Table of Contents
1). Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………3
2). Communication styles of Barack Obama and Steve Jobs…………………………………4
3). Comparison and Contrast……………………………………………………………………7
4). Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………9
5). References……………………………………………………………………………………..11
Introduction
Communication is a two way process in which there is need for initiating a dialogue in which two interested parties are constantly involved in exchange of information with each other. The role of communication is much important for one and all in the regular life. There are several forms of communication processes in which any individual is engaged every now and then. Some of the communication processes are verbal while others can be non verbal too. The motive of communication is to make others understand about your feelings and point of views about any particular topic or agenda. The need for communication is evident from the various roles which one is required to play every now and then. This explains that it is not possible for one and all to live in isolation keeping in mind about the fact that human beings are social animals.
The role of communication is not merely to serve as a platform for information exchange but also to instill the feeling of confidence and importance between others. The sense of confidence which is instilled in an individual after being heard is of great importance as it can do wonders. This is not possible by any ordinary or improper communication as it requires some key skills which are collectively termed as communication skills. The scope of this article is also associated with this objective only. This article requires us to identify two great people, one from the political background and second from the corporate world. Both these personalities are to be assessed on basis of their communication skills making use of various parameters (Dye and Gasrman 2006).
The purpose is to analyze their communication skills as well as o highlight their strengths and weaknesses in the communication process followed by them. In addition with this the scope of this article is also related with comparative analysis of the communication skills used and displayed by such strong people. For this purpose the chosen personalities are Barack Obama and Steve Jobs and these people respectively belong to the political world and corporate world (Kotterman 2006).
Communication Styles of Barack Obama and Steve Jobs
I) Barack Obama
Communication skills are a blend of speech and sense of timing as well. To increase the impact of what is being said it is also important to consider the timing that when it is said. The approach towards communicating must be bidirectional in nature as President Barack Obama generally practices in his most of the speeches. The extent to which his humility extends it makes it easier for the common people to get a logical derivation out of his chosen content. It is essential to mention at this point of time that it is not only the
Speaking skills are crucial for an effective President. Past Presidents who displayed solid oratory skills saw successful terms. Those who had limitations in their oratory skills found their terms to be tumultuous due to an inability to communicate their ideas. Even if their ideas were strong ones, an inability to put forth a clear statement undermined their ability to succeed. CEOs can find themselves in the same position. If they cannot communicate their abilities, they might find their ability to manage successfully greatly limited. Those in management that find them in the same position would be well served to look at President Obama’s speaking style (Curtis, Vries and Sheerin 2011).
There are ways making use of which the impact of communication can be increased in all the concerned spheres. The best thing about the communication skills of Barack Obama indicate that he tries to identify the appropriate audience to deliver his intended content. There is need to manage various aspects about communication as it essential not only to speak what is to be said but it is essential that the receiver must get a feel about the intention and actual sense which is to be conveyed.
First things first to be mentioned about the communication style of Barack Obama is that he portrays an image of an highly confident and charismatic communication style while speaking when analysis is done on the baseline level. Along with this it also his personal power which increases his potential in a multifold manner. Being the president of the nation he holds a great deal of positional power and at the same time he is meant to listened to and to be liked by the audiences if his positional power is to be taken into reference. But this is not the case with his as the charm and persona carried by Barack Obama allows people to connect with him and listen to him and like him at the end of the communication process (Burke and Cooper 2006).
One more communication skill to be mentioned here indicates that the sense of humor used by him for engaging people and to make them feel attentive and energized all the time. This is quite important being a communicator as this will not only break the monotony of the audiences as well as will maintain stability in their interest level as well. To mention here this is a great strength in his communication style that it acts as a ”hook” for the listeners. There is need to maintain the interest of the audiences and this increases the impact of the communication. Barack Obama holds a great strength making use of which he is capable to enhance the intensity of communication and this makes it comfortable for the speaker to be taken seriously (Dye 2000).
All these strengths make him a great orator and along with strengths there are certain weaknesses which are to be also mentioned at this point of time. There are no second thoughts about the fact that he carries a great deal of impression in the public domain but inconsistency in the information which he provides to the audiences is a weakness to be mentioned at this point of time. This is to be dealt with great effectiveness as this creates a great hindrance in the communication process (Northouse 2004). The role of consistency is quite important in communication and this weakness has to be rectified in his communication style to increase its impact on the audiences.
II) Steve Jobs
The charismatic personality of people is helpful in increasing their impact on the audiences but at the same time there are certain other aspects of communication styles too which are to given equal importance. This fact can be evidently elaborated making use of example of Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple Inc. He carried great deal of enthusiasm in his personality as well as approach towards life. His out of the box thinking and impulsiveness are the best attributes to be mentioned about his communication style. Steve Jobs is known for injecting confidence and enthusiasm among people when he used to interact with people. Along with this the intimidating high self confidence shown by Steve Jobs makes it important for the audiences or listeners to believe the master orator they are listening to (Burns 1978).
