9 communication skills leadership can’t succeed without

Why leadership communication matters

Communication skills are the most important soft skills for many professions. Excellent communication skills can help you get ahead regardless of where you fall in the business hierarchy. However, they are essential for leaders.

Effective leadership communication can make or break a business. Business leaders are essential in representing the company to investors, customers, partners, employees, and media outlets. Poor communication from a leader can lead to a lack of trust, low employee engagement, and missed business opportunities.

In addition to being an important business tool, a leader’s communication style can also become a part of the company or leader’s brand. Leaders are the face of their companies.

Even if you’re not doing giant product unveilings like Steve Jobs, the way you communicate as a business owner or leader when networking with clients, sitting on a panel during an industry conference, or posting on LinkedIn or Twitter will become a part of how people remember your company.

Here are 10 of the most important communication skills leaders need to have.

Public speaking

This one seems a bit obvious, but it is a skill that many professionals struggle with. If you were the kid in school who hated giving presentations, it might be time to consider taking a public speaking class. Leaders often have to address many team members, stakeholders, customers, or event attendees.

It is not uncommon for higher-level leaders to speak at conferences or lead a product launch event. If the idea of getting up in front of a room full of people to speak sounds intimidating, you should start practicing now.

Emerging leaders often need to build up this skill. If you’ve been promoted recently or accepted a new role, you may not have as much public speaking experience. Middle managers often don’t do a lot of public speaking, but once you reach higher levels, it becomes quite common.

It is a good idea to get as much practice as possible before delivering an important speech to clients or investors. Public speaking classes, groups like Toastmasters, or even internal meetings in supportive work environments can be great opportunities to break out of your shell and get some practice.

Clarity

One of the most essential communication skills for leaders is clarity. Good leaders need to be able to deliver messages clearly, whether by email, in person, Zoom, Slack, or even social media.

This is especially important in more technical fields. Leaders in complex and technical industries sometimes have difficulty properly packaging their messages for non-technical audiences.

For example, if you are the founder of a tech start-up, you need to be able to clearly explain your product to highly knowledgeable people as well as the everyday end-user or non-technical employee.

One way to work on clarity is to ensure that others within your team know they can ask for clarification whenever they need it. Creating an open culture where people aren’t afraid to ask questions can help you understand where people are having trouble unpacking your instructions or communications. It also gives you practice in rephrasing your communications for increased clarity and prevents miscommunications.

It’s also worth noting that clear messages aren’t necessarily always concise, but you should be able to write clear and concise messages when needed.

Long-winded messaging works well for more visible business leaders who speak at conferences, host webinars or appear on podcasts. You have a good amount of time to fill and may want to go more in-depth on topics to provide greater value to viewers or listeners.

However, you should also be able to explain your product, mission, and company initiatives in a paragraph or even a 240-character tweet. This is another area to practice if you’re still building your communication skills as part of your overall leadership development.

Storytelling

Storytelling isn’t just a skill for novelists; it’s a key component of effective communication for leaders. Effective leaders need to be able to tell their company’s story in a manner that others can relate to.

Investors, employees, customers, and the media want to hear a compelling story about your company’s trajectory, where it’s been and where it’s going. If that story is bland or jumbled, you won’t get buy-in from any of the aforementioned parties.

Realistically, almost every business has competitors. While your business might have a unique spin on a value or service or an added value proposition, you are likely not the only company operating in your niche.

This isn’t a bad thing, competition is expected. However, it does drive the need to stand out with your story.

Think about the contestants on Shark Tank. Investors and viewers tend to support business owners who tell a great story well. Leaders should practice telling their businesses’ stories in a way that gives people something to grasp.

Think about why you started the business and how to create an interesting and accurate narrative around how you founded it. Then, practice telling that story in both long and short-form versions while speaking aloud.

