With over two decades of experience spanning international broadcasting and leadership communication, Jennifer Clickner brings a unique perspective to impactful communication. As a coach and trainer for diplomats, senior policymakers, and global business leaders, she helps professionals navigate high-stakes environments with clarity and confidence. Ahead of her session in the Executive Programme in Diplomacy, Negotiation and Policy, we asked Jennifer to share insights from her career and her views on the communication skills that matter most today.

Throughout your career, what key lessons have you learned about what it takes to truly influence and persuade across cultures and sectors?

Authenticity and building trust go hand in hand.  It’s hard to have one without the other, and together they create a virtuous circle that fosters psychological safety, and from that comes emotional connection, dialogue, greater engagement, and enhanced innovation as well.  You cannot ask people to take risks and venture out of their comfort zone where there is no trust.  You cannot ask people to trust you and lead them effectively if they feel you are not being authentic. Inspirational leadership is being able to lead without imposing formal authority, and it’s authenticity and trust that gets you there.

In your experience coaching diplomats and policy professionals worldwide, what communication skills do you see as most critical for success in today’s complex and rapidly changing global environment?

Clarity and concision are essential.  I have the good fortune to regularly work with experts in many different fields, and the challenge that they all face is avoiding what I call the expert trap.  They can talk for an hour on their area of expertise, but what happens when they only have ten minutes, or five, or even less?   That’s where a solid understanding of how to message is key – you need to keep the complexity of the ideas but increase the clarity and concision, so that it stays with people long after you have finished speaking.  

In addition, with today’s 24-hour news cycles and ubiquitous social media, we are inundated not only with information, but also with ever-increasing misinformation.  How do you cut through all that noise and be heard?  Solid messaging is the starting point, the bedrock of all effective communication, and for that, you need great clarity and concision. This is the essential first step in starting to achieve more lasting impact in our communication.  And isn’t that the goal?

You’ll soon be teaching a session in our Executive Programme. Without giving too much away, what should participants expect to experience or take away from your session?

All of the above and more!   My sessions are skills-based learning. First, we explore key components of effective leadership communication and delve into the neuroscience of influence. But what’s essential is also having the opportunity to start putting it all into practice and getting real-time feedback.  With capacity building, the learning is in the doing. Participants will leave with an extensive set of advanced interpersonal communication skills and techniques, and with practical experience in applying these tools to their own communication and leadership challenges.

---

Jennifer Clickner is the Director of icommunicate and a guest speaker in the Executive Diploma in Diplomacy, Negotiation and Policy and the Upskill Series course in Diplomatic Influence.