The Great Communicator

Or, in Reagan’s words, not being direct or showing empathy. Reagan believed intuitively that the Russians were afraid of the Americans, and broke down that fear by demonstrating that he understood them. In letters in advance of the Geneva summit, Reagan slowly gained Gorbachev’s trust by showing sympathy for the Russian people and the hardships that nuclear war would bring on both sides; he firmly believed that a winner could not emerge from a global nuclear war, and said so to the Russians.

Many of us have been involved with this eternal feud: Sales and marketing believe that strategy should go one way based on what customers want; R&D believes it should go the other way based on technology. Organizations that get these departments looking at things through each others’ eyes and collaborating know that the compromise strategy that emerges is likely to have greater value and success than what either department put forth on its own.

"We left Andrews Air Force Base aboard Air Force One shortly after eight o’clock in the morning on November 16, 1985. Just before takeoff, we got word that the Soviets had allowed several of their citizens who were married to Americans to join their spouses in the United States . . . I took the Soviet decision as a positive signal before the summit."

In the Cold War era, nonverbal communication was often the only communication between the Americans and Soviets. Reagan believed that the Soviets’ diplomatic move was a positive sign before the summit, and the Soviets obviously had a reason for timing the release of those citizens as they did.

Likewise in business, nonverbal communication often speaks louder than what we actually say. Crossing your arms, looking the other way, or frowning, for example, are non-verbal no-nos. Everybody knows that, right?

So why are businesspeople still so rude in their nonverbal communications?: not concentrating in meetings; not waiting for the speaker to finish or evaluating the message before responding with nonverbal signals; firing off abrupt e-mails instead of picking up the phone or walking down the hall to talk to someone face to face; ignoring voice-mail messages. Think about those things and their detrimental effects next time you’re tempted to do them.

"As we shook hands for the first time, I had to admit—as Margaret Thatcher and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney of Canada predicted I would—that there was something likable about Gorbachev. There was warmth in his face and his style, not the coldness bordering on hatred I’d seen in most senior Soviet officials I’d met until then."

Reagan had done his homework before meeting Gorbachev, not only by studying American intelligence reports, but also by discussing the new Soviet leader with other world leaders. At the same time, Reagan followed his hunches about Gorbachev’s personality and tailored his message to appeal to Gorbachev’s motivations.