How Authentic Are Your CEO's Communications?

Specifically, that means working one-to-one to prepare leaders both to respond quickly and with clarity to a breaking issue, and to be comfortable and confident speaking for more than an hour in a longer-form format, such as a profile interview or a podcast.

Our team has worked at the very highest levels of Government, politics, media and business and we have taken time to create a suite of executive communications training modules that fully match the needs and responsibilities of today’s executives.

That means media interview preparation, but also internal communication, speech-making, stakeholder engagement and long-form formats.

The trend towards long-form formats has been a particular driver of the creation of this offer. Leadership communications has evolved. Soundbites are no longer appreciated and a more ‘authentic’ communications approach is most effective.

At its broadest definition that means sounding more human than automaton. This was driven in part from a desire for empathy during the tough messages being delivered during the pandemic, but also, in an era of AI, misinformation and plummeting institutional trust, it is now more than that. It is the key to successful communication.

Longer media – podcasts or videocasts – serve as a stress test for authentic communicators. Put bluntly, if you’re pretending to be something you are not, you’ll be found out.

James Carville, the American Democratic strategist, articulated this recently in The New York Times when he advised would-be 2028 Presidential hopefuls that 'your auditions for 2028 should be based on two things: 1) how authentic you are on the economy, and 2) how well you deliver it on a podcast'.

Podcasts are having a moment, but of course they aren’t everything. Our training prepares spokespeople, management and executives for every level of engagement. And yet it’s still a worthwhile question to ask yourself of the people who represent your business externally. Would you trust them to go on a 90 minute podcast recording and emerge with the reputation of your business improved?

If not, or if you are looking to refresh your communications training, please do get in touch.