Unlock boardroom excellence: Discover the power of quality communication

Webinar key takeaways: Unlock boardroom excellence: Discover the power of quality communication

• Communications are essential in the boardroom. Companies that invest in knowing how to communicate well always succeed.
• Comms is important when you want to promote a culture of mutual respect and diversity.
• Communications allows for:
  • Transparency
  • A Focus on decision-making
  • Diversity of thought
• Blunders of poor communications in the boardroom include:
  • Constantly checking devices
  • Breathlessness, nervousness, rambling
  • Failure to establish eye contact
  • Starting and finishing updates or presentations badly
  • Being unprepared
  • Asking no questions
• Think about your main concerns and what’s holding you back from communicating effectively in the boardroom. It can abe things like:
  • How can I get someone to listen to me?
  • Why do I get so nervous?
  • How can I keep people’s attention?

• The consequences of poor communication include:
  • Time lost due to misunderstandings
  • Frustration due to uncertainty
  • People feeling left out if it’s not inclusive
  • Messages misunderstood or misinterpreted
  • Negative energy reducing influence
• Presentation mistakes in the boardroom:
  • Not allowing time for interaction
  • Not making the presentation interesting and creating energy
  • Including too much of anything – detail, information
  • Having no core messages
• Getting the presentation right means:

• Looking at the board’s pain points and burning questions
• Highlighting risk and impact from any decision
• Identifying why your way is the best option – the ‘why’ is critical
• Satisfy the ‘So What’ – stating why your solution is of value, why it’s relevant
• Allowing time for interaction and engagement – either during or afterwards

• A really good communicator will be someone who:
  • Relaxes and clarifies
  • Opens up and listens
  • Makes eye contact and uses facial expression
  • Is aware of the audience and engages
  • Restates and repeats information 
  • Has warmth and is witty

• To polish your communications skills:
  • Pause and remove fillers
  • Broaden your small talk
  • Control your voice

• How you use your voice is critical in communications. It can move, inspire, influence, persuade your audience. 
  • We generally speak too fast maybe because we’re nervous or we’re too familiar with our audience.
  • Pause is powerful. Silence is golden within any form of communication. Pause for effect, to breath, to allow the audience to absorb.
  • Pause at the beginning and the end of a sentence. This can distinguish a good communicator from a great one.
• Context – without context, communication is useless.
• Six strategies to get your ideas heard in the boardroom:

1. Preparation – ask yourself: what am I saying? How am I saying it? Why am I saying it?
2. Don’t leave communications to the board room alone
   1. Reach out to board members between meetings
3. Connect personally with your board
   1. Keep your communications engaging and balanced; 
   2. Ask powerful questions
   3. Frame your discussion items 
   4. Provide and give feedback
4. Focus on your impact
   1. Be clear
   2. Be concise
   3. Be confident
5. Embrace differences of opinion and difficult conversations
   1. Difficult conversations are vital on a board – they build respect, they move the dial forward
   2. Welcome and develop robust communications that move you towards your goal
6. Always back yourself 
   1. You’ve been appointed because you’ve got unique expertise
   2. Understand the value you have and be able to show it
   3. Display your expertise
   4. Remember the power of three – give three reasons
   5. Ask for feedback

• The biggest communication problem is that we don’t listen to understand, we listen to reply. We need to do this the other way around.
• The key takeaways are:

• Speak up, engage and allow the board to get the benefit of hearing from you.
• Know your why – your purpose on the board. This motivates you to speak up.
• Build relationships.
• Be clear and rational and use body language for impact.

Do you want to know one of the secrets to authentic leadership in the boardroom?

It’s using quality communication to reduce misunderstandings, develop strong relationships and establish yourself as an effective leader.

Join us for this webinar to learn how to get your ideas heard and implemented.
We’ll uncover common communication mistakes to avoid so that you stand out as a confident leader. Learn the strategies needed to promote good board relationships and agility.

The key takeaways from this webinar will be:
– Why clear communication in the boardroom is essential for progress.
– Ways to elevate the quality of your communication.
– How to become confident and impactful in the boardroom.