Impact Insights by Kekst CNC provides four practical tips you can use next time you’re communicating - with the media, employees, peers or investors.

Scroll down to meet this month’s leaders…

The art of the apology

Pop stars and Prime Ministers face the same rules

• You hope you’ll never have to, but the intensity of the public conversation today means every leader should know how. Effective apologies aren’t easy
• Last week, singer Adele needed to apologise for cancelling upcoming shows. In a tearful Instagram video, she hit three of our four essential ingredients 
  • Apologise for your actions, not for the reactions of those affected
  • Empathise with the people affected
  • Explain what went wrong, transparently
  • Take action to make amends, in a way that costs
• While Adele wisely dialled up the empathy (2), there was little evidence of taking costly action to make amends (4). The response was mixed.
• Days before, UK PM Boris Johnson was facing calls to apologise. He got a more hostile reaction to his statement to MPs. Watch it here. We’d say there’s plenty of (2), but a shortage of (1) and (4).

“What is The Facebook, exactly?”

Summing up what you do, why it matters and how it works

• Could you define what you do in a 30-second TV soundbite? It’s an exercise worth trying.
• Facebook comes of age this month, and 18 years ago CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared on TV for the first time to tell the world about his new idea.
• Take a look. At 2:20 Zuckerberg is asked “What is The Facebook?” and his response is underwhelming. He talks for almost a minute about his “online directory” and “entering screen IMs”, before finally saying “you can see who people’s friends are”.
• We’d suggest the problem here is that he hadn’t defined who he was talking to. Are the viewers of CNBC potential users? Or investors? His pitch didn’t quite fit for either.

Does vulnerability undermine strength?

Indra Nooyi’s story of saris, jeans, and interview confidence

• Have you ever been advised to ‘show your vulnerability’? The logic goes that a leader willing to show vulnerability appears more authentic and fosters trust.
• The reality is that many leaders are reluctant. Vulnerability feels too close to weakness. But take a look at what former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi does in this interview.
• In the story of her first US job interview back in 1978 (watch from 09:50), she describes her anxiety, the “absolutely ghastly” experience, and her nervousness about wearing a sari.
• But the message of her story is that her capability shone through. Vulnerability was the tool she used to engage her audience, but it wasn’t the takeaway.

Liberté, égalité… prix inchangés?

Mocking the president, and getting away with it

• Here’s a high-wire act of public communications. Xavier Niel is the CEO of French telecoms business Free. And with a presidential election looming, he has made an advert in which he pretends to be the nation’s leader.
• In his mock-presidential address, he points to Free’s low prices and unbroken promises.
• His ambition is “de vous aider à communiquer...sans vous niquer !” or “to help you communicate, without screwing you.”
• Swearing, dressing up and making jokes are three things we’d generally advise leaders to avoid. In this case, the combination captured the public mood and a lot of positive attention.

If you’re interested in enhancing the impact you make, get in touch with the Impact Communication team. We’re helping leaders every day to make stronger connections with the media, their employees, their peers and investors.