A CEO’s Main Job Is To Communicate

‘‘Today, we are introducing three revolutionary products. (Pause). The first is a wide-screen iPod with touch controls. The second is a revolutionary phone, and the third is an Internet communications device……

(Pause). An iPod… Are you getting it? There are not three separate devices. This is one device and we are calling it the iPhone. Today, Apple reinvents the phone.”

Those were the opening words as Steve Jobs introduced the first ever iPhone to the World at San Francisco on January 9, 2007………

There are many presentations and speeches Steve Jobs gave over his lifetime but in my opinion, none had such corporate historical significance as this particular one.

For it marked the emergence of the iPhone; a device which in many ways than one entirely changed the paradigm of mobile phone technology and truly catapulted Apple to becoming one the most valuable companies of all time.

This presentation was a masterpiece both as a sales pitch and as a befitting CEO’s address. I even dare submit that should the very same script have been delivered by another Apple employee with lesser presentation capabilities and rank as Mr Jobs, chances are that the iPhone would have been a huge flop in the market.

Mr Jobs best exemplified the CEO who understands his first role in the company — as the communicator-in -chief. As much as you may outsource the company’s PR function, and delegate the communication task to a lowly department within the organisation, ultimately, and you can take this to the bank, it is your word as CEO that may make or break your company.

The buck stops with you. Often, whenever CEOs attend my trainings I am quick to remind them that they are not spectacularly different from the rest of their management team or even employees.

The only edge they have, besides the title, is that they are expected to have superior communication skills.

Actually, when asked to define management in the simplest terms, I refer to it is as ‘‘applied communication’’. The value of management and communication are so closely tied that they are synonymous with each other. Hence the importance attached to the CEO’s speech.

This underpins the importance of having CEOs who understand and practise the art of public speaking and boardroom presentations.

Kaizen principle

So as CEO, before you offer your next speech, please take this advice into account:

Excellence is not a stagnant level; adopt kaizen principle and improve.

When we come to CEOs, we have a whole spectrum of them; from the amazingly eloquent media darlings to the awful who embarrass the whole organisation whenever they dare speak in public.

The unfortunate thing is that, many CEOs don’t know where they fall. There are many who are brilliant but who never seem to fully trust themselves.

Then there are those who are despicably awful, yet delude themselves that they are speech masters.

It takes a lot of self-awareness and knowledge to tell our strengths and weaknesses. It takes greater self-wisdom and discipline to do something about it.

The truth is that many a CEO are above average speakers which explains why they rose to the positions they hold today.

However, it should occur to them that both Usain Bolt and David Rudisha are amazing athletes. Yet despite their mastery of the track, they still have something in common to maintain their mastery —a coach.

Regardless of how brilliant we are as communicators, it hurts little to go back to class and improve further on your communication techniques.

As Stephen Covey said, to be effective, you have to continuously sharpen your saw.

Secondly, seek services of an expert speech writer or consultant. There are times when as a CEO, you have to give a speech whose significance is too important to be taken lightly.

It could be the launch of a new product as it was the case with Mr Jobs. It could be an address to the AGM of a public listed company. Whenever such events arise, we seek the communication department to draft remarks for us. This is where we err.

It should be noted that most times the communication office has some other core functions of which writing the CEO’s speech does not really rank that highly.

As a result, what these departments do is whip out a few historical speeches, change a few tenses and facts — and hooray, they have a speech for you.

Those who have attended corporate forums are overly tired of these ‘‘renovated speeches.’’ You might realise that even after attending speech classes and ending up a master speaker, speech writing may still not be a piece of cake. It takes a bit of time, talent, and professional input.

Cardinal rule

The cardinal rule; if the speech is too important get the services of a consultant. Let’s learn from Barack Obama, himself a wonderful speaker, yet he maintains the services of a full time speech writer.

Having a brilliant and preferably consistent speech writer or consultant on contract is an investment worth taking.

A good speech writer doesn’t create thoughts for you. He models your thoughts and assists you to shape them to fit your audience.

A good speech writer does sufficient research on the subject matter and goes out of his way to ‘‘get’’ your speaking personality. He helps to structure your communication and harmonise your personality.

A good speech writer is not your junior who you command on meeting deadlines, but a professional peer with the sense of what makes a good speech.

It is a good idea to listen to what your speech consultant may have to say about what you want to say, for ultimately it could determine what everyone else will say about you.

In the end, all CEOs should heed the timeless words of former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. That a good speech should make us laugh, think, cry, and cheer — preferably in that order.

Mr Sissey, the CEO of Business Insider Africa, is also the Author of ‘Speech Recipe: A guide to Public Speaking and Boardroom Presentations’’. E-mail: info@marvinsissey.com. Twitter @marvinsissey.