The other attributes of the communication style used by Steve Jobs indicate towards a hopeful and positive attitude towards life. This is the essence of communication effort initiated by him at an extensive level. appropriateness of the content, high degree of consistency as well as great deal of belief in the audiences are again key features associated with the communication style used by Steve Jobs many a times. Humor is an essential element again in the communication style of Steve Jobs. The personal life and various circumstances which he faced in live served as the meaningful talks and speeches he conducted throughout his life. This again provides a strong foundation to the audiences to keep their faith in the content delivered by their master orator.
The successful process of communication is only accomplished when what is to be said at the end of the sender is actually received and understood at the end of the receiver and communication style used by Steve Jobs addresses to this definition to a closest possible proximity. Some of the weaknesses which are to be identified along with all these many strengths so listed about the communication style of Steve Jobs are to be listed at this point of article. Very first weakness which is subjective to the perception f the listed is that the over friendliness and high confidence might turn out as casual attitude and non seriousness. This might offend the listener that he is not vesting his time in the right activity as a listener.
The role of communication skills comes in play at this point of time which helps the orator to identify the level of audiences appropriately in various situations making use of which the speaker can increase the impact of his sayings as and when required in various areas. In the next section of this article the comparative analysis of the communication styles used by both these personalities will be identified and listed appropriately (Spears 1998).
Comparison and Contrast
The best and the foremost element of similarity in the communication styles used by both the personalities so identified for discussion indicates that they both are quite confident in their approach. This confidence allows the audiences to connect with them and actually derive the sense associated with the information which they are willing to provide. This is again important to be mentioned at this point of time along with confidence there is one more feature which is similar and it is their personal power. Both these personalities held a great positions, one is of the president and second is of the CEO. In spite of these positional powers both of them had great personal power with which they had a sense of liking for them among their listeners.
This sense of liking is essential for accomplishment of the communication process as it will allow the audiences to interact with the speaker and get influenced by the same. There are some other comparative elements too which are to be mentioned here. This suggests that both Barack Obama and Steve Jobs are well accepted by their listeners in form of master orators. This again indicates about the importance of audience approval in successful accomplishment of the communication process. Steve Jobs is known to lead by examples as well as the Barack Obama has exemplified the victory of black people in a state where the rule and supremacy of white people is evidently visible. This again is a great similarity reflected in their communication styles which oozes confidence and power of handwork and strong self belief.
Along with these many similarities there are certain differences in the communication styles of these people and these differences can be attributed to the differences in the domain areas to which they belong to. The communication style used by Steve Jobs is more of practical in approach which indicates towards present day status and focuses on the ground realities. While on the other hand the communication style used by President Barack Obama takes reference from the past and is based on future expectations. This approach is again a great deal of difference in the communication styles used by them on various public forums such as mass gatherings and convocation ceremonies.
Conclusion
Communication is meant for facilitation of gap between two interested parties which want to have an exchange of information. Both these parties are generally termed as sender and receiver and the strength of communication depends on the skills held at the end of sender. The whole article talks about the communication skills of two great personalities identified from two different domains. The first domain selected is politics and the second area of interest is corporate world. The common feature between these two areas is that both areas have a strong presence of audiences who are real listeners with which the speaker can connect on the same frequency length. Along with this fact there is one more feature making use of which this selection can be justified.
This feature indicates that both the personalities chosen are form the contemporary world. This selection again indicates about the equivalent level of awareness and understanding of the audiences which is in one way or the other quite crucial for the accomplishment of the communication process. This seems to be a wise selection as it provides a fair platform for analysis of both these leaders. The communication leadership styles used by both the orators are quite similar with each other as identified in the comparative analysis. It is essential to mention at this point of time that they both have a great deal of personal power along with the positional power enjoyed by them.
It can be concluded that communication helps in identifying the relationship in all the forms whether personal or professional. This is again important that impact of the communication process can be increased and decreased on basis of the communication skills possessed by the individual who is speaking. At the same time communication is a two way process in which there is need for active involvement from both the sender and the receiver but mainly it depends on the motivation level, enthusiasm and communication skills of the speaker in which the chosen personalities have proved them excellent on various platforms all over the globe.
References
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Burns MJ. Leadership. New York: Harper & Row Publishers; 1978.
Curtis AE, Vries JD, Sheerin FK. Developing leadership in nursing: exploring core factors. Br J Nurs. 2011;20(5):306–309.
Dye CF, Gasrman AN. Exceptional Leadership: 16 Critical Competencies for Healthcare Executives. Chicago: Health Administration Press; 2006.
Dye CF. Executive Excellence: Protocols for Healthcare Leaders, 2nd ed. Chicago: Health Administration Press; 2000.
Kotterman J. Leadership Versus Management: What’s the Difference? Qual Participation. 2006;29(2):13–17.
Northouse PG. Leadership: Theory and Practice, 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications; 2004.
Spears LC. Insights on Leadership: Service, Stewardship, Spirit, and Servant-Leadership. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc; 1998.
