Felicity H. Barber
I’m a speechwriter, executive communications specialist and coach. I write speeches, advise business leaders on messaging and coach people to deliver perfect presentations, pitches and speeches.
Everything You’ve Wanted to Know About Thought Leadership (But Were Scared to Ask)
Posted On 13th May 2015
Communicate like a pro, Thought Leadership
A few days ago, I was chatting with a friend, who is super smart—has-a-PhD-in-Chemistry-type-smart. I mentioned that I’d taken on a new client who had commissioned some thought leadership work. To which she said: “Great! But what is thought leadership?”
The thing about really smart people is that they’re not afraid to speak up when they don’t know something. And, our conversation made me wonder: How many other people out there don’t know what thought leadership is—but smile and nod when it comes up in conversation? My guess is a lot more than I realized. So, the question (apparently) on everyone’s mind is: What exactly is thought leadership?
Thought Leadership In A Nutshell
Thought leadership is a way for a brand to position itself as a leader in a certain field or sector by demonstrating its values or expertise.
The key verb here is “demonstrate.” So, if a business is trying to position itself as being an expert in technology, for example, it’s no good to simply say: “We’re experts in tech.”
You have to actually prove it. One way of doing this is to carry out and publish research.
Here’s how it works in practice:
This article was first published by Forbes. Click here to read on.
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