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The Top Ten Best Communicators of 2009
1. Sully Sullenberger
Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger is not just the hero who brilliantly landed his airplane on the Hudson River, he is a bona fide great communicator. He is humble yet has a message. He inspires yet speaks sparingly. I remember eagerly awaiting his first speech since the landing – and I was stunned. He spoke for only 17 seconds. Eloquently, and I blogged on it, hoping we would have more of that rarified speaking impact in the future. We did. And he does – deserve #1 for communicating as skillfully as he flies an airplane. And that’s saying something.
2. Tim Tebow
Probably the top college football player of the decade, Tim Tebow is as articulate off the field as he is proficient on it. He won the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore, and when his team lost early the following season he ‘promised’ his team the national championship. Tim Tebow is confident and clear in media interviews, a refreshing change from so many top athletes. Above all, he is a leader, and the unquestioned leader of his team (see this halftime clip from the 2008 BCS Championship.) He is eloquent in talking about his faith, and for now is truly an athlete who walks his talk. (Let’s hope he can maintain his candor with integrity, in contrast to some others… See #3 on the Worst list.)
3. Matt Lauer
When I first met Matt Lauer on the TODAY Show in 1996, he was just about to break into full time hosting. What struck me most is he was so affable yet could be strong in an interview. Matt is as nice, humble, and enthusiastic a communicator to me off stage as he has been in his last decade as a star. Always unflappable, he can be very confrontational in an interview when necessary, even with a President, yet is usually open and humorous. Behaviorally he has great eye communication, wit and energy. His longevity alone, at the top of broadcast pyramid, wins him a long deserved place in the Top Ten.
4. Carly Fiorina
What a transformation. From fallen executive (past CEO of Hewlett Packard,) to a wooden sounding spokesperson for Presidential Candidate John McCain, to cancer survivor, to Senatorial candidate on a mission, Carly Fiorina always has communicated with great energy (with the McCain Convention an exception – teleprompters quenched her volubility). Now she has a purpose and a new pursuit to use her executive skill. Her message is powerful and sympathetic with her “If I licked cancer I can lick anything” attitude. It is refreshing to see her model the transition from glamorous blond executive to cancer survivor with no hair – she makes up for the loss with added passion. It will be interesting to see how she does on the campaign trail – I hunch she’ll more than survive.
5. Steve Jobs
He has been on the Top Ten list before, and I try not to have repeats, but there is no denying his justifiable position here, again. His mind and his mouth have led him to be named CEO of the decade by Fortune Magazine. As CEO and speaker and celebrity, he stands above the pack. Although he did not give his famous keynote address this year at Macworld, (here’s a clip of his iPhone announcement) – he did conquer a liver transplant. And even though under the weather, you can be sure he was also behind the scenes guiding Apple to another record setting year in the midst of economic turmoil. He’s overcome turmoils before.
6. Sir Ken Robinson
Perhaps you haven’t heard of him – time to take a look here or his website. One of the featured speakers at TED, Sir Ken is brilliant at story telling and humor. He also has quite a message for educators. He creatively advocates at every opportunity the need to bring creativity back into academia, particularly for the children. And he is an eloquent and funny voice for the young of all ages.
7. Chip & Dan Heath
The Heath brothers are masters of communicating sticky messages. Their 2007 breakaway best seller “Made to Stick” defines the ultimate test for stickiness. Since then, they’ve been consulting for big business and non-profit alike, landed a monthly column in Fast Company magazine and they’ve been speaking…a lot. This August they were the “opening act” for Bono (they spoke just before his videocast appearance) to a crowd of 60,000 at the Willow Creek Leadership Summit. They are expert teachers and master practitioners, and they’re in the top ten this year because we’ve had the very special opportunity to witness them in action as we co-developed the new Decker Made to Stick Messaging Program. You’ll be hearing lots more from them and about their new sticky ideas on change…their new book Switch releases in February.
