Communicator Assignment Warren Buffett

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Effective Communicator
Warren Buffett, renowned investor, CEO, and Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway realized an important lesson early in his life: Without proper delivery, even the brightest idea can fall flat. So, at nineteen, Buffett, who could hardly hold a conversation at that time, enrolled at Dale Carnegie and took a communication course. The skills he obtained from that course helped him go from tongue-tied to confident, and have contributed to his immense success in business. “If you cannot communicate with other people and get your ideas across,” Buffett says, “you are giving up your potential.”
When benchmarked against other CEOs, Buffett scores highly on clarity and authenticity. Unlike most CEOs of multi-billion dollar organizations, Buffett writes his shareholder newsletters. This is a task he highly values as he loves formulating words to connect with his audience in a compelling and real way. In a spoken context, message clarity is correlated with authenticity. We speak differently than we write. Although written communication is detailed and formal, spoken communication is direct and informal. When Buffett publicly addresses an audience, he resorts to spoken communication. He knows that if he starts reading his remarks, word-to-word, it would sound unnatural and impact his perceived authenticity.
What makes Buffett an effective communicator is he is transparent. In his annual shareholder letters, which are easy to understand, fun to read, and instructive, Buffett is blunt about failings – both the company’s and his. While other CEOs run from their mistakes, he owns up to his. Buffett is also an effective communicator because he uses plain English to explain things. Related to transparency is the use of simple, clear language to explain things. Many industries hide behind jargon and obscure language to mask the truth of their situations. Alternatively, they are too lazy to go the extra mile and simplify their messages. Buffett is an advocate for using simpler language to give everyday investors a clearer understanding of finance and business.
He offers advice that is useful for any speaking or writing: “When writing, write with a specific person in mind. When writing my annual reports, I pretend that I am talking to my sisters. They are not experts in finance or accounting. They will understand plain English, but jargon might puzzle them. My aim is to deliver the information I would want them to provide me if our roles were reversed. To communicate effectively, I do not need to be Shakespeare; I must, however, be willing to inform.”
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