Leadership Communication

Rising through the ranks from a technical expert to becoming a senior leader requires excellent formal and informal communication skills. We help our clients to polish their formal and informal communication skills so that they can engage their teams in their vision.

Senior Leadership Challenges

Senior leaders often benefit from support in advance of a presentation, e.g. at a conference, a financial roadshow, a results presentation or an AGM. A lot of our clients have been recently promoted to a higher leadership role and find themselves having to step out of their comfort zone to communicate with a broad audience (often more senior), with a more business-critical agenda and in a more pressurised environment.

Whether you require support with preparation and rehearsal for a set piece event, advice on getting your voice heard at the boardroom table or handling challenges and conflict without getting too emotional, our team can help.

Leadership Communication

How will leadership communication coaching improve your ability to become a better presenter?

A unique approach

Our experienced team of subject matter specialists work with leaders on a one-to-one or group basis. Their approach is entirely bespoke and tailored to focus areas. The sessions are highly practical, so you can expect immediate results.

These experts in presentation skills, storytelling, difficult conversations, media training, written communications, influencing and personal impact work both face-to-face and remotely. You may need to spend a couple of hours with only one, three or four of these specialists, depending on your specific goals.

Harnessing the expertise of a number of our subject matter specialists provides a deep dive, transformational programme that will carry you through your career.

What is effective leadership communication?

Storytelling

A good story told well can cross all kinds of barriers, including cultural ones. They are a great resource for any business leader and for pitches. Our specialist coaches help you create, shape and relate excellent client stories. They cover the structure and mechanics of storytelling and show you how to connect the right story to the right client.

Presentation skills

Whether in a large auditorium with autocue or around a boardroom table, leaders need to be able to engage, inspire and influence their audience. You’ll be able to structure your message and deliver it with impact to a range of stakeholders, including clients, potential investors, shareholders and colleagues.

Public speaking

Delivering a speech in front of a potentially hostile audience can be a daunting task for anyone. Our coaches will enable you to deliver positive, impassioned, audience-focused messages and to handle difficult responses within a public speaking arena. Using a range of communication techniques and styles, your personal delivery will be akin to that of a professional speaker.

Challenging conversations

Some conversations take significant courage from both sides. These could be conversations about a myriad of issues, from performance, difficult behaviours and peer working problems to handling a complaint or an annoying personal habit. Our specialist coaches provide you with the techniques and confidence to have these types of conversations so you can improve the situation for you, the individual, your team and your business.

Handling the media

Having the skills to handle the media not only protects your reputation but boosts your credibility. Our media coaches work with large multinationals and government bodies around the world; they can show you how to get your message across, escape from a difficult corner and understand what makes journalists tick. Whether you’re expecting to be interviewed on radio or television, you will have the confidence needed to gain the maximum impact from any media opportunity.

Influencing

Leaders must be able to influence a network of key stakeholders, both within the business and with business alliances. Our specialist coaches will empower you to influence upwards and adjust how you communicate with different audiences. Once you have developed your tool kit for effective influencing, you’ll be more credible and compelling in how you communicate and gain greater buy-in to your projects, bids and proposals.

Personal impact and presence

Strengthening your personal leadership brand to become more authentic and impactful involves understanding how others see and value you. Our coaches will help you define your style of delivery, with a focus on high-status vocal, visual and verbal delivery, whether on stage or around a boardroom table. You’ll develop gravitas and be seen and remembered for the right reasons.

Written communication

Whether you write reports and executive summaries, sales bids and proposals or customer-centred letters or emails, creating compelling and well-structured documents is a critical skill for any leader. When your writing is strong, it garners respect; people listen to what you have to say. Our coaches help you to structure your message effectively, choose the right style and tone to suit the reader, write clear and concise copy and proofread with accuracy.

Stage performance

The dynamics and subtleties of the performance-audience relationship are best observed through the practical performance skills used by actors and singers. Our specialist coaches provide tips and advice on your use of posture, body language, eye contact, breathing, voice and the way you inhibit the space. These can make a huge difference in the impact you have when presenting to an audience.

Vocal techniques

Breathing, mouth movement (articulation) and clarity (enunciation) are hugely important components of a good presentation, as is the use of your dynamic range, pauses and eye contact. Many of our clients are surprised at how much difference spending time with our specialist vocal coaches makes to their overall delivery and frequently return for rehearsals.

Personal styling

First impressions are lasting judgements. Create a powerful, memorable and successful image that will visually demonstrate your high profile, experience and potential in your chosen sector. Our coaches raise your confidence and profile by working with you to sharpen your image without taking away your own personal tastes and preferences. You will be able to hone your image for your audience on a daily basis, and across the different cultures you may work in.

Frequently Asked Questions

Have any questions? We want you to be as sure as possible about choosing us.

What is leadership communication?

Senior leaders are already experienced communicators but need to ‘step up a gear’ in their oratory. Often, they have strong technical abilities and now face the challenge of having to inspire, engage and influence a wider variety of (often more senior) audiences. We work with senior executives to help them polish their formal communication skills, eg:

present the numbers virtually
rehearse for a results presentation
prepare for an investor roadshow
develop stories for their repertoire

We also work with senior leaders in areas such as:

executive presence and gravitas
influencing and stakeholder engagement
increasing emotional intelligence
gaining greater self-awareness of impact on others

These softer leadership communication skills enable leaders to be trusted and respected and rise up the corporate ladder.

What’s different about your leadership communication coaching?

With over 40 years’ experience, we’ve honed our approach to be most efficient for senior leaders. Most of our clients are experienced communicators, they don’t want to be coached in areas where they are already proficient. They want to create a greater impact, to gain the tips and advice to adapt their style to suit their audience and to be remembered for they way they made their audience feel.

What types of leadership communication are there?

We offer specialist, tailored sessions in many areas, including:

How does leadership communication coaching work?

Our communication skills coaching programmes are tailored to each individual and their budget. Often, they consist of 8 - 12 hours of coaching support, the optimum time to create transformation and sustained behavioural change.

A communication skills diagnostic session, if required, is led by our chairman, Khalid Aziz. This 2 hour session starts the coaching process by benchmarking your performance and pinpointing specific priority areas for development. The outcome of the session shapes what is required for further sessions. Each follow-on session is delivered by a specialist coach.