8. Taylor Swift
Yes, a singer, but also a talker. Taylor Swift turned the insult by Kanye West at the MTV VMA’s into an opportunity to launch herself into the mainstream. In her SNL monologue response to the incident she came across as confident, bold but modest, humorous, and likable. Remarkably she is only 19 but has the maturity of a seasoned performer. Taylor elevated herself out of the tween pop country realm and into the spotlight by articulating her point of view with humility and strength, instead of shrinking away in embarrassment. In interview programs she shows she can do more than sing. On top of all that, she was named Entertainer of the year. Looks like she’ll be communicating in a big way for many years.
9. Chris Brogan
Chris is unusual for several reasons. He is at the cutting edge of blogs and social media, is a great writer, and this year wrote the best seller “Trust Agents.” It is because of his speaking on these things that he has become not only proficient at speaking – and somewhat of an authority. Just as he has ‘burst’ to prominence in the social media fields, so he bursts onto the Top Ten Communicators list. (He calls it “the overnight success that took years.”) In addition, and of great interest to me, is his amazing ability to multi-task. I have seen him talk, tweet, change PowerPoints, chair a panel and type all at the same time. Parallel thinking to the max, it’s a great asset for communicators and all could learn from Chris.
10. Sarah Palin
No doubt a controversial pick (as will be #10 on the Worst list), Sarah Palin is where she is today primarily because of her communicating ability. And she’s only #10 on the list because she is flawed in crisp focus (Q&A) and casualness. Yet like the Phoenix, she continuously comes back from the ashes – because she can talk, and talk well. Remember her two landmark speeches in the political year of 2008, where she turned around the enormous negativity of the questions “Who’s Sarah Palin” and “Why is she here” with two resounding and successful speeches. This year she surprisingly resigned as Governor, appeared to be a quitter, and the media relegated her to a has-been status. Then she turns around in 6 months with “Going Rogue”, one of the biggest non-fiction best sellers in history, and gets record crowds and massive media exposure – because she is energetic, fresh and personable. She is the poster child for likability. Communicating got Obama where he is, and it continues to keep Palin on the move.
The Top Ten Worst Communicators of 2009
1. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The President of Iran since 2005, Ahmadinejad has been a center of controversy since his election. His many strident communications are continuously those of arrogance and dissension. The Iranian uprising in June of 2009 was caused by Ajhmadinejad’s repression of free speech and rigged elections (even though Twitter helped shine some light.) He has called the holocaust a myth, and blusters for Israel to be “wiped off the map.” Contentious at best, ignoring the world at worst (eg. sanctions over Nuclear energy production), Ahmadinejad is the worst communicator of the year.
UPDATE: Ahmadinejad continues his communications of opacity and obfuscation in response to the end of year uprising.
2. Mark Sanford
What was he thinking? When Gov. Sanford was caught with his Argentinian mistress, he had a long, rambling press conference where he blocked, obfuscated, cried, wheedled and otherwise communicated like an incompetent teenager. No wonder they tried to impeach him – he was no kind of leader with that kind of communicating, much less behavior. There have been others who have recovered after the fall from the perch – Bill Clinton, Martha Stewart, Kobe Bryant come to mind – but all of them did it with confession and contrite communication. And a clarity that Sanford seems to lack.
3. Tiger Woods
You could also say “What was he thinking?” But compared to Mark Sanford, here there was NO communication of any kind. (Well, he had a few blog ‘press releases’ but nothing from him personally, so we have no clips.) First of all, to be seen and heard is essential – a press release doesn’t do it. And good communicating and speaking must be authentic. Apparently with Tiger Woods there was deception for years. Which means that all of Tiger Woods speaking and appearances, such as they were, were false, and on a world stage no less. Now, when caught in the lie, the deception continues in a vacuum – no communication, no openness, no trust, no forgiveness and the worst results. Tiger Woods, to date, has handled this about as badly as you could handle a major media snafu. Personally, I hope he begins speaking, and speaking honestly. Without that he will not regain personal prominence, even though he can continue to excel at golf.
