One only has to look at the performances of Bill Clinton, Jack Welch, Ronald Regan and Barack Obama to see the key role that effective leadership communication has played in their successes.
Bill Clinton is widely regarded as the most effective communicator to ever enter the White House. His communication skills and in particular his charisma were regarded as central to his ability to consistently turn opponents into friends and to build strong alliances with world leaders.
President Barack Obama, described as the 'Communicator in Chief', connected with and inspired millions of Americans during his Presidential campaign. His performance as an orator and use of leadership body language is virtually unprecedented for a politician. Critically, Obama possesses a conversational and relaxed communication style that is critical when seeking to connect with people.
By way of contrast the recent lack of success by Caroline Kennedy and John McCain demonstrate the consequences of poor communication skills.
The Key Components of Effective Leadership Communication
• Develop the mindset of a leader - Given that our nonverbal communication reveals to the world what we feel inside, emotional mastery is critical to congruent, credible communication.
• Be able to connect with people on an emotional level - People form opinions and make decisions based on their emotions. First we listen to our emotional guidance system, then we justify with reasons, then we rationalize.
• Develop leadership charisma - Leader must always maintain authority whilst communicating charisma. Some individuals may have innate elements of charisma but much of charisma is made up of a set of behaviors that can be learned.
• Learn to move like a leader - Body language (postures, gestures and facial expression) communicates your emotional state to the world. We make our decisions primarily on what we see rather than what we hear.
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