Communicate with Mastery

About the Authors

JD Schramm, Ed.D. founded and led the Mastery in Communication Initiative at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, where he has served as a lecturer in Organizational Behavior since 2007. He has spoken at TED and TEDx events and has coached many others to do the same. His writing has appeared in the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Huffington Post, and HBR Online. Kara Levy is an executive communication and leadership coach based in the San Francisco Bay Area, working with both established companies like Facebook and Salesforce as well as unique startups.

Main Idea

Communicate with Mastery: How to Speak with Conviction and Write for Impact by JD Schramm and Kara Levy explores the importance of effective communication for leaders. The book offers frameworks and tools to enhance both spoken and written communication, emphasizing the need to tailor messages to various audiences and settings. It aims to help leaders communicate with conviction, ensuring their messages are impactful and memorable.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Speaking with Conviction and Writing for Impact
   • Adopting a Communication Mindset
   • Know Your AIM
   • Speaking with Conviction
   • Writing for Impact
3. Tailoring Your Communication to Goal, Setting, or Identity
   • Tailoring Your Communication to Your Goal
   • Tailoring Your Communication to Your Setting
   • Tailoring Your Communication to Your Identity
4. Scaling Your Leadership: The Communication Coaching Process
   • When Being Coached
   • When Coaching Others
   • Creating a Coaching Culture

Speaking with Conviction and Writing for Impact

Effective communication begins with adopting the right mindset. Schramm and Levy stress the importance of considering your audience, intent, and message, known as the AIM model. Understanding who you are communicating with, why you are communicating, and how best to deliver your message are crucial steps.

"Your communication mindset will ask you to think strategically, analytically, and empathetically about your audience and what matters to them." - JD Schramm and Kara Levy

Adopting a Communication Mindset: This involves thinking strategically, analytically, and empathetically about your audience. Clarify the purpose of your communication and make intentional choices about the words, channels, and visuals used to convey your message.

Adopting a communication mindset means recognizing that each interaction is an opportunity to connect and convey your message effectively. This mindset requires a strategic approach, considering not just what you want to say, but how it will be received and perceived by your audience. Empathy is a key component, as understanding the audience's needs and expectations can significantly enhance the impact of your communication.

Know Your AIM: The AIM model stands for Audience, Intent, and Message. Start by understanding your audience. Next, clarify your intent—what action you want your audience to take. Finally, craft your message in a way that effectively delivers on your intent.

The AIM model is a foundational tool for effective communication. Knowing your audience involves researching and understanding their needs, preferences, and expectations. Intent refers to the purpose behind your communication—what you hope to achieve. The message is the content you deliver, structured and tailored to meet the audience's needs and fulfill your intent.

Speaking with Conviction: This requires mastery of verbal, vocal, and visual elements. Verbal communication involves the words you choose, vocal communication focuses on how you use your voice, and visual communication covers body language and non-verbal cues.