4. Rod Blagojevich
A repeat from last years Worst List, because he never learned how. Ex Governor Rod Blagojevich continued to rant and rave, with no logic and no grace. What’s worse, where he used to have good communication skills (after all it’s what got him elected) he has deceived HIMSELF with thinking that he could continue to be believed, as evidenced in his January plea to the Illinois Senate. And thus he becomes a laughing stock and an object of derision. In his case, not communicating for awhile would be a good thing.
5. Caroline Kennedy
No deception here, just unfortunately terrible communication skills. Caroline Kennedy is a woman of tradition, and is to be admired for her many accomplishments. All the media had her as a sure thing for appointment to a New York Senate seat by Gov. Patterson when Hillary Clinton went to Secretary of State. But then Caroline Kennedy opened her mouth. And filled the air with uncertainty and doubt, amidst a bunch of ums and uhs and other non-words. She avoided the press, and couldn’t put a Point Of View together if her nomination depended on it. And it did, and thus she dropped out quickly. Too bad – if you can’t communicate, you can’t get elected.
6. Bobby Jindal
What an opportunity squandered. Governor Bobby Jindal was the Republican rebuttal to President Obama’s State of the Union – a relative unknown with a chance to make a name for himself. Well, he did, but not in the way he wanted. He was stiff with the through the lens teleprompter, and his sing-song vocal delivery did him in. And here’s a classic clip of Rachel Maddow, who herself is not one of the best, calling Jindal one of the worst. Here she was right to be speechless.
7. Edward Liddy
How magnanimous of former Allstate CEO Edward Liddy to come in on a charging steed and take over the reins of the battered AIG – and for only $1 in salary. His positive aura quickly deteriorated when he was found out to own millions in Goldman Sachs stock, for which AIG paid out handsome dividends. His deceptive communications continued as AIG continued to hand out excessive executive bonuses – the ensuing scandal and Liddy’s poor congressional testimony further served him up as the 2009 poster child for bank and investment firm CEO’s who lacked direct and forthright communications to the public.
8. Carrie Prejean
“Larry you’re being inappropriate,” were the surprising words coming from the smiling face of Carrie Prejean. This was the lowpoint (so far) of her communications downfall in her appearance on The Larry King Show, where she walked out, then stayed. It was beyond awkward and confirmed the only consistency in her communications…inconsistency. This former Miss America contestant at first seemed sincere in her comments after being fired from the Miss America pageant, taking a strong stance for purity, and then getting herself tangled in lies about scandalous pictures and a video. She appears defensive and naive by speaking with an inauthentic smile, avoids the elephant in the room, references herself in the third person, and constantly tilts her head and waves a judgmental finger. This is a role model for poor communications.
9. Timothy Geithner & Hank Paulson
Timothy Geithner started out badly as he continued the dour communications style of Hank Paulson. Both held the same jobs as Secretary of the Treasury in one of the most critical times of financial crisis, and both couldn’t have been much worse in communicating the way out. The air of aloofness was almost palpable with Hank Paulson, and Tim Geithner was not much better. And when Geithner got excused by President Obama for an income tax ‘error’ (more on Obama next), he then topped his lack of communicating credibility with his announcement of a plan – and there was no plan.
1
0. Barack Obama
Every President has to be on the list, one way or the other because communications is his primary job. Last year Obama was #1 on the Best list and President Bush was #1 on the Worst list. This year Obama doesn’t exactly trade places, but he’s the best of the worst since he has failed to fulfill the promise of his communications platform. He was a great communicator as a candidate, not so much as a leader. The New York Times wrote about “The President Whose Words Once Soared.” For the full report see our blog post here, but in summary here’s why:
- He is aloof and professorial, actually most often speaking formally with his nose a bit aloft
- He speaks in bursts and a repetitious cadence, almost in a sing-song manner
- He leans with an enormous emphasis on scripts and the teleprompter
- He has NEVER learned how to use the teleprompter well
- Often he makes gaffes when he speaks spontaneously
- And he is way over exposed, where speaking on the trivial diminishes the important
Because of those behavioral flaws, President Obama does not generate the trust that many anticipated. Even now his spokesperson Robert Gibbs (who is a bit flawed himself) is viewed more favorably than Obama, which is startling. President Obama rode into office on great hope wherein the majority would excuse minor communication flaws. Yet when hope diminishes, the previously excused flaws become magnified, and will not serve the President well. Here is the detail on “Why Obama Fails as a Communicator.”
