The Language of Leadership

Use two forces – purpose and power – to communicate effectively as a leader.

Even if you possess abundant leadership qualities – empathy, authenticity, vision, and so on – these traits won’t serve you unless your team perceives them in you. Use the language of leadership to help people view you as someone worth following. Start by thinking before you speak and by cultivating the strategic mind-set you need to communicate your message meaningfully.

Overcome common misconceptions, such as the insistence that sharing useful information is the hallmark of a leader. If you merely present PowerPoint slides and rattle off information without connecting the data to your core message, you won’t inspire others to act.

“A leader’s top job is to lead through language. Effective communicators are exalted; ineffective communicators are excused.”

To effectively communicate as a leader, you must blend two forces: purpose and power. To convey purpose, use a vision statement or goal. Explain why your ideas are valuable – for example, “This product will enable people to save thousands of dollars every year and live healthier lives.”

To convey power, grasp your team’s attention. When you deliver your message, you want others to perceive you as confident, authoritative, credible and competent. Manifesting power needn’t rely on aggressive or stereotypically masculine behavior. Effective leaders can simultaneously appear powerful, kind, accountable and empathetic.

Simple communication tactics can help you inspire and influence others. Make your ideas more compelling with the following tips:

• Differentiate between points and topics – Effective leaders don’t simply share random information. They make points that connect to one another, and they work to build consensus surrounding their ideas.
• Focus more on people than things – Leaders inspire when they home in on the benefits they can bring to people and society, rather than focusing on things or performance metrics. For example, an innovation at a pharmaceutical company increased revenue, boosted traffic on the corporate website, and enabled the company to open more offices. Yet none of those metrics inspired as much as the number of lives the innovation saved.
• Balance idealism and reason – Strive to be both pragmatic (by building trust) and visionary (by inspiring others).
• Understand your audience’s needs and wants – The information you share with your team could affect their thinking and behavior, so don’t try to sell people a message that isn’t relevant to their interests. If you focus instead on what is important to them, you’ll be more likely to influence those you lead.
• Solve problems instead of sharing them – Focus on providing solutions rather than fixating on your most difficult challenges when you’re communicating about your leadership progress.
• Value brevity – Don’t simply cut out words when you’re trying to speak more concisely. Cultivate a deep understanding of your subject before condensing your information.
• Start and finish strong – People are most likely to recall the first and last parts of what you say, so grab their attention at the beginning of your speeches, and reinforce your strongest points at the end.

Exhibit hope, vision and confidence to engage your team.

Visualize yourself as the captain of a ship that is heading into uncharted waters, and your team as the passengers. They depend on you to convey hope. Use the word “hope” as a noun, not a verb, to conjure optimism.

“Hope is the articulation of your team’s professional desires, goals and expectations.”

Communicate your vision to give your team meaning and purpose. Describe your vision as a destination, as opposed to an action. Craft a powerful vision statement that’s concise, unambiguous and resolute.

Demonstrate confidence by exhibiting decisiveness and by communicating your faith in your organization’s processes and people. Your verb choice can also convey confidence. For example, don’t say you “avoided” peril if you “prevented” disaster. Be mindful of your body language. Don’t fidget or avoid eye contact, because such foibles can make you seem insecure. Stand tall, speak slowly and clearly, and listen closely to others.

Effective leaders convey empathy and authenticity during crises.

As a leader, consider yourself a Chief Empathy Officer. Show your team members that you care about them, especially during destabilizing crises. Simply being empathetic is not enough. Communicate that you acknowledge your team’s distress, demonstrate that you care, and take action to either mitigate the crisis or provide comfort.

“When your team is thirsty, team members want that thirst acknowledged and understood, even before they want it quenched.”

Sounding authentic is important when you’re communicating with your team, so align your words with your beliefs. Don’t read scripted speeches. Rely instead on outlines that direct your mind to the points you’d like to make. Sharing personal stories can help you seem more authentic as a leader. Insert pauses into your stories to avoid speaking thoughtlessly to fill the silence. Pausing not only makes you appear more thoughtful but also positions you to control your own narrative better.

To make your points more compelling, be credible, and appeal to people on a logical and an emotional level.

Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle explained three categories of persuasion: Ethos relies on your character and credibility to convince others. Logos is an argument that appeals to a person’s logic. Pathos taps into your audience’s emotions. Consider all three when you’re communicating as a leader. For example, you might divulge a personal anecdote to build credibility and establish ethos, tell an emotionally compelling story to harness the power of pathos, or infuse data into a presentation to employ logos.

Effective storytellers understand that a story is “a vehicle through which a meaningful point travels.” Connect your story to your point using transition phrases like “This story illustrates why we must…” Keep your stories brief, modest and relatable.

“Storytelling is indeed a uniquely useful communication tool because humans are naturally attracted to narratives – whether it’s an intriguing novel or an illuminating moment – so leaders always benefit from including stories and case studies in their communications.”

To show your team members gratitude, go beyond merely thanking them. Praise your team by reflecting on why each person deserves recognition. Share specific stories that demonstrate the value of everyone’s efforts. If you keep your thanks specific, individual and meaningful, you’ll boost morale and inspire your team members to perform at their best.

Build strong connections with your team members by demonstrating that they have your attention. When they speak, maintain eye contact and nod. Resist the urge to interrupt. Ask questions before sharing your opinion, and refrain from planning what you’ll say next while someone else is talking. Ask questions that trigger productive reflection, such as, “How did you come up with the idea?” Or ask questions to offer help, such as, “What do you need to take your project to the next level?”

