CEO communication Best practices
A true CEO will always look forward to learning new things about their role and how they can do better at their job. One will keep looking for ways to best communicate and part knowledge with the rest of their team.
Attending seminars and investing in workshops may help, but some there are some things that you can try on your own. There are multiple things a CEO can do to improve his or her communication skills. If he or she desires to express his or her vision and process, making the team connect and understand plays the main key role here.
But first, let us go through some terms that are related to the above information and will help you grasp the concept quickly.
What is a CEO?
A CEO is also known as a Chief Executive Officer. A CEO is the one with the highest rank in executive in any company or business. A CEO’s day-to-day responsibilities include making important corporate decisions, managing the company’s operations, managing the resources, allowing communications between the board (the board of directors) and corporate operations. One can also work with the stakeholders directly, given the size of the organization is taken into consideration.
A CEO is elected by the board of directors and its stakeholders.
The CEO represents the business on the public scale. Considering the same it is essential for the CEOs to be excellent communicators and able enough to represent the company in a positive way.
What are the roles of a CEO?
A CEO’s role depends on the business type, company size, company culture, and corporate structure. Therefore, it is different for different organizations. In colossal enterprises, CEOs will mostly deal with the extremely sensitive decisions and strategies. Most important of them are the ones that direct the business’ over-all development. In smaller startups, CEOs are more involved on a daily basis and directly work with the teams. CEOs count as representatives, as they are the face of their company. Hence, it is their soul purpose to set the vision and tone of the company.
Being the face of the company comes hand in hand with the interactions with the public. The public mainly includes the brand ambassadors, fans, and customers. These interactions and the excitement of the public to make them happen, positions the Chief Executive Officers of the bigger corporations under the tag of “celebrities”. Bill Gates, the former CEO of Microsoft, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, for example, are well known figures today. It is because of the social media presence they hold among us.
Many times, being famous has its own perks and disadvantages. If a CEO does not have the ideal public speaking skills or a clean image among the public, the company that CEO represents may face the hardships of the latter. Infamy is never a good road to be taken in these things. Having a strategy for CEO communication is the most important thing of all and something that a CEO should be concerned with.
Importance of CEO communication
Growing publicity is most expected to come with the role of the CEO. Knowing the importance of CEO communication is very crucial, for is performed poorly, can lead to drastic consequences. A CEO is expected to make big decisions, taking the future of the company into consideration. One also must be concerned with the public image portrayed by himself of the company. A CEO that fails to communicate can drive the company to its own ruins by devastating the trusted relations, causing indifference between the employee morale, and harming the company’s reputation. This is a one-way ticket to hell. Many times, if a CEO fails to communicate, he or she has been forced to resign or has been ousted.
How to master it?
Communication can be instilled, but it is a skill. The whole concept of a skill is an activity which gradually increases its proficiency due to regular practices and sincerity. If you are a CEO that is not familiar with perfect verbal communication, there are a number of techniques to build the same and communicate up.
- Practice active speaking and do not be ignorant of what the other person has to say. Always listen first and then speak after considering all the things that the other person had said.
- Make your body language accessible and prominent. This will show that you are confident, comfortable, and secure while expressing your thoughts. Therefore, will make you more approachable.
- Practice impromptu speeches in front of your mirror. This will help you to recognize your faults and correct them. Being able to establish a connection with the audience is particularly important, and by practicing your speeches you will gradually gain the different perspectives an individual has in mind of you.
- You should be fluid with adapting to different styles. Different masses require different speeches. The change should not be a barrier for you to put forward your thoughts. To overcome this, make sure you do deep research of the place where you are headed to give your speech or to have a general communication.
- Deliver your speeches slowly, do not rush through them. People listen slower than they think, so do not rush. Rushing will only lead to jumbled words, mass confusion and public dissatisfaction. It will become hard for your listeners to keep up with your ideas and make them skip over the important points and information that you have to offer. So keep in mind to make things slow and easier to understand.