VC's Notes

6 pro tips on communication that's sure to get you promoted

I've been in the workforce for almost a decade now, and I've observed a rather persistent truth: being a great IC gets you noticed, but becoming a great communicator is what gets you promoted.

As of writing this blog, I've been working with a large organization with 5,000+ employees. It's a very dense talent pool, but after a point you get to see how some folks who were your peers once are now managing you or another team. Or even your peers maybe, who are getting high-impact and highly visible projects.

It's not because they're great at what they do (although sometimes that may be the case) - they're fantastic communicators. Communication is an extremely high-leverage skill to have - and no, it's not only about writing pretty emails. These days even GPTs can do that, and a lot better than you too. So what is it?

  1. Don't save your best behavior for execs only: getting promoted is a function of managing both up and across. And so, we often only save the prettiest decks and the most compelling narratives for a larger meeting with exces. Problem is, you're not socializing your ideas and getting buy-in from your peers on an ongoing basis. Doing it on an ongoing basis not only makes them feel involved, but it builds a perception of you - a perception that you're taking the lead and driving it. So, for what it's worth, treat every slack update with your peers as a practice ground.

  2. "You're not strategic enough": This was a common feedback I've gotten from various managers over the years. Took me a while to wrap my head around it, but when i did - I saw a simple truth: I over-estimated the amount of buy-in I had. To me, great communication = technical proactiveness. "Enable" your leaders and every person cc'd with all the info, all at once. Because the equation in my head was "all info in one, organized email = minimal back and forth = Varun is a great communicator". What this missed was the amount of work I was expecting someone to do, just to buy into an idea. Something I learnt very recently was to sell your idea. It's comms 101, where you wrap your idea into the 5 Whys:

    1. "Why is this idea relevant now?";
    2. "Why is this idea going to have X impact"?;
    3. "Why is this idea important for my team to pursue now?";
    4. "Why will cross-functional teams prioritize this idea now?"
    5. "Why are $ and time resources for this idea justifiable now?"

    This doesn't have to be a deck or a long doc. Can just be a few lines on slack or email, where you're thoughtfully convincing your leaders on the idea, what's at stake if we don't pursue it, and how is it aligned with team, company charter only using the resources of what's available (no big asks, please)

  3. Do not shoot yourself in the foot: I've probably done this 6/10 times, because I was too over enthusiastic. It's a common pitfall, if you think your idea is the next sliced bread type invention. Leaders in meetings typically go "yes, yes, next, next" when you've spent the last week combing through reports to build a case. My only comms advice here: take the yes and move on. Do not double click on it unless they've explicitly raised an objection. Or, you'll wind up convincing them out of the idea.

  4. Prep like you're taking the SATs: Yep. Often your pre-reads might be very detailed, but if you haven't internalized the idea of it very well - you will fumble and stammer - taking away credibility. Spend a lot of time editing, understanding and going over the details - and find ways to trim it down to the absolute essentials. See if numbers can be backed with tighter storytelling, or vice-versa. Be able to talk over it or summarize the idea real quick in meetings. Read the room, think on your feet. If it's a meeting that's at 3 PM on a friday - not even the CEO's mother will give a shit, trust me. If it's a 10 am on a monday, the FBI will be on it too. So, tackle it accordingly.

  5. Simulate objections: Building on top of (4), I often use AI (no specific model) to poke holes on my idea. I upload the deck or doc, along with an ICP deck, and ask it to poke tactical holes. I sometimes describe what my colleagues, presenters are like from past convos and the kind of objections they've brought up - so figure out what the most common objections will surface. I prep for those as well, before most critical meetings. This will help you think a couple of steps ahead in a very structured manner. So, during your presentations or emails - you can even offer to volunteer info on these suspected common objections. It will make leaders and others think you care about them, and are proactively surfacing any risks you foresee.

  6. How confident should I be?: I've been in rooms where I was flushed with imposter syndrome but nevertheless had to present. Been amongst leaders I thought were the living embodiment of idiocy, and paid the price with my over-confidence. Again, common bear traps if you're learning. Something I learnt very recently again was what the word "hypothesis" meant. If it's not backed by facts, or data or a case study - it's a hunch, no matter how strong the conviction. Don't mislead a leader. If something is a hunch or a hypothesis - say it. Use the words. Don't overstate it, because irresponsible comms like that has a huge negative impact. I've also often stated very strong and viable recommendations, and followed up with "you can ignore all of it [OR] the decision is ultimately yours." Saying it really sent out a bad signal, because leaders expect you to be opinionated, clear and firm on whatever you suggest. Underconfidence is a golden ticket to not getting more email invites of strategic discussions. If you want to overcome your imposter that's coming off as being underconfident - then you can always back things up with a sandbox, data, visuals, etc.

Over and above these tips - the real world isn't as black and white where you can easily apply X tip to Y scenario. Why? EMOTIONS. We're emotional beings, and so are our leaders. So often, all comms tactics gets eaten like a bowl of ramen when either of you isn't in a good mood, or are very anxious.

So how do you stay calm in these high stakes situations? Here is what I do:

Lastly, there's some important ad-hoc skills you can pick up too, which compounds your communication skills. In my opinion, they're all low-hanging and abundantly available to everyone in the food chain: