07/17/2025

Five Ways Leaders Can Communicate Power

Power can be conveyed through diction, phrasing, topics and patterns

We all know that great leaders tend to be great communicators. Think Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs. But what, exactly, do followers find so compelling about the way these people speak?

As someone who has taught management communication as well as helped startup teams pitch and raise hundreds of millions of dollars, I have found that one important but often overlooked hallmark of effective speakers is their ability to convey power not through presence but with their words.

Mastering the language of power—diction, phrasing, topics and patterns—can dramatically enhance our success in managerial roles, secure resources for our projects and initiatives and win the admiration of followers.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Harvard Business Review.