Billionaire Richard Branson knows a thing or two about being a successful leader. The British business magnate, who co-founded the Virgin Group in the 1970s and has a net worth of $2.5 billion (Rs 20870 crore) according to Forbes, has been managing people since he was 16 and running a magazine called ‘Student’.

The entrepreneur, who was knighted at Buckingham Palace in 2000 and is a frequent mention in Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World, has reiterated countless times that to be a successful leader you need to possess one important skill: communication.

In a blog post he’d penned down a few years ago, Branson had reportedly stated: “Communication makes the world go round. It facilitates human connections, and allows us to learn, grow, and progress. It’s not just about speaking or reading, but understanding what is being said—and in some cases what is not being said. Communication is the most important skill any leader can possess.”

Billionaires Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder and Warren Buffet, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway agree with Branson’s judgement. Inc Magazine quotes Buffet as having once told an MBA student: “At your age, the best way you can improve yourself is to learn to communicate better. Your results in life will be magnified if you can communicate them better. The only diploma I hang in my office is the communications diploma I got from Dale Carnegie in 1952…Without good communication skills, you won’t be able to convince people to follow you even though you see over the mountain and they don’t”.

So how do you become a better communicator? Here’s all you need to know.

Billionaire Richard Branson lists this one skill you need to become a successful leader

When he said “It’s not just about speaking or reading, but understanding what is being said—and in some cases what is not being said”, Branson was referring to the power of listening when it comes to communication, instead of just saying your piece and moving along to your next task. This is extremely important because it will help create a safe space for your team and promote a speak-up culture that can ensure a smooth running of operations.

According to Harvard’s global survey research, which included nearly 50,000 data points across 834 organisations, “speaking up lives at the intersection of the top six most vulnerable behaviours” at the workplace. The results found that most employees fear speaking up and voicing their views to their superiors, in the fear of losing their jobs. However, if they are managed by a leader who actually takes the time to listen to their problems and value their opinions, it will help create an environment where employees feel safe enough to challenge the status quo, discover their purpose across roles, and take on new responsibilities; thereby contributing greater values to the company.

However, to be a successful leader, you also need to invest in your own skills as an effective speaker. As the former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi once said: “You cannot over-invest in communication skills—written and oral skills… If you cannot simplify a message and communicate it compellingly, believe me, you cannot get the masses to follow you.”

To this end, Harvard University instructor, keynote speaker and author Carmine Gallo lists out a few ways by which leaders can become greater communicators.
Keeping it short and crisp
Whether you’re the one delivering an address, or listening to another speaker on your team make their case—encourage the habit of keeping things short and crisp. There is no need for flowery language and complex concepts—the sort that might befuddle or intimidate others. Instead, explaining things in the simplest way will drive the point across and get the job done.
Using powerful metaphors
A powerful metaphor can make your case like no other. According to Gallo, after billionaire Warren Buffet’s 1995 speech where he had said: “The most important thing we do is to find a business with a wide and long-lasting moat around it, protecting a terrific economic castle with an honest lord in charge of the castle”, the phrase “moats and castles” caught on; becoming a common phrase in the business world. It refers to companies that dominate an industry that’s difficult for competitors to enter, and thanks to Buffet, there’s an easier (and more impactful) way to stress it.

Breaking down data into bite-sized and consumable information is one of the best ways to communicate in today’s digital age. To explain this further, Gallo writes: “For example, by 2025 scientists expect humans to produce 175 zettabytes of data annually (one zettabyte is a trillion gigabytes). It’s simply too big a number for most people to wrap their minds around. But what if I said that if you could store 175 zettabytes of data on DVDs, the disks would circle the earth 222 times? It’s still a big number, but the description is more engaging because it paints a vivid image in your mind’s eye”.

According to Harvard Business School professor John Kotter, “most leaders under-communicate their vision by a factor of 10.” This is a disservice to both the company and yourself; unless you speak out your mission, you will never see the desired results. To this end, Gallo states, it’s better to “over communicate” and repeat your mission so often that it becomes a mantra for everyone else as well.