You may be the quintessential expert on your market for your business or a particular technology, but unless you can communicate effectively with the board, employees, customers, suppliers and the financial community, you will fail. I have been involved with consulting and teaching of communications skills for many years and the following are the most frequently asked questions on this most valuable of leadership skills.

1. Are good communicators made or born?

   Of course there are born communicators, but for most of us this is a skill that must be worked on diligently throughout our careers. And to complicate matters, with each organization we join and each promotion earned, we will have to adopt "the mind of a beginner." By this I mean, adjust our style and skills to meet each of these new challenges.

   If you are not a born communicator, be thankful. Gifted orators often take their skills for granted and fail to prepare for key presentations and encounters. I remember a silver tongued executive who bragged, after visiting a remote company location, "I just turned on the old country boy charm and they ate it up." What he didn't know was that his lack of sincerity and preparation cost him valuable credibility forever with that organization's employees.

2. What can leaders do to be more skillful at dealing with hostile questioners?

   As the old saying goes "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." Don't wait for a press conference, meeting of security analysts or "all hands" meeting with employees to get to know these stakeholders. It is infinitely more difficult to handle hostile questions from strangers than from people you know. Work with your HR, PR and Communications professionals to set up periodic meetings throughout the year with these groups and begin building relationships with them. When the eventual difficult communications situations arise, you will be better prepared to handle tough questions.

3. What can leaders do to improve their communications skills?

   Every job has different criteria for communications success. The first step is to determine the specific communication skills required for your position. The skills might include persuasiveness, empathy, listening, presenting to large audiences or negotiation. It is also advisable to know the skills required for the next level of responsibility in your career progression. The second step is to understand the culture of your organization and its relationship to expectations for communication style. In some cultures, assertiveness is highly rewarded, while in others a more reflective, data-based style is preferred. Adjusting to cultural standards and expectations is critical to successful communications and ultimately career success.

   It is very difficult to be objective when evaluating our own communication skills. We all like to think that we are good listeners, give feedback constructively and can persuade people to accept our ideas. However, unless we receive feedback from someone who is skilled, unbiased and direct, we probably don't have an accurate assessment of our communication skills. Find someone to provide this feedback. It might be a colleague, boss or communications coach. Listen attentively to what they have to say and put together a plan for improvement.

4. When areas for improving communications skills have been identified, what is the best way for leaders to improve?

   First, answer the following question, "What is to be gained by improving this skill and what price will be paid if I don't improve?" Leaders are pragmatic people with frenetic schedules. They will not invest time in a skill that does not produce practical results. The benefit to be gained might be a long-desired promotion; the price of not improving might be failure to keep a client with whom you have a tenuous relationship.

   Second, select a real life situation where you can apply the skill. This could be a team meeting, presentation or one-on-one encounter. Pick a low risk situation to initially practice the skill. For example, you might have received feedback that your constant interrupting or finishing sentences for people is offensive to both clients and colleagues. If possible, also pick a situation where a confident or coach can observe you and provide feedback.

   Third, I would recommend identifying "triggers" that cause you to fall into ineffective communication. You might find, for example, that in meetings with extremely expressive, dominant personalities you tend to hold back your contributions. You know that things go better for you in these situations if you can make comments early in the meeting. The trigger is the dominant personality type; the solution is to inject comments early in the meeting.

5. If you could recommend one thing to leaders that would improve his or her communication skills, what would it be?

   Show your humanity more often. Find ways to let people know that you have many of the same aspirations and fears as they do. For example, look for opportunities in presentations to talk about your children or yourself as a child. Sound too over the top? Picture the following situation: you are delivering a quarterly update to an auditorium full of employees. They are sitting without expression waiting for you to begin with your charts and graphs. Instead you start with a humorous story about your son or daughter and his or her questions at breakfast about the presentation you are about to deliver. All of a sudden, the impassive audience becomes animated and energized. They laugh, lean forward in their seats and nudge one another. "Hey, this is a real person up there on the stage. He or she has probably changed as many diapers as I have. This could be a very interesting presentation." And what does this response do for you? Immediately you are more relaxed and spontaneous. You might even have fun with this presentation.

Can you lead without being a good communicator? Not very likely. Will what worked in your last job carry the day in your current position? I doubt it. Get an objective assessment of your communications skills, create a plan for improving and let me know if I can ever be of assistance.