Know Your Message: The Power of a Great Communicator

What does it mean to be a great communicator?

To what degree does a leader have to be an eloquent speaker and a gifted writer?

Without these innate abilities, can an executive stand out – and apart from – the competition?

To ask these questions is to understand the importance of customer engagement and corporate integrity.

According to Brooke Greenwald, Founder of Cornerstone Communications, ltd.:

“Great communication is less about sound bites and more about sound policies. That means no amount of spin, no amount of deflection can solve a crisis or repair a crisis of confidence. A great communicator speaks in an accessible and conversational manner. He writes the same way, with clarity and an emphasis on news.

“He offers practical information, not advertisements for himself or promotions for his products. The greatness of his communication rests with the consistency by which he delivers it. His success is the result of his commitment to transparency and accountability.”

I endorse that assessment because of my own experience with marketing and branding.

I believe in the accuracy of that analysis not because I think it is right, but because I know it is right: Communication is an ongoing discussion with customers, members of the press and the public at large.

It requires the guidance of a professional.

It demands a voice of independence that will speak truth to power; that will critique more than it will cheerlead; that will review more than it will recommend; that will examine more than it will extol; that will scrutinize more than it will salute.

An executive needs this counsel, so he can learn the nuances of communication.

He needs to earn the trust of the customers he seeks to reach, which means he must respect the expectations of the consumers he intends to target.

He must communicate.