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Who and Why Lead to What

Knowing who you are as a leadership communicator and why you are speaking will make the next step—determining what you will say—that much easier. It is often tempting to skip these first steps, but that is a mistake that could lead you to overlook the needs of the audience as well as important attributes of your message.

So, whether you are the expert explaining an issue or a transformer selling change, you need to know who you are and why you are there if you expect people to believe what you have to say.

Communications Planner: Discovering
the Leadership Communicator Within

Discovering your purpose and style as a leadership communicator is essential to getting your message across in ways that enable it to be understood. As we have mentioned, your approach may vary from situation to situation. In order to provide clarity, here are a series of questions you can ask yourself in the interest of sharpening your focus as a leadership communicator. The answers to these questions will prepare you to begin the development of your message, which we discuss in the next chapter.

Getting to Know Yourself as a Leadership Communicator

  1. How does the audience know you?

  2. Do you or your organization have a prior connection to this audience? Explain.

  3. What type of presenter appeals most to this audience?

    • Expert

    • Visionary

    • Coach

    • Tranformer

Identifying Your Purpose as a Leadership Communicator

  1. What does the audience expect you to say?

  2. What changes have occurred recently that may affect your message?

  3. How receptive is the audience to what you have to say? Explain.

  4. Check the purpose of the presentation as you see it now. (Select no more than 2 boxes.)

    • Explain 

    • Sell/preach 

    • Overcome objections

    • Entertain 

    • Celebrate 


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