UPDATE: A video on Obama’s ‘gift’ of communications from WSJ’s Dan Henninger add to justifying this ranking, plus the response to the Christmas terrorist attempt that slipped through the TSA cracks…
Thanks for all your comments. But it’s New Year’s Eve, so I’ll be short. Actually, not much to add from what I said in the posts to most of the anti-Palin’s – she electrifies from the formal large audience speech, and falls flat in interviews. And seems people either love her or hate her. I don’t find many objective (I try to be…)
And I’ve never seen Carly in person – so we’ll see how she does in this campaign.
Happy New Year,
Bert
Best communicator- Tom Wilkinson- consistantly year after year sends out the best Xmas letters going!
How about the gifts who keep on giving; Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and…Robert Gibbs, who you did mention. And for good measure, add Janet Napolitano. Now there’s a great foursome to draw to. You could even be excused for taking the President off the list and have this foursome tied for 1st.
Always enjoy this Bert… think you nailed it… best to you and your family in 2010.
Tom
Sully Sullenberger is a great lean leader too, as I describe in my January eNewsletter, The LEAN COMMUNICATOR, http://www.leancommunicator.com. As an aside, he is refreshingly spare in his formal talks!
Oh, Bert!
If you were nominating Sarah Palin for the Loose Canon Communication Award, her place in your pantheon would be understandable. A great communicator must speak from authenticity and must also stay close to the truth to be dependable over time. Sarah’s invented Death Squads and other disinformation departures disqualify her from both authenticity and truth as primary standards, and, also from trust in any future comments she chooses to make.
Loose Canons, on the other hand, may say whatever little ole thing newly pops into their creative minds and spew it out into space. We see they are communicators, but not valued ones. And, if we can’t really trust her to be honest, we can’t really take her seriously either. Sorry, Bert!!!! Happy New Year, Mary Beth
Denny, Have to agree with you about Tom Wilkinson! (Disclosure – he’s my brother.)
Dennis, Maybe next year (but is your politics showing?)
Tom, Appreciate your support, as always.
Liz, Right On!
Mary Beth, Well, we have to agree to disagree. She has her flaws, as I said in the article, and being a loose cannon has been one of them. But re-read the article – you aren’t acknowledging her speaking ability that has got her to where she is. (And perhaps some politics showing too!)
Thanks all,
Bert
Mary Beth said it best…Palin??? You’ve got to be kidding, right? She lies, talks in tongues and cannot string a coherent thought together that isn’t some inane talking point. Come on Bert. You know better.
Your son encouraged me to comment. Blame him if you wish I didn’t.
I don’t watch the news or any t.v. programming that would expose me to most of your picks. I read highlights of current events on Twitter and my Yahoo home page. So I have no comment on 16 of your 20. No basis to have an opinion one way or the other. (Revealing my ignorance here. But honest.)
I do have opinions on the 4 people I have seen communicate in ’09.
I saw Sully Sullenberger in an interview with Larry King, and I immediately liked him. He presents a grounded confidence with humility and leadership. When he spoke, I listened to every word and had no doubt he was sincere and authentic. Not a professional speaker with a lot of public speaking in 2009 (that I know of), but in what I did see of him, he’s certainly impressive and very likable in his communication style. I’d want him as a leader. I trust him. Not just how he communicates, but more of how he exudes a spirit of peace within without any sense of fear about who he is or anything he discusses. I got the distinct impression that he has absolutely nothing to hide. I admired that about him.
