MESSAGE TO CEOs

Dear CEO

In today’s world of instant and cross-border communications, there are pressures on everyone to communicate with impact and speed. There are expectations for companies to provide information, to articulate their visions, to share their dreams and successes. Stakeholders expect ongoing communication, openness and transparency. Markets want to know what is happening, everyday, in real time. It is a noisy marketplace, but the need for information is real and companies have to have their share of voice.

Companies are helmed by people such as yourself, who are the communicators of their organisations. Without a clear understanding of the complexities of good communication, communicators lose valuable opportunities to disseminate key corporate and product messages. Communication is not only about being able to speak well or present well. It is about being strategic – knowing when to deliver a message and what to say and how; understanding the dynamics of context and audience; being clear about communication objectives; knowing how communication can go wrong.

Who are we communicating with? Why are we communicating? How do we communicate, what platform do we use? What is our message strategy? Will it help us achieve our intent or objective? When should we communicate? Will our communication succeed? How do we ensure that it will not fail? Can we prevent misunderstanding or distortion of our message? Do we have message clarity and integrity? Who will be the chief communicator; what are his or her strengths?

These questions cannot be easily answered. As we communicate all the time, we have developed unconscious communication competencies. But the time has come for us to be much more aware of the challenges of communicating effectively and successfully so that we can make the most of every communication opportunity and platform. Awareness and understanding – and good practice – will help us build our conscious communication competencies and put them to better use both for ourselves and our organisations.

Communication is both an art and science – knowing how it works alone will not ensure success. We still need the soft skills of style, dynamics, inter-personal relations and body language – these complement and help advance our communication strategies and efforts.

We believe Mentor Communication Resources can help you develop the skills of good communication practice. Our team of coaches offer a range of programmes to suit your every need. Do call me if you want to chat about achieving communication excellence in your organisation. I look forward to hearing from you.

DR. MILLICENT DANKER MCIPR
Lead Facilitator & Coach