The Executive Communication Playbook: 10 Frameworks That Transform How Leaders Influence and Get Results

Master the tactical frameworks that top executives use to gain buy-in, overcome objections, and accelerate career growth through crystal-clear communication.

Maven co-founder Wes Kao reveals the precise communication frameworks that have helped thousands of operators and executives transform their influence, clarity, and career trajectory.

Key Takeaways

• The "Sales then Logistics" framework prevents the most common communication mistake—jumping into details before securing buy-in from your audience
• MOO (Most Obvious Objection) technique allows you to anticipate and address resistance before it derails your presentations or proposals
• True conciseness comes from preparation, not word count—knowing your core message enables economy of words rather than brevity
• Signposting with power words like "for example," "because," and "as a next step" guides readers through complex documents effortlessly
• The right confidence level means speaking accurately about your conviction level rather than understating hunches or overstating hypotheses
• "Strategy not self-expression" transforms feedback conversations by focusing on behavior change rather than venting frustrations
• CEDAF delegation framework (Comprehension, Excitement, Derisk, Align, Feedback) maintains high standards while empowering team members
• Managing up effectively requires sharing your point of view rather than asking leaders to solve problems you should be analyzing

Timeline Overview

• 00:00:00-10:44 - Communication Foundation: Why communication skills determine career success and the mindset shift from blaming others to improving your own clarity
• 10:44-18:20 - Sales Before Logistics: The framework that prevents ideas from dying due to premature detail-sharing and unclear value propositions
• 18:20-32:05 - Concise Communication Mastery: How preparation enables true conciseness and the difference between brevity and economy of words
• 32:05-42:23 - Writing and Formatting Excellence: Signposting techniques, formatting best practices, and methods for developing communication skills through feedback loops
• 42:23-57:36 - High-Stakes Communication: Finding the right confidence level, anticipating objections with MOO framework, and staying calm under pressure
• 57:36-69:39 - Management Communication: Tactics for managing up effectively, giving constructive feedback, and delegating while maintaining standards
• 69:39-82:01 - Advanced Techniques: Building swipe files for inspiration, leveraging AI for communication improvement, and career lessons from entrepreneurship

The Sales Before Logistics Revolution

• Most communication failures stem from overestimating audience buy-in—presenters jump straight into implementation details when stakeholders haven't decided if they want to pursue the initiative
• The sales phase establishes why the work matters, connects to business goals, and creates excitement before sharing how to execute
• Even previously approved projects need brief re-selling because busy executives forget context between meetings and may mentally deprioritize initiatives
• Effective selling takes 30 seconds to 2 minutes maximum—not lengthy presentations—and simply reminds people of value and urgency
• The logistics phase covers execution details, timelines, and processes but only after securing emotional and strategic commitment
• Jumping to logistics first triggers the "another item on my to-do list" response rather than strategic engagement

This framework prevents the tumbleweeds-in-Slack phenomenon where detailed requests receive zero responses because recipients don't understand the strategic importance.

MOO: The Objection-Anticipation Superpower

• MOO (Most Obvious Objection) involves spending 2 minutes before any presentation thinking through likely pushback or questions
• The technique transforms reactive communicators into strategic ones who feel prepared rather than blindsided during important conversations
• You don't need to anticipate every possible objection—focusing on obvious ones dramatically improves your confidence and response quality
• Thinking through counterarguments forces you to strengthen weak points in your reasoning before presenting publicly
• The practice becomes muscle memory for high-performing communicators who automatically consider opposing viewpoints
• MOO helps with empathy development by training you to see situations from your audience's perspective rather than just your own

The framework works for everything from Slack messages to board presentations—simply ask "what might someone object to about this?"

The Preparation-Based Conciseness Method

• True conciseness isn't about word count but about density of insight—you can have a tight 1,000-word memo or a meandering 300-word message
• The bottleneck to conciseness isn't editing skills but unclear thinking—if you don't know your core point, you can't cut to the chase
• Preparation time doesn't need to be extensive—even 30 seconds to clarify your meeting purpose dramatically improves focus and brevity
• Most professionals operate in back-to-back meeting mode with zero mental preparation, leading to rambling and confused communication
• The analogy of practiced storytelling applies: you're concise about familiar stories because you know all the beats and key moments
• Workplace communication often involves processing ideas in real-time while simultaneously trying to articulate them, creating cognitive overload

The solution involves brief pre-meeting preparation: why am I here, what do I want to share, what outcome am I seeking?

Signposting: The Cognitive Load Reduction Technique

• Signposting uses specific words and phrases to guide readers through long documents and complex arguments without overwhelming formatting
• Power words include "for example" (signals upcoming illustration), "because" (indicates reasoning), "as a next step" (highlights action items)
• Effective signposting reduces reliance on bold text, bullets, and visual formatting while maintaining document structure and readability
• The technique works verbally in presentations: "the most important part to pay attention to" or "what surprised us most was"
• Good signposting helps busy executives skim efficiently while ensuring key points receive appropriate attention
• Overusing bullets and sentence fragments actually increases cognitive load because readers must interpret incomplete thoughts

The goal is creating clear mental pathways through your content rather than forcing readers to decode fragmented ideas.

