Effective Leadership Communication: 11 Techniques To Help You Improve

Send to Kindle

Imagine going through a day without communicating. If you live alone, it’s probably possible until you step outside. As you’re driving to work, your turn signal and brake lights communicate your intentions to other drivers. That guy that cut you off a few blocks back communicated that he felt his time is more important than yours. Your gestured reply communicated that you didn’t agree. That “good morning” to your team members may have communicated your current demeanor, whether you meant for it to or not.

You can’t go through life without communicating. As a leader you need to understand that you are always communicating and be aware of what you’re saying, even when you aren’t talking. In your job, you’ll communicate with three levels of people: bosses, peers, and subordinates. It may come as a surprise, but there should not be a big difference in how you communicate to any of these groups.

Your communication should always be concise, and professional, whether using written or spoken words. Few people have the time or patience for long drawn-out communication. You must learn to state your case in a concise manner. That doesn’t mean all good communication is short or that you should leave out important details. You should omit things that are not important and that don’t support your point. Everyone appreciates brevity.

Communicating in a professional manner means sticking to the subject at hand, saying what you know and clearly identifying statements that are speculative or for which you are unsure. To do otherwise will quickly destroy your credibility and effectiveness as a leader. Once people at any level determine you don’t really know what you’re talking about, they will no longer listen. Verbal communication is vital to leadership effectiveness. Yet for some reason, there is little emphasis on this skill in leadership training. The basics are not hard to grasp though and here are 11 techniques to help you be more effective.

1. Be clear about what you want to communicate. Your thinking should always be a little ahead of your speaking. Once the words leave your mouth, they cannot be called back so make sure what you say is what you intend to say.

2. Don’t make your message seem like a personal attack. Try to see what you’re going to say from the listener’s point of view. What may seem harmless to you might be seen as an attack to them.

3. Always start and end on a positive note. Instead of “Your reports are getting sloppy,” try “You’ve always given me great reports. Lately though, I have noticed they aren’t up to your normal standards.”

4. Keep your voice even. Too many discussions quickly elevate to arguments or shouting matches. Even if the person you are talking to starts to get excited, you must stay on an even keel.

5. Watch the use of profanity. It’s best not to use it at all. Even if the person you’re talking to has an interesting vocabulary, that doesn’t mean they will appreciate it from you. Some will, some won’t and while subordinates who are offended often won’t tell you, they will harbor resentment.

6. Understand the difference between a critique and criticism. Though these words are nearly synonymous, there is a difference in application. Think of a critique as a critical analysis or evaluation of something and criticism as a judgment of someone. You may critique someone’s work, but don’t criticize him.

7. Project good on others and bad on yourself. “You did a great job on that project, but I was disappointed that it was not completed on time.”

8. Likewise, when talking to others give success to your people, keep failure for yourself. “Jane did a great job on that project; unfortunately, I delivered it a little late.” (That isn’t to say you can’t discuss Jane’s lateness with her one-on-one) This is a difficult concept that many leaders fail to grasp. Just as you bask in the glow of your people’s success, you must also take responsibility for the things that go wrong.

9. The age old advice to praise in public and critique in private still applies.

10. Do not adopt a superior tone with subordinates. They are not children and they won’t respond well to it.

11. Control anger. You can be firm, but no matter how mad you are, don’t let the anger guide you. Seldom does anything good come from words said in anger.

These steps are taken from my course Preparing to Lead which is designed to help new leaders quickly adapt to leadership responsibilities. Learn more.