Why You Need an Executive Communication Coach
In today’s fast-paced corporate world, effective communication is more crucial than ever. This is where an executive communication coach can make a significant difference. Whether you’re leading a team, presenting to stakeholders, or navigating complex negotiations, the ability to convey your thoughts clearly and persuasively is essential. By honing your communication skills, an executive communication coach helps you to express yourself confidently and professionally, ensuring your message is not only heard but also understood.
Often, I find what trips people up is simply the label of ‘executive’ communication. It can induce extra stress for the poor soul who believes that ‘executive communication’ exists on a different, almost-mythical plane. So in my coaching sessions, I sometimes ask this silly question: which feels easier – communicating, or executive-communicating?
When the label of ‘executive’ is omitted, it usually has the effect of reducing anxiety in the sufferer. Think about it – isn’t the essence of clear and effective communication the same, whether it is for professional purposes or for domestic interactions? In all circumstances, don’t we all want to express ourselves clearly, and to be understood accurately?
Forgetting this might result in an unnecessary burden of making our words and utterances more ‘professional’ at the workplace.
Top Pain Points to Work on With an Executive Communication Coach
For many clients I’ve worked with, appearing more professional, or more ‘executive-like’ means using big words, with the intention of appearing more intelligent. However, this can easily backfire and end up obscuring the original message. This leads to prolonged – and often more frustrating – conversations. I’ve countless clients who want executive communication coaching because they’ve been given feedback in this area. Some of the most common are:
① People tell me I beat around the bush, instead of getting to the point.
② I receive blank looks or silence in response to what I say.
③ I have to rephrase and repeat myself, even for simple things.
④ I blank out; can’t find the right words.
⑤ People tell me I need to be ‘more confident’.
⑥ I cut short conversations; disengage as quickly as possible.
Over time, this can severely erode your confidence, and you might find yourself keeping quiet more, instead of participating with your opinions and ideas. In some cases, this can induce so much anxiety during conversations, that you might feel the urge to end the conversation as quickly as possible. Many of my clients have affirmed that it essentially feels like wanting to run away.
A Great Executive Communication Coach Will Improve Your Emotional Capacity
If you wish to have better executive communication (and I assume, to communicate like a leader), you must be able to stay in discomfort, instead of cutting the conversation short and running away.
Over the years, I encountered many who imagine an executive communication coach helping them to express themselves within one or two sentences, without further need for clarification. While this is desirable and indeed possible (on good days), most real-life conversations are not perfect like this.
Rather, they involve a bit of back-and-forth, not unlike two artists co-creating a sculpture. To be truly ‘professional’ in your communication, you need to be willing to jump in and get your hands messy. This is what I meant by staying in discomfort. Notice how this is emotional in nature. It’s by staying in the uncomfortable part of the conversation (where both parties are discovering what they are creating together) that you can get to a clear conclusion.
There’s more.
Important Conversations Are Emotional in Nature
Imagine yourself promoted to the post you desire. Along with the power assigned to you will also come the responsibility of taking care of people. And taking care of people, if you realize, essentially means taking care of emotions. It definitely does not mean coddling them or giving in to every insecurity, but it does mean being willing to do the work of acknowledging diverse views and influencing your team to move in a unified direction. Notice how this is emotional in nature as well. Big words (about facts, SOPs, and concepts) don’t move people. People are more likely to move when they feel understood.
Making a person feel understood is no petty endeavor. It requires the leader to come into contact with opposing and uncomfortable views without immediately shutting them down. Based on my experience, executive communication coaching is not complete without working on this ability.
Read here for more of how emotional mastery is at the core of effective communication.
Learn How to Get Clear With An Executive Communication Coach
It would be amiss for me to not acknowledge that choice of vocabulary does affect perceived intelligence (and competence). Jargons and industry-specific terms can help to reinforce your credibility, and even serve as shorthand. However, we must remember that the core purpose of effective executive communication (and any communication, for that matter) is to achieve clarity.
Without clarity, no (good) work can be done.
If you are to be an effective leader, your executive communication must lead your conversations to clarity. Sometimes, such clarity can be achieved through industry-shorthand. At other times, it is achieved by stripping away the jargons and speaking plainly. Hence, executive communication coaching is also about cultivating the flexibility to speak the necessary language in the most useful emotional tone, to allow that clarity to surface.
And this requires awareness and agility with emotions, like I have elaborated → here.
How having an executive communication coach can help you too
Through personal coaching, you can improve your executive communication and reclaim your confidence at work. This is familiar territory I’ve visited with clients on over the years, as a full-time coach, specializing in communication and confidence.
Every coaching engagement is unique, because each client has different needs, weaknesses and strengths. However, there are processes that unfold every single time:
- Through open exploration and in-depth reflection, we will uncover your blindspots.
- Once you can see the cause or nature of your issue, you might also be able to see how you can do things differently so you get different result.
- I can also guide you to try new ways of saying or doing things, that are effective and feel authentic for you.
- Together, we will co-create practices that you can adopt, to assimilate what you learn into your regular way of being.
- I will provide you with honest feedback which you can use to calibrate and fine-tune your new skills.
What coaching is
Coaching is a form of super-customised learning, focused solely on your needs. It is one of the most dignified forms of professional help, because you choose the topic, direction and depth of what you wish to work on.
In fact, my clients are NOT ‘broken’ in any way. They are capable, creative and self-initiated individuals who want to live out their full potential. Many of them are high-performers at their workplace.
They just want support to help them hit their objectives more quickly and with less pain.
If taking ownership of your growth appeals to you, coaching is might be suitable for you.
WhatsApp me now to understand how you and I can work together on your executive communication and leadership presence.
"A good coach can change the game. A great coach can change a life."
~ John R. Wooden