Motivational speaking

Motivational speaking sounds a bit cheesy — but it doesn’t have to be. The goal is to communicate with others, especially your employees, in a way that gets people excited about what the company is doing and motivates them to be a part of it.

When speaking or writing a message to employees, you may highlight company growth and opportunities for them to earn more and advance in the company as it continues to expand.

With investors, you are motivating them to invest to be part of a company that is achieving great results or positioned to disrupt an industry with an innovative idea.

Business leaders also need to be able to communicate the company’s mission and values in an inspirational and motivational manner. Engaging your employee base through a shared sense of purpose will improve employee engagement and teamwork.

It also helps everyone keep pushing forward during tough times, such as busy seasons or when the company is experiencing a significant change or setback.

Non-verbal leadership communication skills

Everyone needs to be cognizant of how they communicate nonverbally, but leaders need to be especially diligent. Nonverbal communication makes up a large portion of our communication. The exact percentage is often debated. However, most researchers seem to agree that more than half of communication is nonverbal. Some even report that 93% of communication comes from nonverbal cues such as body language, tone, and facial expressions.

One thing that leaders need to consider is that employees may feel nervous when leaders speak directly to them. Using more open body language can help put them at ease and make high-level leaders appear more approachable.

Closed-off body language, such as crossed arms, can have the opposite effect. The right mix of open body language, good posture, and a confident tone of voice will help leaders appear approachable while still appearing professional and self-assured.

Making and maintaining eye contact is another important form of nonverbal communication. Eye contact demonstrates focus and shows that you are genuinely engaged and listening.

It also helps build trust. Furthermore, it shows respect to clients. It also shows respect to employees. Additionally, it shows respect to others with whom you may interact. Avoiding eye contact is common if you are nervous.

Also, it is natural for some neurodivergent people. However, many people view this as a sign that a business leader lacks confidence. Moreover, they view it as a sign that a business leader is dishonest.

Efficient relationship-building

One unique challenge that leaders face is that they need to be skilled and efficient relationship builders. Most executives or business owners have fairly packed schedules.

You often need to make a meaningful connection and strong first impression during a 30-minute or 1-hour meeting window. At industry events, it can get even more hectic when you meet someone at a booth, networking event, or group business dinner.

One trait of an effective communicator is knowing how to make people feel comfortable. Additionally, an effective communicator knows how to get them talking. Furthermore, if you only have a short meeting, you don’t want to waste time.

Similarly, if you only have a business dinner to make a connection with someone, you don’t want to waste time. Specifically, you don’t want to waste time with awkward small talk. Nor do you want to waste time with short yes-or-no answers

Asking open-ended questions can be a great way to encourage others to open up about themselves, their company, or their business needs.

Once you get them talking, utilize active listening to show that you are engaged with what they say. Try to take a mental note (or an actual note) of a few key things about the other person.

Try to note a mix of personal and professional things that they shared. This will allow you to send a better follow-up message after meeting them and will help strengthen the relationship.

Adaptability

A skilled leader should be able to match their communication style to the person or group they are interacting with.

The exact same communications approach may not work for internal staff meetings, formal board meetings, investor meetings, and keynotes.

Leaders should be able to adapt their tones, body language, and speech to the audience and the message they want to convey.

This is particularly true for start-ups or small businesses. In a start-up culture, leaders tend to be more informal and high-energy when interacting with staff members during meetings or stand-ups.

By using more casual communication, you can better connect with your employees and build trust.

A more formal tone or body language can make high-level leaders appear intimidating to employees and discourage them from speaking up. You want people to feel comfortable bringing up ideas, questions, or concerns during internal meetings. However, take a more formal tone during board meetings.

It’s also important to adapt to the company culture. If you are the founder of the business, the culture will likely already be partially shaped around your own communication and leadership style.

However, it’s not uncommon for executives or department directors to switch between companies with quite different cultures. For example, many people start in large corporations and move to small or medium-sized businesses for an opportunity to obtain a higher-level leadership role and title (c-suite, VP, department head).

