How to give a human voice to executive communications

Ensure your executive communications resonate with your workforce by infusing your internal messages with empathy, storytelling, and clarity.

What we'll cover

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Putting the human voice back into executive communications can transform employee engagement and company culture.

Executive communications often feel impersonal. In a bid to portray knowledge and professionalism, leadership messages can become dry and uninspiring.

This creates a disconnect between leaders and employees. It becomes harder to get your message across and to motivate your workforce.

But leadership communications don’t have to be this way. You can adopt a more human and less corporate voice — a voice that shows a little personality and expresses care for employees — without losing your authority.

Here, we look at how you can humanize your corporate communications — and why this approach to internal communications supports workplace trust, employee engagement, and a more positive company culture.

We’ll be looking at:

Why human-centered executive communications matter
3 key principles to humanize your internal communication strategy
Channels that make executive communications more relatable
Leadership communication: Pitfalls to avoid

Why human-centered executive communications matter

Human-centered executive communications can make a big difference to your organization. Here’s why they matter.

Building trust and transparency

We’re more likely to trust someone — and feel a connection with them — when we understand who they are as a person. The things that make them tick. Their personality, passions, and quirks.

This applies to the employee-executive relationship as much as any other. Employees trust leaders who speak in a human, relatable way. When they see an open communication style modeled by the C-suite, they’re also more likely to replicate it themselves in peer-to-peer communication.

This helps you develop a company culture where transparency is the norm. Everyone feels able to raise concerns and share ideas — which is good for collaboration, innovation, and productivity.

Boosting employee engagement

Relatable leadership communications can be inspiring for employees.

Take the example of Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella. He shared the story of his son, who had cerebral palsy — and how this drove him to develop technology that was more inclusive for people with disabilities.

Nadella wasn’t just motivated by profit or growth. He was emotionally invested in his work. And by sharing his story — and painting a picture of the real-world difference Microsoft products can make — he highlighted the purpose of his employees’ work, too.

Human stories like this one boost employee engagement. They also create a sense of togetherness, which supports a positive employee experience.

Enhancing organizational resilience

Trust, high levels of employee engagement, and a culture of open communication are key features of organizational resilience. And when it comes to change management or crisis communication, a human tone is never more important.

Executives who speak with an empathetic and authentic voice show employees that their anxieties are understood and will be addressed. They explain to employees what is expected of them and inspire them to rally around the organization.

Arne Sorenson, CEO of Marriott International, showed leaders how it’s done when he addressed Marriott employees via video message as the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world.

He showed emotion, shared a personal update, and spoke transparently about the difficult decisions — like layoffs — that the company was having to take. The result was a relatable and somewhat reassuring message for employees during a time of extreme uncertainty.

3 key principles to humanize your internal communication strategy

So now we know what relatable executive communications can do for your organization. But what does a human voice actually sound like? While every leader should bring their own personality to their internal messages, the following three principles lie at the heart of any human-centered communication.

Empathy and understanding

Great leaders are empathetic. They demonstrate their empathy by:

Acknowledging employee emotions, even when those emotions are negative
Using inclusive language, like “we,” “us,” and “together”
Actively listening to employees — and asking clarifying questions — to get to know them better

They also prioritize transparent and effective communication, so employees get the information they need when they need it.

Don’t do this: “The current reorganization is necessary for the company’s growth. The executive team will share more details soon.”

Do this: “I know many of you are worried about your roles. We’ll be holding several Q&A sessions this week to answer your questions about the reorganization.”

Clarity without jargon

Jargon and complex language can be confusing for employees and can lead to misunderstandings. In contrast, clear and simple language creates a sense of trust and approachability. It also helps employees to make better decisions.

To make your messages clear and easy to understand:

Start by thinking about the key point you want to get across. Put this point at the start of your message. Also, pre-empt and answer the most pressing employee questions.
Break complicated topics down into smaller parts. Then, explain each part step by step, using a relatable analogy if possible.
Avoid complicated language. Use everyday terms, avoiding corporate buzzwords, industry terminology, and acronyms. Don’t use a long word when a short one will do.
Adopt a conversational tone. If you wouldn’t say it when speaking to an employee face-to-face, don’t put it in a written message. It can help to read your messages out loud to find and replace overly formal words.

Don’t do this: “We need to leverage synergies to optimize workflows.”

Do this: “We need to work together to make our processes more efficient.”

Sharing and storytelling

Sharing your own personal experiences and anecdotes makes your messages more relatable and engaging. Likewise, you can use stories about real-life employees and customers to catch attention and convey a message more effectively.

Weave stories into your employee communications and you also make your messages more memorable. That’s because stories engage both rational and emotional parts of the brain, which supports recall.