Your word choice can determine whether people pay attention to you or not.

Make your points more effectively by employing the following devices: 

• Use inclusive language – People will find you more engaging as a leader if you use “we” and “us” statements that position you as existing among, not above, those you lead.
• Use the first person to demonstrate commitment and authenticity – Speak with “I” statements when you want to take accountability and inspire others, but not when you’re being egocentric.
• Avoid weak pronouns – Be mindful of your use of “it,” “this” and “that.” Be more specific. Name your nouns. Instead of, “This will take us to the next level,” say, “Adopting this innovative approach will take us to the next level.”
• Be mindful of “ands, adjectives and apologies” – Avoid overusing the word “and,” which can encourage unnecessary wordiness. Sometimes less is more. Try not to overuse adjectives, especially overly broad ones such as “good” and “terrific.” Don’t apologize by default. When necessary, confidently correct yourself. For example, “Earlier, I said 40 teams were affected. I meant to say 60.”
• Use attention magnets – Some phrases powerfully draw attention to your points: “If you take away one idea from this presentation, it’s this…” or “Here’s why this matters…”
• Use the rule of three – Communicating your ideas in threes engages listeners by mirroring the rhythm of a poem or song. For example, in the Gettysburg address, Abraham Lincoln employed two tricolons: “government of the people, by the people, for the people” and “we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground.”

Don’t worry about being perfect. Don’t get hung up on your appearance, your tone of voice or your entertainment factor. Those characteristics are well and good, but they don’t inspire others. 

Choose the communication platform that best conveys your message.

Harness the power of your digital communication to strengthen your message, your executive presence and your ability to engage others. Before choosing a platform (for example, Zoom, PowerPoint, email or digital video), reflect on what you’re trying to communicate, and consider whether the function, tone and timing of the tool fit your purpose and level of urgency. For example, if you want to share a two-minute message, you might opt to send a personal video message. But if you need to share a more complex message, you should perhaps write an internal newsletter or schedule a meeting to present your ideas with slides.

To use Zoom and other videoconferencing tools more effectively, don’t read from a script. Instead, stick small notes on your computer screen to guide your presentation. Project your voice as you would when you’re speaking at a conference. Stay present and focused. Position your body to fill most of the camera frame. Check your lighting. Stare into your computer’s camera to create the impression of eye contact. And be mindful of “Zoom fatigue,” the exhaustion people feel when they gaze at screens for too long.

“Many communicators do not realize that what worked in rooms doesn’t always work in Zooms.”

To use email more effectively, avoid overly vague subject lines (such as “Meeting today”). Instead, be more precise – for example, “Inventory Report Analysis.” Use all-capital subject lines if you wish to indicate urgency. Start your emails with a friendly greeting to avoid appearing abrupt. Avoid unnecessarily wordy language in the body of your emails. End your emails with action steps. And read the emails you receive in their entirety to avoid sending incomplete responses.

To harness the power of presentation software such as PowerPoint or Prezi, reinforce your words, thoughts and ideas with strong visuals – not to impress your audience with a visually appealing image, but to wow them with your points. Your text should contain bullet-points rather than whole sentence. Each slide should encapsulate just one point or idea. Put thought into the title of each slide, as strong titles engage your audience. Don’t include graphs or charts that your audience can’t read when you project them on a big screen.

A digital video, which you can film on your phone, is another option. To most effectively use digital video, keep your message concise and inspirational. Don’t script these messages. Make them spontaneous and authentic. End with a thank-you.

Targeted communication tactics can help you navigate specific events.

Learn different internal leadership communication tactics to help you gracefully share your desired message in the following five contexts:

1. Sharing bad news – When sharing news about layoffs, for instance, use unambiguous, unscripted language where possible. Don’t be tempted to overpromise or to soften the blow for your own comfort, and resist trying to spin your news positively. Show your team appreciation. Acknowledge that the news is tough to hear, and share information about available resources for counseling.
2. Handling a crisis – Your team trusts you to lead during a crisis. Read up on the events, and provide timely information. Don’t sugarcoat the magnitude of the crisis, but emphasize what you will do (rather than what you won’t do) to overcome the challenge. Ensure employees that staff safety comes first, and encourage people to remain calm. Tell stories to inspire people to channel their resilience and optimism.
3. Celebrating an organizational milestone – Milestones generally represent your organization’s progress toward a broader goal. Be sure to discuss how this milestone connects to your organization’s bigger vision. Thank the people whose work contributed to the milestone, and explain why the milestone is so significant.
4. Honoring an employee – Rather than merely listing an individual’s achievements, touch on his or her unique contributions to your organization. Share personal stories, praise the person for his or her personal strengths, and share a curated list of the person’s most relevant achievements.
5. Introducing a new strategic direction or policy – Don’t simply aim to inform your team. Inspire them as well. Share your appreciation for everyone’s hard work, and provide your employees with opportunities to ask questions and share feedback.

“Use your language wisely, and it will enable you to lead with power and purpose every time you put pen to paper, finger to key, or voice to thought.”

Improving your communication skills as a leader is an ongoing process. Pay attention to the communication styles of leaders you admire. Take note of the most engaging techniques you observe them using. Solicit feedback after delivering presentations from a small group of peers you trust. Communication tactics are tools you can harness to lead with purpose as you inspire teams to execute your vision.