Obama Follows Leadership Communication Principle

Obama follows leadership communication principle…………….

I watched President Obama’s press event last night. I have to say I was impressed!!! Not necessarily at the answers to the questions. That is a topic for another time. I am talking about the strategy he is using to communicate with the American people.

From a leadership perspective a key communication principle is to communicate early and often. We have all worked for organizations that shoved some idea down our throats. What you and I might call the flavor of the month….. The result in that approach is that RESISTENCE becomes extremely high! Push back! Not buying it!!!

President Obama is taking a different approach. He is narrowing the gap between government and the people by communicating often his thoughts, actions and policies. This makes him more real, this makes him seem more like us! This begins to feel like you are having a discussion with someone in your home. The more we see ourselves in him, the more we relate to his thinking process, the more we realize we are similar………..the more trust he builds!

Again I say the three keys to a strong communication foundation are: build trust, build relationship with your listeners, and build engagement. He is definitely working to establish those ideas. From a communication score board I give him a B+ so far……………………….

The question for you and I is can we apply the same principles in our business life and personal life?

Do you communicate early, often and consistently? Or do you pout, throw brick walls and wait to the last second?

We can definitely follow President Obama’s lead on this one!


Bart Queen, Remarkability Expert
CEO, Ultimate POWERSPEAK
bart@ultimatepowerspeak.com

Always Make your CONFIDENCE Greater than your COMFORT!

ALWAYS MAKE YOUR CONFIDENCE GREATER THAN YOUR COMFORT!

The effort of building confidence is what “turns the art of communication into the science of results.” Companies spend thousands of dollars on marketing strategies, operational strategies, and financial strategies. Hardly any spend time on thinking through a communication strategy.
Most companies don’t even consider how to prep and train those individuals who are the human face of their companies: Sales, engineers, technology experts, customer service reps and many others.

In this economy the key differentiator is the ability to delivery the company’s message in a compelling, concise, clear manner.

I truly believe you have to focus on the four keys areas of the communication process: development of the message, deployment of the message, delivery of the message, and the sustainability of the message. To miss one area is to commit “business suicide”.

One of my client, SAS, has chosen to do it right as they prep for their largest user conference. Over the last several years they have taken the time to make sure their presenters were prepped, practiced and professional. They have seen their customer rating of the presenters’ sky-rocket! Customers are pleased, satisfaction is rising and success of the conference continues to be strong.

Here is a short video clip speaking about how they prep for their conference. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5SxA7AQvJM

Now is the time to invest in your people!!! Give them the communication skills to successfully communicate the real value of your company, its products and services.

Failure is not an option. Take the BART-onomics test. Walk through your company and ask one simple question to five different people.

The question is: “WHAT ARE THE TOP THREE BENEFITS YOUR COMPANY, SERVICE OR PRODUCT BRINGS TO THE TABLE?”

If all 5 people answer with the same answer……………..you’re golden!!! If not ………….a COMMUNICATION STRATEGY IS NECESSARY AND CRITICAL TO YOUR SUCCESS!

The definition of strategy in its root meaning is ……….. “the art of generals”.

Are your people communicating with a STRATEGY in mind????

Bart Queen
CEO, ULTIMATE POWERSPEAK
www.bartqueen.com

Bartonomics! Communicating for the Competitive Advantage! Obama's Communication Strategy Leads the Way!

BARTONOMICS! COMMMUNICATING FOR THE COMPETIITVE ADVANTAGE-
Obama’s communication strategy leads the way!

President Obama is about to do a first! He is moving the office of president into the 21st century in his use of communication channels. President Obama is following the key principle we constantly teach at ULTIMATE POWERSPEAK …..We must be listener focused, not speaker focused. The bottom line today our communication is not about us………..It’s about the listener.
NO MATTER WHAT COMMUNICATION SITUATION YOU ARE IN……………..THERE ARE THREE KEY STATEGIC GOALS……………….BUILD TRUST, BUILD RELATIONSHIP, BUILD ENGAGEMENT!

President Obama is carrying on these two key communication principles through in the communication channels he is choosing.

The first example of this is the way he reached out to people thru the internet and email programs. The impact was huge! The result, greater awareness, greater relationships…….the final goal...more votes. Now we have social media blazing across the frontier as a way of communicating and staying in contact.

I would place a $20 dollar wager that somehow, some way we will be able to communicate with the President via a social media tool. I give him one year.

For our grandparents and parents it was the classic idea of a fireside chat. You will remember the image of Jimmy Carter, seated in his high back chair, wearing a cardigan sweater.
President Obama knows his audience! He is reaching out to his younger techno savvy audience!
The second example is his decision to be on the Jay Leno show! In my opinion this is brilliant!!! He reaches a huge audience by being on television……….nothing new. The catch is twofold……….late night TV and a talk show. The perception is SNL KIND OF STUFF!!!!
You want to watch, the country will watch, the world will watch! You want to build engagement? He has done it!

My question to all of you in your business communication- talks, speeches, keynotes, marketing campaigns, and meetings……………….Are you listener focused in your approach? Are you optimizing your communication channels to build engagement, awareness and results?
I challenge you as individuals and businesses to apply those two principles to your communication- be listener focused in your approach, make your goal to build trust, relationship and engagement! We don’t have to be the president to use these ideas………….watch what happens……………….you can turn the art of communication into the science of results!

Email me at Bart@bartqueen.com if you need additional information or if you have a story to share about being listener focused or building engagement!

Bart Queen
CEO, ULTIMATE POWERSPEAK
bart@bartqueen.com