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When the CEO steps in front of employees and delivers a confident, human town hall update about the company’s strategy, that’s a win for communicators. The problem often appears later, when a LinkedIn post from the same leader reads like it was written by someone else entirely.
“Executive communication is a culture lever,” said Lisa Vasquez-Fedrizzi, communications consultant and former senior vice president of people and culture at Prompt. “It’s not just about the messaging itself. Sharp executive comms actively shape trust, retention and employer branding, too.”
Here are four practical steps internal communicators can take to build these frameworks.
First, conduct a comms audit of your leaders.
Before they set out to create a framework for executive voice, comms pros need to be attuned to how their C-suiters already communicate. That means undertaking a careful audit of how executives communicate across channels.
“I always begin by studying what’s already there,” says Johnna Muscente, vice president of communications and public relations at Corcoran. “I take a deep dive into past town hall transcripts, keynote remarks, interviews and LinkedIn posts — anything that captures how they naturally interact with employees.”
Muscente recommends documenting patterns to help identify the boundaries of the framework and determine where a leader’s strengths lie.
“What subjects do they gravitate toward?” she said. “What stories do they repeat? Even small things matter — what they joke about, where they become animated or where they get defensive.”
She added that the audit should simply show communicators where they can lean into the strengths of leaders rather than overhauling their communication style completely.
“The work is less about rewriting who they are and more about sharpening it,” Muscente told Ragan. “When done well, the executive feels more like themselves. They’re just clearer, more consistent and more strategically positioned.”
Second, define the leader’s messaging pillars.
Once the voice audit is finished, internal communicators should determine three to five themes that help anchor the executive’s voice.
“Start with one fundamental question — what does your leader want to be known for over time?” Muscente said. “And not just in one interview, but consistently. Voice isn’t about adjectives like ‘authentic’ or ‘bold,’ it’s about clear positioning. You need to think carefully about what themes should follow your founder or CEO from room to room.”
Vasquez-Fedrizzi added that the messaging pillars should align with both the leader’s communication style and the company’s value set.
“The executive voice must be a direct reflection of the company’s mission, values and business priorities,” she says. “Before defining tone, there needs to be alignment on what the leader consistently stands for, what they prioritize and what should never be left open to interpretation.”
In practice, the pillars in an executive voice framework might look something like this — each pillar includes supporting guidance that helps shape messages based on an executive’s communication strengths.
Executive A’s Leadership Pillars
- Human-centered
- Acknowledges how decisions affect employees, not just the bottom line.
- Speaks plainly and avoids jargon.
- Reinforces respect for employees.
- Decisive direction
- Communicates next steps with clarity and confidence.
- Explains the “why”.
- Balances transparency with momentum.
- Steadiness during change
- Calm and measured speaker.
- Recognizes challenges when speaking to employees while grounding the message in stability.
- Emphasizes accountability alongside a long-term view.
Third, create a voice playbook.
Once the pillars have been constructed, communicators should turn them into an easy-to-access document that both leaders and comms pros can reference. Vasquez-Fedrizzi said that when she creates these frameworks, she adds sample language into the voice playbook document that brings guidelines and scenarios to life.
“You need to demonstrate how these pillars work in real-life scenarios,” she told Ragan. “That shifts the framework from something theoretical to something more tangible.”
For example, a playbook might include guidance on how a leader should address employees after a difficult quarter or introduce a new initiative during a town hall.
Muscente added that in addition to sample language, the playbook should include topics and tone that leaders need to be cognizant of given employee concerns.
“Make sure you note areas of sensitivity or tone considerations for different environments,” she said. “The goal isn’t to overly script a leader. It’s to give them a swim lane to operate in so their voice becomes recognizable.”
Finally, assign the audiences and channel lanes to your leaders.
Not every leader needs to communicate on every internal channel. Some might be great with the written word, while others might succeed on video. The framework should clearly identify what leaders are right for what topics and channels.
Vasquez-Fedrizzi said that she creates an audience matrix for leaders with the knowledge gained in the preceding steps to slot the right people into lanes where they can succeed.
“I don’t believe every executive needs to be everywhere,” she said. “One of the biggest parts of a strong framework is being intentional about where leaders show up and what conversations they own.”
For example, a framework matrix might map out the CEO’s communications lanes like this:
- CEO – Primary roles are vision, strategy and organizational direction.
- Internal channels
- Town halls
- Organization-wide announcements via email
- Internal leadership meetings
- Voice focus
- Long-term company strategy
- Context of business performance
- Culture priorities
- Example topics they can address
- Quarterly updates for employees
- Major changes or strategic shifts
- Leadership expectations
- Internal channels
She added that one of the best parts about a framework is that when they’re continually strengthened, they become a normalized part of a communicator’s audience outreach.
“When the communication lanes are clear, authority builds over time,” Vasquez-Fedrizzi said. “Audiences know who to listen to for what.”
That’s the kind of clarity an internal executive voice framework can achieve.
Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications.
The post A 4-part process for building an executive voice framework appeared first on PR Daily.