Confidence Calibration for Accurate Communication

• Speaking accurately about your conviction level prevents both overconfident assertions and underconfident hedging that undermines credibility
• Distinguish between hypotheses ("this might increase conversion") and facts ("this will increase conversion") to avoid misleading your team
• Underconfident communicators sabotage their own recommendations with unnecessary disclaimers and self-deprecating language
• The framework involves stating your recommendation clearly, backing it with evidence, and honestly representing your confidence level
• Teams make better decisions when they understand the strength of evidence behind recommendations rather than false certainty or excessive doubt
• Speaking accurately allows others to properly weigh your input in their decision-making process

The standard becomes: share your point of view, provide your reasoning, and accurately represent how certain you are about the recommendation.

Strategy Not Self-Expression: Feedback That Works

• Most feedback conversations fail because frustrated managers vent emotions rather than focusing on behavior change outcomes
• The "strategy not self-expression" principle requires trimming 90% of what you want to say and keeping only what motivates change
• Venting frustrations should happen with therapists, partners, or friends—not with the person whose behavior you want to modify
• Effective feedback focuses on benefits to the recipient and the organization rather than detailing how their actions affected you personally
• Pre-conversation emotional discharge prevents reactive responses when the other person seems defensive or incredulous
• The goal is behavior modification, not justice or ensuring they understand your suffering

Frame feedback around: what behavior change do you want, and what's the most effective way to achieve that outcome?

CEDAF: The High-Standards Delegation Framework

• CEDAF stands for Comprehension, Excitement, Derisk, Align, Feedback—a systematic approach to delegation that maintains quality while empowering others
• Comprehension ensures the person has everything needed to succeed, including access to tools, clear expectations, and understanding of the end result
• Excitement involves explaining why the work matters and how it connects to larger goals rather than presenting tasks as arbitrary assignments
• Derisk means thinking through obvious failure modes and creating checkpoints to prevent wasted effort going in wrong directions
• Align requires confirming mutual understanding rather than assuming your explanation was absorbed correctly
• Feedback emphasizes creating short feedback loops and multiple check-ins rather than waiting for final deliverables

The framework prevents both micromanagement and the "I could have done it faster myself" trap that limits team growth.

Managing Up Through Point of View Sharing

• Effective managing up involves bringing solutions and recommendations rather than asking managers to solve problems you should be analyzing
• Sharing your point of view reduces cognitive load on busy executives who appreciate having something to build on rather than starting from scratch
• The practice works at all career levels—even junior employees can share observations and recommendations about their areas of expertise
• Frame contributions as: "Here's what I think we should do, how does that sound, where do you see gaps?"
• This approach demonstrates strategic thinking and proactive problem-solving while giving managers concrete input to evaluate
• The alternative—asking "what should we do?"—forces managers to do the intellectual work you're positioned to handle

Strong managing up makes your manager more effective while showcasing your analytical and strategic capabilities.

The Swipe File System for Continuous Improvement

• Swipe files involve collecting examples of excellent communication that you can reference and learn from over time
• The practice trains you to notice when something works well rather than passively consuming good communication without analysis
• Categories can include smart phrases, effective email structures, compelling arguments, or clear explanations you encounter
• The collection process itself provides value by increasing your awareness of communication patterns and techniques
• You don't need complex organization systems—simple notes files work effectively for capturing inspiration
• Analysis involves breaking down why certain communication was effective and whether you can adapt the approach

The habit creates a feedback loop where you become more alert to communication excellence in your daily environment.

AI Integration for Communication Enhancement

• AI tools like Claude excel at helping refine difficult conversations, particularly situations requiring diplomatic disagreement or declining requests
• Providing context about your communication challenge ("I need to say no respectfully while maintaining this relationship") produces better results than generic prompts
• The iterative approach works well: get an initial draft, edit for your voice, then ask the AI to review and suggest improvements
• AI can help with tone calibration, ensuring messages sound appropriately professional without being overly formal or casual
• The tools are particularly valuable for sensitive communications where getting the language exactly right matters significantly
• Context-rich prompting (explaining your situation and desired outcome) generates much more useful responses than simple task requests

AI becomes a thinking partner for working through communication challenges rather than just a writing assistant.

Common Questions

Q: How do I know if I'm being too concise or not concise enough?
A: Monitor the feedback loop—if you're getting lots of clarifying questions or slow responses, you may need more context or better framing.

Q: What's the best way to practice these communication frameworks?
A: Pick one framework (like MOO) and focus on it for several weeks before adding others, treating it like building any new habit.

Q: How can I improve my communication skills without taking a formal course?
A: Start a swipe file, spend 30 seconds preparing before meetings, and pay attention to whether you're getting the reactions you want.

Q: Should I use these frameworks with AI tools?
A: Yes—frameworks like CEDAF work excellently for delegating to AI agents and getting better outputs from language models.

Q: How do I handle pushback when I try to implement these techniques?
A: Start small with low-stakes situations, focus on outcomes rather than perfect execution, and remember that small improvements compound significantly.

These frameworks work because they address fundamental human psychology around decision-making, attention, and influence rather than just surface-level communication tactics.

Conclusion

Wes Kao's frameworks reveal that exceptional communication isn't about natural talent or charisma—it's about systematic approaches that anyone can learn and apply. The most powerful insight is that small improvements in communication create outsized career impacts because these skills compound across every interaction, email, and presentation.

The path forward is surprisingly straightforward: pick one framework like MOO or Sales Before Logistics, practice it consistently for a few weeks, then add another technique. The leaders who invest slightly more time in preparation, clarity, and strategic thinking about their communication consistently outperform those who rely on raw intelligence or subject matter expertise alone. In a world where everyone has access to the same information, the ability to communicate that information persuasively and clearly becomes the ultimate differentiator.