The Great Communicator

We can find that many world leaders tend to be great communicators. It’s how they get a group or a country to buy into their vision and direction and how they make people around them feel. Most of the time, this is done indirectly through events, speeches and interactions.

When you think of some of the many great Presidents of the United States, you can see many great communicators.

One example is Ronald Reagan. He is actually known as “the great communicator” because of his ability to say big things in a relate-able way. He also was effective at communicating and making big impacts with non-verbal signals, which can really make a huge impact. During an in-depth professional coaching session I was once lucky enough to have, myself and my coach discussed the impact that non-verbal communication can have and understanding how to use it positively can really convey some serious meaning.

His former speech writer said he also had a very typical template to his speeches – they were to be no longer than 20 minutes, and they were to follow this format; ‘tell them what you’re going to tell them tell them and then tell them what you’ve told them.’ It’s said that this style compliments Reagan and is similar to how he approached much of life — do what makes sense, keep it simple, and reflect the solid values that made America great.

I would absolutely want to engage in some of Reagan’s communication techniques that made him so successful – specifically his ability to be impactful and relatable and his ability to use non-verbal communication and signals for impact.Many times leaders find themselves unrelateable and it is often times in the way they choose to communicate to their teams. Speaking to them purposefully, in a way that makes them feel as though you are on the same team as them, making connections and relating to those you are communicating with is key. Additionally, so many people are negatively impacted by their non-verbal cues and body language. Someone who is aware of how important these things are and is instead able to positively impact their communication with non-verbal signals and cues will be more successful in creating buy in with what they are trying to communicate.