Palin on the other hand. I’ve always felt she was artificial and full of hidden secrets. She never gave me a hint of credibility. Even her great speeches for which she earned a spot on your list, no sense of trust or credibility – just a great rally leader of folks who want leadership. I’ve never seen her speak and sensed anything other than I didn’t trust her. She’s always seemed very fake to me. When my daughter got all excited about her, I wanted to feel the excitement with her (despite my political leanings), but I couldn’t. I just didn’t trust her. She wasn’t credible to me. She come across the opposite of Sully. Now she had plenty of exposure in 2009, but the only speech I saw her give (again, I don’t watch the news, so I’m sure I only saw one of several) was her explanation for resigning/press conference speech. She may or may not have performed well technically (not sure how you’d analyze that speech from your expert, technical perspective), but all I know is that she came across as hiding things, guilty and very distrustful. The character she exudes is one I don’t trust. That’s the bottom line. I saw plenty of campaign speeches. And if she had that intangible quality of credibility and trust to pass through the gatekeeper (the First Brain), I would have a completely different perspective on her speeches. But she couldn’t get past the gatekeeper. Just don’t trust her.
Obama, on the other hand, he earned my trust in his communication style throughout most of 2008 when he was campaigning. I think he earned his ranking on your Top Ten list that year because of it. He seemed passionate, sincere and driven by an authentic desire to do something good that he believed in. Whether he was sincere or not, I don’t know. But I BELIEVED he was because of how he communicated. He inspired me and millions of others with his campaign speeches. However, in 2009, as President (and even in the end of the campaign, in debates with McCain), I started to lose that sense of likability and trust with him solely based on the change in how he communicated. He didn’t have the same inner peace and confidence that Sully had. (Of course I do think his position as President and as the first black President combined with his background in law. Haven’t seen much of him since the election (by choice – the whole news thing), but what I DID see was his address to congress on the health care issue. (Which reminds me, that guy who burst out his anger about his opposing view in that speech deserves a mention in the Top Ten Worst – maybe a side note.) My *feel* in that speech was hostile, frustrated, angry, defensive. He definitely expressed a negative tone disguised in crafty language that I questioned. (Keep in mind I voted for him. I’m commenting on the analysis of communication skills and the impact they have on listeners. Just these aspects, NOT politics.) All that being said, he disappointed me going from a truly inspirational communicator to nothing impressive and even sending a vibe that makes that trust and likability diminish with me. I think you made your case well for your reasoning on why you placed him as the best of the worst in ’09. No argument on that one. Interesting and controversial (but politics provoke strong emotions), but well-justified.
Last but not least, my favorite (because I saw him communicate in 2009 more than all of the other 19 put together, and he thoroughly impressed me), Chris Brogan. I’m intrigued by your observation of the technical again – how Chris is a master multi-tasker. I believe you once told me that you don’t know anyone who can juggle activities, conversations and thoughts while presenting like he does. (This after his presentation at New Media Atlanta, where I first saw him speak.) It was that presentation that impressed me. He got through the gatekeeper (First Brain) from the onset. Even with the back channel on the big screen behind him, I was focused on his message so much that I didn’t even pay attention to the screen. He was absolutely engaging. I tweeted that he was the best speaker I’d ever seen (no offense to you, of course).
I read a blog post recently by Tami Lenski (http://bit.ly/6GARQf)in which she wrote “Chris Brogan is the real deal. I first met him at SOBCon ‘08 and he wowed the room with his honest, funny and humble presentation.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. I’ve not only experienced being “wowed” by his speaking style and personality, but I’ve observed audiences falling under the same spell. People like him. He’s real. He’s passionate. He’s confident. He’s funny. I’m glad to see him on the list. 
But that’s just my two cents from the impressions these communicators made on me in whatever capacity I had exposure to them.
Every person named in your post (albeit subjective) has demonstrated communication skills (or lack thereof) that could justify making your list, based on what you wrote supporting your choices. In my not so humble opinion, the only one I strongly disagree with is Palin, and only because I never saw her speeches as impactful. She never came close to getting past the gatekeeper. Distrusted her from the first time I saw her speak. A great looking gal with ambition and a firecracker personality, I think from day one on the national scene campaigning, her only strength was to get crowds all riled up. That, she seems to have consistently done well. But that’s not a good communicator to me. I won’t listen to her content when I don’t trust her.
