Like you, my news feeds are always full of early stage – mature business articles. One LinkedIn article that popped up yesterday was about the employment market and the top skill desired for executive level talent is, Communication.

Effective communication is definitely a skill set. Effective and skilled communication starts with the following:

• Effective listening
• Knowing your audience
• Knowing your material
• Gaining acceptance of the conversation

I used to think I was a great communicator. What I really was amazing at, was downloading. I could download encyclopedias of information. I am the idiot that would tell people how to build a clock, when they only wanted to know what time it was.

This is one of the reasons why I begin with effective listening. What is the reason behind the conversation. What information is being conveyed. Who is it being conveyed to. This is the nuance.

Communication while acting as a manager, who would be delegating tasks, is much different then communicating as a Leader who developing a dynamic team. Operational conversations have a much different tone then when Ideating over a strategic initiative. A good executive knows the differences and adjusts how they communicate accordingly.