Just Survive? or Thrive? The Challenges and Opportunities for Leaders Communicating in the Digital Age

I’m a child of the 1970’s.

I grew up in the “latch-key” generation, a Gen-X cohort of kids who came home from school to an empty house because our parents were working. The pop culture image of our generation looks like a child returning from school on their own, with their front door key hanging around their neck, spending their afternoons without parental supervision.

I remember walking home from school – which was miles away and across multiple  busy roads – when I was seven years old.  Coming home, I would make myself a melted cheese and ham sandwich in our microwave oven, which was the size of a small refrigerator.  After eating, I would head outside and see who else was around and together, my latch-key crew and I would play and roam free until the sun went down and our parents called us in for dinner.

My generation was an independent lot. Agile, resilient and self-reliant.  We were self-starters and had to cope with figuring things out on our own. These characteristics have served us well over the decades and are especially useful in our current day and age, where change and transformation are around every corner and nothing stays the same.

Especially in business.

According to the 2024 Pulse of Change Report by Accenture, the rate of change affecting businesses has risen steadily since 2019, by 183% over the past four years and by 33% in 2024 alone. C-suite executives polled in the report anticipate an even faster rate of change in 2025, and more than half say they are not fully prepared to respond.  In the September 2024 version of the Report, their main concern was in keeping up with advancements in tech and innovation.

When it comes to the lived daily version of these advancements, you know what this feels like… the near-constant barrage of app updates, subscription reminders, password prompts, cyber security threats and new software and gadgets to learn about.  And let’s not forget about the star of the show…AI…which is a total change-agent and will continue to be so for many years to come.

And, I must admit, despite my resilient Gen X DNA, this last technology leaves me feeling overwhelmed and exhausted when I try to figure out how to use it.

When this happens, I just want to curl up and hide under my duvet and remember the heydays of my analog existence, a time before the digital age, when I relied on my hands, my heart and my common sense to get things done.

But alas! this article isn’t about AI or about the glory days of being a Gen Xer, it’s about how advancements in tech and innovation have changed how we communicate with each other.

And about how now, more than ever before, as technology keeps evolving and opening up new ways for us to reach each other without the constraints of physical distance, leaders from every sector are being called on to speak more frequently, to more people, on more platforms.

Off the top of my head, here are just a few examples of where leaders are being asked to communicate these days:

Video Messages, Virtual Presentations, Fireside Chats, Webinars, TED-like Talks, Toasts, Elevator Pitches, Startup Pitches, Staff Updates, Conference Keynotes, Retirement Speeches, Impromptu Speaking, Sales Pitches, Battle Calls, Inspirational Speeches, Motivational Speeches, Educational Talks, Panel Discussions, Town Hall Presentations, Television Interviews, Podcast Interviews, LinkedIn Live, Facebook Live, University Lectures, Book Pitches, Welcome Speeches…

So, with all of these communication options what does a day in the life of a leader of the digital age look like?  Let me paint the picture:

…It’s 08:50 am on a Monday morning and you’ve got just 10 minutes before your online meeting begins.  You’re presenting the financial updates of the quarter to the board and the stakes are high.  You grab your fresh cup of coffee, your notes and the printouts of the PowerPoint presentation that you’ve spent the whole weekend working on with your team, and head over to your home office desk.  Hanging on your chair is your business blazer which you forgot to iron because you had your mind on other things, but you put it on anyway so that you are dressed to impress. You sit down and look over your notes one last time, preparing yourself for what will be a long and intensive call.  It’s 08:59 am and you join the Teams meeting ready to present.

Fast forward to two hours later, the call is over and it went well by your estimation. You get up, have a quick bathroom break, head into the kitchen to grab something that will give you fuel and return to your desk. You sit down and get your head around what this next call will be about – an interview for a podcast episode about your area of expertise. You check for visible sweat rings around your armpits – there are none, which is a relief because you don’t have time to dart away to put on more deodorant, so you clear your throat, drink a swig of the cold coffee that is still on your desk from earlier that morning and join the call.

It ends 10-minutes behind schedule so you’re late to the next item on your agenda, a live-streamed appearance at a company-wide town hall…

I’ll let your imagination fill in the rest of the details of this hypothetical leader who is doing the digital communication dance.

Does it sound familiar?

Is there a version of this energetic dance that is happening to you in your work-life?

If you’re like most leaders of the digital age, this fast-paced communication maneuvering is becoming the norm.

So what are the challenges of working like this and of communicating more frequently, to more people, on more platforms?

And what are the opportunities?  How can you make the most out of this new-normal and learn how to thrive instead of just survive when you speak to your peers, teams and stakeholders in back-to-back communications?

Here is a sample of the challenges that I see in the leaders and teams that I work with around the world and the corresponding practical “opportunities”:

Challenge # 1:

“I don’t have the energy or the stamina to speak so much”

Communication is a physical endeavor, requiring the use of your entire body, heart and soul.  From head to toe everything is engaged and in order to communicate on the level that I am describing here in this article, I invite you to reframe how you think about this topic.  Consider it a high performance activity and as with all activities of this kind, you need certain things to make it happen: good physical fitness, healthy food and nutrition and regular rest and recovery.

THE OPPORTUNITY: Treat your speaking engagements like high performance events. Keep up your fitness, eat balanced and healthy meals, drink plenty of water and rest and recover in between bouts of speaking.

