How Powerful Women Leaders Communicate
By Carol Kinsey Goman
There are two sets of qualities that people look for in leaders: warmth/likeability/empathy and power/confidence/authority. While women often excel in displaying warmth (which shows up in their influence and collaboration skills), they may hesitate to directly seek or show power.
As Women’s History Month ended, it served as timely reminder to share what I’ve learned about the communication skills of the powerful women leaders I worked with in over 400 organizations where I’ve presented leadership presence programs.
Powerful women leaders embrace the verbal and nonverbal communication behaviors that impact the way others perceive them. Here are a few communication traps they don’t fall into — and what they do instead.
They don’t use disclaimers in conversations and emails. Phrases like “You’ve probably already thought of that,” I could be wrong,” and “This may be a stupid idea” (which I’ve noticed women using far more often than men) make us appear apologetic or unsure when making a point.
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