They need to spend time learning the new business’s culture. Moreover, they need to spend time learning the new business’s communication patterns. This learning is necessary to properly assimilate.

It is also necessary to properly adapt their communication strategy. They should do this rather than forcing their old employer’s approach on the new team.

Emotional intelligence and empathy

Great leaders have high emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is a person’s ability to recognize and control their emotions as well as perceive and understand others’ emotions. The key elements of emotional intelligence are:

• Self-awareness

• Self-regulation

• Motivation

• Empathy

• Social skills

Fostering a culture of communication and empathy

Now it’s probably not surprising to see motivation on that list since most business owners or executives are highly motivated people with strong social skills. On the other hand, empathy is a largely overlooked leadership communication skill.

There is often a strong perceived divide between leaders and lower-level employees. In many cases, that divide isn’t just perceived but also very real. However, a leader exercising empathetic communication can help bridge the gap.

Leaders need to be empathetic to their employees’ day-to-day struggles. Listen to employees or ask them if the workload is getting too high, creating burnout.

They should try to understand any external pressures they might be experiencing, such as childcare issues, and find solutions, such as flexible work schedules.

Leaders, especially executives, often earn a negative reputation for being out of touch. Consequently, if you do not actively solicit feedback, you are likely out of touch with your employee base.

Furthermore, if you are not listening to employees’ concerns, you are probably out of touch with your employee base. Similarly, if you avoid responding with empathy, you are likely out of touch with your employee base. Therefore, if you aren’t doing these things, then you probably are out of touch with your employee base.

The challenge of being a leader is that unless it’s an incredibly small business, you won’t be able to see or remain involved in all of your business’s and staff’s day-to-day operations.

Creating a culture of open communication and empathy can help improve employee engagement, morale, and retention. It also gives you a clearer picture of what is happening at all business levels.

Understanding communication channels

It’s also important to know how to adapt your message and deliver it properly. Choosing the wrong communication channel for an important message can result in a major public relations faux pas.

For example, several companies have recently been criticized for announcing layoffs through impersonal communication channels or with less-than-empathetic messaging.

It is true that there will be times when your preferred communication channel is not an option. With distributed teams, sometimes, you will have to opt for video conferencing tools like Zoom rather than an in-person conversation. However, knowing when to send an email, instant message, or hold a face-to-face video meeting is still important.

In-person (or at least face-to-face via Zoom) is typically a better communication channel for major company updates that are likely to generate discussion. It’s best to allow employees to ask questions or raise concerns immediately, publicly, and directly.

If you sent an email with a major update, you’d be fielding individual messages all afternoon, and employees are likely to be confused or anxious while they await clarification. That being said, nobody likes to attend a meeting that could have easily been an email.

This feels like a waste of employees’ time and can be frustrating if they have a lot on their plate and could have used that time handling urgent tasks. Good leaders need to consider the appropriate channel for each communication carefully.

Keep building your leadership communication skills

Keep in mind that leadership communication skills need to be continuously practiced and updated. You might feel a bit rusty on some of the skills included on this list. This could be because your company has not yet returned to the office.

Alternatively, you may not have yet returned to your normal networking and conference event attendance. That’s perfectly okay. Just work to improve your communication skills, and many of these things will become a habit.

These 9 leadership communication skills are all important building blocks of strong communication and can be adapted to fit changing communication channels.

Many leaders have had to adapt their communication approach to better suit remote communication channels such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Slack. With the rise of TikTok or Instagram Reels, you may even be wading into communicating over short-form video content.

The core skills largely remain the same, but leaders must remain adaptable and be willing to practice communicating through new channels or company cultures.

More resources:
Examples of poor communication in the workplace
Workplace etiquette: The ultimate guide to professionalism
Business communication skills that every professional needs

Want more insights like these? Visit Kaylyn McKenna’s author page to explore her other articles and expertise in business management.