Effective Top-Management Communication for Consultants and Other Practitioners

Abstract

Senior leaders rely on oral and written communication from their teams to make business decisions. Every day, they participate in meetings, review slide documents, and read memoranda to inform their decision making. External consultants and inhouse project teams are often tasked to create reports and decision papers on pressing business matters. At the same time, many professionals fall short of meeting highest professional business communication standards, driven by a lack of training and insufficient feedback processes. This chapter aims to close this capability gap by explaining key principles for oral and written top management communication in public and private organizations. It draws on communication best practices refined by leading strategy consulting firms. Practical insights and exercises on top-down communication, the pyramid principle and structure techniques will be helpful for young professionals and experienced practitioners alike. In many organizations around the world, slide presentations are the means of choice for top-management communication. This chapter therefore covers hands-on advice to create slide presentations in the style of leading professional services firms. While presenting with impact is a key principle of classic leadership, this chapter includes a perspective how new leadership communication ideas can add value to traditional top-management communication approaches.