored on the server-side in the “cloud,” where they can’t be lost. Kindle keeps your place in each of the books you’re reading, automatically. If your eyes are tired, you can change the font size. Our vision for Kindle is every book ever printed in any language, all available in less than 60 seconds.
Bezos chose short words to talk about hard things. When you make things simple, you’re not dumbing down the content. You’re outsmarting the competition.
2. Using Sticky Metaphors to Reinforce Key Concepts in Business
Metaphors are a powerful tool that equate abstract ideas to familiar concepts. They can take people on a journey without ever having to leave their seats. Astronaut Chris Hadfield is a TED Talks star and a talented speaker who effectively uses metaphors to describe an indescribable event. His comparison of a rocket launch to a roaring dragon, a leaf in a hurricane, and the jaws of an enormous dog, effectively conveys the experience to his audience.
Similarly, in business, metaphors are shortcuts to communicating complex information in short, catchy phrases. Warren Buffett is known to understand the power of metaphor and uses it frequently when evaluating potential investments. His famous phrase “moats and castles” refers to companies that dominate an industry and are difficult for competitors to enter. This metaphor is an effective way to explain a complex system of data and information to his team.
When introducing a new or abstract idea, it is essential to keep in mind that the audience will automatically search for something familiar to help make sense of it. Use a novel metaphor to engage and capture their attention.
3. Humanizing Data: A Key to Creating Value
When it comes to data, simply presenting it in the form of statistics and charts can be overwhelming and uninteresting to many people. However, there is a trick to reducing cognitive load and making data points fascinating: humanize them by putting the numbers in perspective.
To make data engaging, memorable, and ultimately persuasive, take the extra step to make it relatable. For instance, while it’s difficult to comprehend the fact that humans are expected to produce 175 zettabytes of data annually by 2025, you can add meaning by painting a vivid picture for your audience. Imagine storing 175 zettabytes of data on DVDs, and then imagine that these disks would circle the earth 222 times. This example is more engaging because it provides a clear image in your mind’s eye.
As astrophysicist and science educator Neil deGrasse Tyson once said, the key to science communication is to “embed the concept in familiar ground.” In other words, turn data into language that everyone can understand.
One example of humanizing data occurred in 1997 when NASA launched the Cassini space probe to explore Saturn. The $3 billion price tag prompted scepticism, so Tyson appeared on television talk shows to explain the mission’s benefits. First, he dealt with the price shock by comparing the total cost to that of lip balm, which is purchased more by Americans each year.
To make your idea more appealing, use this approach to humanize data and make it relevant to your listeners.
4. Using Mission as a Mantra to Unify Teams
In 1957, a power outage hit large parts of Wisconsin and Minnesota, but it proved to be an opportunity for Earl Bakken, a medical device repairman working in his garage, to make a difference in the field. He invented the first battery-powered pacemaker that could function even during a power outage. This event marked the beginning of Bakken’s new mission: “to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life.”
Bakken died in 2018, but his mission statement continues to drive the company he founded, Medtronic. Despite its 90,000 employees working in 150 countries and providing medical therapy to two patients every second, the company remains committed to Bakken’s six-word mantra.
Bakken was a “repeater in chief,” who constantly emphasized the company’s mission. Before his death, he recorded a video for Medtronic employees requesting them to live by the company’s mission every day.
A mission statement that’s forgotten and tucked away in a drawer is useless in unifying a team. According to Harvard Business School professor John Kotter, leaders often under-communicate their vision by a factor of ten. Kotter writes that transformation is impossible without the willingness of hundreds or thousands of people, who often make short-term sacrifices.
Transformational leaders over-communicate their mission statement. They repeat it until it becomes a mantra, a statement that gains power as it’s repeated. Over-communication strengthens the message. Your mission statement should take centre stage, and you should highlight it across various communication channels: memos, emails, presentations, social media, and marketing material. If your mission statement stands for something, then stand up for it.
Any meaningful endeavour necessitates a collaborative effort, where a team of like-minded individuals share a common goal and a passion for achieving it. While some teams are led by individuals who possess authority based solely on their title, the most triumphant teams are guided by leaders who motivate and inspire them to push beyond their limits.

Sources: 

  • Harvard Business Review by Carmine Gallo.
  • The 16 Undeniable Laws of Communication by John C. Maxwell
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