But your points on why you listed her like you did have merit. That is, assuming the lack of trust isn’t a show stopper (as it is for me).
Great post! Oh, and I think the suggestion of you going back in time and listing great communicators of the past is a fantastic idea.
Going to sleep now.
Wow, Allison, thanks for your in depth insight. You give me reason to comment here on the reason for the Top Ten in the first place – trust is critical in communications, and each year some people use it well, or not.
And great comments on Sullenberger, Brogan and Obama. They amplify nicely what I was trying to say in a short paragraph.
What I’ve found interesting about Palin is people either like her (and trust her) or dislike her (and distrust her.) The comments here (and I saw yours too Hannah) are mostly of the dislike variety, but there have been many of the ‘like’ in other blog comments and tweets. But there have been a LOT of comments – maybe 60% about Palin, 30% Obama and 10% all the rest.
The point here isn’t whether I’m right or wrong on Palin – these are just my opinions – but the substance of the reason for the Top Ten List in the first place. (Remember that Palin was on my Best AND Worst list of 2008 – first time that happened. http://bit.ly/8y4DZZ )
The point is do the people listed use communications well, or not, in 2009. It is my view that communications is critical to one’s success, or not, and I strive to have a cross section of people who people will have heard of, and have as many learning points as I can as to the “why” of why they are on the list.
Back to Palin. She has used communications very well this past year to climb back into ‘trust’ with most of the general public. (Well, not necessarily most, but the undecideds who are more neutral about her.) Granted she does poorly in most interviews when she doesn’t have many facts. (BTW she does OK when she knows what she’s talking about – see the link to her Bartiromo interview on Alaska oil.) She also is way too folksy and ‘cutesy’ to be treated seriously as a leader by many.
On the other hand, after her Governor of Alaska resignation (where I think she gave a relatively poor speech) she was considered down and out by many. So she USED COMMUNICATION to come back! Similar to 2008 where she used the spoken word in her excellent speeches at her nomination by McCain and later her Republican acceptance speech to come back from enormous negative press. It wasn’t just her book Going Rogue that renewed her popularity, but her speaking in public and on media about it. And countering David Letterman. And countering the bad and unfortunate sleaze around Levi Jackson’s negative comments. Sarah Palin had many dozens of instances of good communications, where she used the medium of her self and her mouth to advantage.
And on trust, there are those who will never trust her, and there are true believers. It’s very tough to change either’s minds. But the great majority of people are in between, and they can, and will, be influenced by communications and the spoken word. Many of those have been influenced positively in 2009.
Whether that happens in 2010 remains to be seen. But either positively or negatively, I do predict she will be a player – because of her communications.
Thanks again for your extensive comments. You got me going.
Bert
Bobby Jindall is a Governor, not Representative. FYI.
Otherwise great post.
Thanks Steve. Fixed.
Palin normally communicates well. Sometimes she is far too laid back and unprepared.
Brad,
How do you feel Palin communicated in this interview with O’Reilly? I’d be interested in your thoughts. She’s also going to interview with Glenn Beck tomorrow and I’d be intersted to see what you have to say about that one if you get the time to watch it.
http://hotair.com/archives/2010/01/12/palins-debut-as-fox-news-contributor-steve-schmidts-a-liar/
Thanks Brad,
I think Palin did fair in the O’Reilly interview. Still not as focused or skilled in getting to substantive points of view, but not bad. O’Reilly was pretty good.
On the other hand, I thought Glenn Beck did a terrible interview in his prime hour with Palin – rambling and missing in questions and issues of consequence most of the time. Palin did perhaps the best she could, but did not take control of the interview when she realized it was going no place. A poor showing for both.
Bert
How about the interview with Hannity tonight? It seems that she had better control here.
Way to not show a political slant in your work…