To make storytelling part of your executive communications:

Focus on real people and their emotions. Use personal anecdotes, customer case studies, or employee stories in your internal communications, referencing people by name.
Use metaphors and similes. Paint pictures with your words. Metaphors and similes can be particularly useful when you want to bring complicated or abstract concepts to life.
Follow a story structure. When sharing stories, include a beginning (the context), a middle (the challenge), and an end (the resolution).

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Don’t do this: “Just the other day, an employee told me about how little things make a big difference to our clients. We want to see this ethos across every client interaction.”

Do this: “Just the other day, I was speaking to one of our care workers, Emma. She’d noticed that her client, Mrs Shah, seemed a little downhearted. Through conversation, Emma discovered that Mrs Shah, because of her reduced mobility, missed going into her beautiful garden.

So that day, Emma went beyond her usual duties, bringing some potted plants in from outside so she and Mrs. Shah could find a place for them in the living room. It made her client’s day. And that’s what our organization is all about.”

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Channels that make executive communications more relatable

Think beyond just in-person meetings: You probably have a variety of internal communication channels available to you! Some lend themselves to relatable leadership comms more than others. So — if you want to humanize your executive messages — spend some time on the following channels.

Interactive platforms

When we talk face to face, two-way communication is the norm. Explore ways you can transform your traditional top-down communication efforts into opportunities to inspire employee interaction and create a feedback loop.

Share company-wide news on interactive platforms that encourage employee responses. Enable employees to chat with each other via instant messaging. Post to the company news feed. Or run Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions via your company intranet or employee app.

Showing that you have the courage and openness to address employee questions in this kind of forum builds trust and connection.

Videos and live streams

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There’s a lot to be said for showing the face behind the name. Video and live streaming communication makes it easier for leaders to share their tone, body language, emotions, and intentions.

Bonus: Communicating urgent updates through short-form video content increases the likelihood that your on-the-go workers — especially frontline employees and remote teams — will receive critical messages.

Of course, not everyone is 100% comfortable in front of the camera. So if you could use a little direction before you film your first video, take a look at these tips:

Know your script but don’t memorize it word for word. When you put things into your own words, your delivery is more natural and authentic.
Watch your body language. Make eye contact with the camera and avoid crossing your arms. Use hand gestures and facial expressions as if you were in a face-to-face conversation with employees.
Imagine you’re talking to one person. To bring emotion and connection to your video message, picture one employee. Then, deliver your message to that individual.

Employee-centric channels

Employee-centric communication channels, like the company news feed or modern employee intranets, can provide inspiration for your executive communications.

Here, you can find user-generated content (UGC) that you may like to share. You can also find stories of employees who have demonstrated company values and done great work.

By sharing these stories and recognizing employees by name via easy-to-access digital channels, you create a personal connection with employees. You also create a sense of belonging and appreciation.

Leadership communication: Pitfalls to avoid

Bringing a human voice to your employee communications requires empathy, authenticity, and the ability to listen to your workers. Even with the best of intentions, these things don’t always come naturally.

So with that in mind, here are a few pitfalls to look out for as you adapt your style of communication.

Over-sharing

Sharing too much personal information in your executive communications becomes counterproductive. It feels performative, dilutes the impact — and places the focus on you, rather than your audience of employees.

So before you share a personal anecdote, ensure it relates directly to your organizational goals and values. Keep any personal stories short and sweet. And balance things out. For every personal anecdote you tell, share two to three employee or customer stories.

Inconsistent messaging

Employees are quick to spot a leader who says one thing but does another. Your communication is unlikely to achieve the desired results if employees see it as inconsistent and inauthentic.

So back up your words with action. For example, if you show empathy for employee stress, you need to do something to alleviate it. If you share a belief that employees are the backbone of your organization, show you appreciate them with regular recognition and a competitive benefits package.

Ignoring employee input and feedback

Meaningful conversations are two-way. So to maximize the impact of your human-centric communication style, you need to show that you’re listening to what employees say.

Respond directly to employee surveys, reactions, questions, and concerns — either in person or across your internal communication channels. And keep employee feedback in mind when developing your next executive message.

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Harness the power of human-centric communications for your entire organization.

When you humanize your executive communications, you make your messages more effective, memorable, and engaging. You show employees that there’s a real person behind the job title. This is great for building trust and promoting transparency across your organization.

To make your employee communications more human, consider implementing more storytelling, empathy, and everyday language in your internal communications strategy. And with the right internal communication tools that enable you to connect with employees in a less formal and corporate way, you can foster an organizational culture of transparency and authenticity.

‍Blink. And humanize your internal comms.