Leadership Communication Skills

Day 1: Effective Leadership Communication 

Effective communication is fundamental to effective leadership. Our most impactful leaders communicate in ways that others can hear it and hear what others say in order to cultivate mutual understanding. With attention and practice, that impact is accessible to all of us.  Together we will explore key elements of effective communication and integrate frameworks to build these capacities. In this interactive session, you will come away with the concepts and practices to help you:

• Identify and close communication gaps
• Use “clean” talk to express and understand important messages
• Promote productive conversations by using methods to better explain our own thinking and get others to explain their perspectives

Day 2: Powerful Presentations

Our work lives are filled with presentations.  From meetings with senior leaders to quarterly financial recaps, pitch decks, team updates, project proposals and debriefs, training webinars, and customer presentations, we often find ourselves contributing to and/or delivering presentations. Being able to convey your key messages in a way that resonates with your audience is a critical business competency, but choosing what to share and how is often challenging (and time-intensive)! In this interactive session, we will provide actionable advice and opportunities to practice key skills for more powerful presentations, including:

• Organizing your message – storylining and storytelling
• Using charts and visuals to make your message “pop” and other best practices
• Adapting your presentation approach to fit the audience, meeting format, and meeting objectives

Day 3: Personal Presence and Impact

Presence is a leadership communication skill that allows us to create a consistent view of ourselves as a compelling force. The greatest leaders do this through 3 elements: 1) what they say (words), 2) how they say it (tone), and 3) how they appear (body language). In this training, you will learn how to align your verbal, vocal, and visual presence to create a lasting impact in every interaction you have! Learn how to:

• Control our personal intensity by learning to turn it up and down 
• Influence the feelings of our audience verbally, vocally, and visually
• Be more intentional and authentic with our leadership communication

To gain approval and support before enrolling in this professional development opportunity, you may need to write a letter or submit a form to your supervisor or employer.

We’ve found that the following talking points can be effective for communicating the career benefits of our programs:

• Relevant skills: Smith Executive Education programs cover current and relevant skills. These top-rated programs are led by world-class faculty and address relevant challenges that women leaders face.

• Immediate value: Leadership Communication Skills offers research-based knowledge with real-world experiences from business school experts and management consultants. All of the tools, frameworks, and strategies I will gain can be immediately applied to our team’s key priorities and projects. I would also be able to present my learnings after completing the program. 

• Ease of access: Smith College Executive Education programs offer high-value learning experiences that are more affordable and accessible than a degree program or for-credit course. These programs are designed to fit into the roles and responsibilities of working professionals.

• Professional development: Participating in this program is an investment in my professional growth as a team member and leader. I will receive skills and practical knowledge to succeed both in my current role and in future opportunities as I advance within our organization.

If you have further questions about presenting our programs for professional development approval, please email Joel Gould, jgould@smith.edu