Challenge # 2:

“I feel tense when I speak, and I can’t relax”

Tension is the enemy of connection and is the biggest culprit for inaudible delivery and lackluster speaking, which puts people to sleep and sucks the life out of the room. In order to defeat it, you must warm up your body and get loose and supple so that you can be more present.

THE OPPORTUNITY: Minutes before you speak to your audience and in a private setting, do a full body shake-out to release your tension.  Walk around, swing your arms, roll your shoulders and move your whole body. If you really want to switch up your energy, turn on your favorite song and dance!  Releasing tension this way will make you more present and help you to feel more embodied and authentic.

Challenge # 3:

“My voice hurts and I feel tired all over”

Too much of anything isn’t good. Fatigue, over using your voice and bad posture from sitting at your desk all day will negatively affect your speaking. At best, you will get through your meetings and check them off of your to-do list; but at worst, you will damage your voice, be unclear and inaudible when you speak and feel totally wiped out.

THE OPPORTUNITY: Schedule your speaking engagements so that you have short recovery periods in between each communication. Anything from five to fifteen minutes would be ideal. During your recovery moments, rest your voice, drink water at room temperature and get up and move your body.  When you do, you’ll return to your next call revitalized and ready to go.

Challenge # 4:

“I can’t authentically connect with my audiences, it feels forced and artificial”

Effective communicators make their audiences feel seen, heard and valued no matter what platform they are speaking on.  When they speak, they engage their full instruments, skillfully blending ‘what’ they say with ‘how’ they say it. Their presence, breath, voice and movement come together and seamlessly create a spark of connection in the hearts and minds of their listeners. In today’s busy communication landscape, it’s challenging to create these sparks. With back-to-back speaking and so many different types of audiences and platforms to speak on, what gives?

THE OPPORTUNITY: Stand up when you speak. This simple physical act will change how you show up in front of your audiences.  Your full instrument will be more engaged and your speaking will feel more embodied and authentic.

Challenge # 5:

“I don’t have time to learn new skills”

To survive in the hive of today’s communication outlets, you need to know a bevy of skills. These include everything from the basics of how to create compelling content and how to deliver it, to advanced skills about strategic storytelling, how to rehearse, how to speak on camera and how to maintain your energy and stamina both in live speaking engagements and online. These days, communication is a bit like an Olympic sport requiring massive skill, effort and stamina. And to stay on top – don’t miss the bus.

THE OPPORTUNITY: Be bold, get curious and be proactive. Look for training programs which support you to learn the skills that you need in order to become an agile and resilient communicator of the digital age. The consequences of “missing the bus” are that you will not only be left behind, but you will be stuck in ineffective habits which will drain your energy, make you into a lackluster speaker and lead to burnout.

So, what does success look like?

As a way to close this article and to summarize what I have shared with you so far, I’d like to revisit the example about the hypothetical leader of the digital age going through a typical work-day morning.  Let’s have some fun and revamp that story with the suggestions that I have made:

…It’s 08:50 am on a Monday morning and you’re feeling refreshed and vibrant after a good night’s sleep and a wholesome breakfast. You’ve got just 10 minutes before your online meeting begins. So you spend five minutes warming up and shaking out your body so that you’re ready to be present and engaged with your audience. You’re presenting the financial updates of the quarter to the board and the stakes are high. You grab a handful of cashew nuts and a glass of room temperature water, your notes and the printouts of the PowerPoint presentation that you’ve spent the whole weekend working on with your team, and head over to your home office standing desk.  Hanging on your chair is your wrinkle-free business blazer which you put on so that you are dressed to impress. Getting into a comfortable standing position you look over your notes one last time, preparing yourself for what will be a long and intensive call.  It’s 08:59 am and you join the Teams meeting ready to present.

Fast forward to two hours later, the call is over and it went well by your estimation. You have scheduled a 15-minute recovery break in between your meetings, so you leave your office and head outside to your garden where you can soak up some sunshine and breathe fresh air.  You walk around, looking at the colors, shapes and forms in the garden and enjoy the moment.  You think about how you want to show up for your next call, then go back inside. You have a quick bathroom break, head into the kitchen to grab a glass of water and your favorite high-energy snack that you’ve stocked up on, and return to your desk. You feel confident about what this next call will be about – an interview for a podcast episode about your area of expertise. You check for visible sweat rings around your armpits – there are none because you are using a new anti-perspirant deodorant which works like a dream, so you do a quick vocal warm up, gently clearing your throat, drink a swig of your water and join the call.

It ends 10-minutes ahead of schedule because you were so well prepared that you could answer all of the questions effortlessly. You now have time for another recovery break before the next item on your agenda, a live-streamed appearance at a company-wide town hall… and you can’t wait for it to start because you know it’s going to feel great to authentically connect with your peers, teams and stakeholders…

Leaders, when it comes to the work of speaking more frequently, to more people, on more platforms, do you want to just survive or do you want to start to thrive?

I know what I’d choose.

____________

Dr. Laura Penn is an international expert in the speaking arts and leadership communication. Founder of The Leadership Speaking School, based in Switzerland, she supports leaders, teams and motivated youth to become authentic communicators of the digital age. International keynote speaker, four-time TEDx speaker, author of four books, writer for UN Today, the official magazine of the United Nations and host of the Leadership Speaking Radio podcast, Dr. Penn is available for customized keynotes at leadership, future-of-work and peak-performance related-conferences and summits and virtual and in-person master classes for teams.