Mastering the Art and Science of Corporate Communication

Over the years, technology and connectivity have changed the face of corporate communication. With technology being more affordable and the internet being more ubiquitous, the communication playing field has not only been levelled, but also expanded. From face-to-face to print to digital, organisational leaders today can now cross geographical boundaries and time zones to reach millions instantly – all without leaving the comfort of their homes or breaking their corporate bank account.

While it’s an exciting time to be for the field of corporate communication, organisations know all too well that this playing field is also wrought with mines. Information overload, fake news, the viral nature of social media and short attention span of users set against an ever-changing media landscape has made communication even more challenging to navigate.

“Information is now the new battlefield, and communication – the new warfare,” says Terence Quek, a communication veteran who has spent nearly two decades developing communication strategies and plans, generating speeches and talking points for organisational leaders and political office holders, managing media relations and directing communication campaigns.

“Get the game right and you may be richly rewarded with your target audience’s support for your cause, dollars for your product or service, or action in response to your call. Get it wrong, and you may suffer dire consequences. At best, you get buried in the graveyard of lost information – missed, ignored, or glossed over; at worst, you may end up with a communication crisis, lose your reputation, your license to operate or even your organisation’s right to exist.”

Terence, whose career spanned 13 years with the Republic of Singapore Navy and who was part of the team that established the Navy Information Centre in the mid-2000s, recalls this dilemma clearly.

“The Navy’s top brass has a lot of foresight and recognised the growing importance and advantages of the Navy having its own capability in communication, especially when communicating with the public, which up until then, was primarily through the Ministry of Defence’s public affairs department. While there was a lot of interest in tapping into new channels like blogs and Facebook (which was gaining popularity but was only a few years old at that time), there were questions over what information and how much of it should be put out there, and along with it, concerns over the impact on operational security and risks to reputation.”

Years later, when Terence co-founded strategic communication consultancy Caelan & Sage after completing his service with the Navy, he realised many other organisational leaders agonise over similar dilemmas. Only then, the communication landscape has grown more complex.

“The way forward is for organisational leaders to take ownership and lead the way in corporate communication and make it their responsibility to master the art and science of corporate communication. Even if they have a team of expert practitioners that they work with that they can depend on, leaders ultimately make or break the deal, especially when it comes to crisis communication,” concludes Terence, who was part of the pioneer intake of SMU Master of Science in Communication Management (MCM) programme.

While he was Executive Director of Caelan & Sage, offering full-fledged public relations service and consultancy in strategic communications, Terence only had an Honours degree in Psychology and no formal training in communication. Though he was able to gain success for his clients through his strategic counsel, he still wanted to get an academic grounding on which to lay his communication practice which he had developed over the years – to put the science to the art.

He was drawn to how the MCM programme marries the theoretical and practical aspects of corporate communication by featuring a blend of academics and practitioners as faculty and using case teaching as a methodology. Offering a combination of business and communications modules also help equip graduates with a well-rounded scope of competencies ranging from corporate and business management to external, internal, crisis, investor, and media communication, all of which helped solidify his decision to pursue the MCM.

As a business leader who travels frequently for work and oversees regional markets, Terence also benefited from the globalised nature of the joint programme, conducted in partnership with the Executive Master of Science in Communications Management at the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI), Lugano, Switzerland. He similarly spent ten days at UCLA in Los Angeles, US as part of his studies. Besides having the opportunity to network with peers from around the world, the MCM programme offered Terence the unique viewpoints and expertise from faculty based in three geographic regions, providing Asian, European and North American perspectives to communication.

“With classmates from the prestigious USI Executive Masters of Communications programme and faculty from USI, UCLA and SMU, I knew I would be learning not only from academics, experts and practitioners from government agencies, non-profit organisations and companies, but also benefitting from their experiences working in Singapore and Asia, Europe and the United States,” adds Terence, who graduated in 2013.

“Conversations with my classmates and professors expanded my professional worldview and gave me direct access to certain insights that only industry insiders are privy to. My network also grew, not just through my classmates, but through being part of the SMU alumni community.”

He quips, “Having graduated from the programme, I must say that I feel even more confident in my communication practice. I had my blind spots covered through the programme, and with the rigorous discourse I had with classmates as we dissected each case, I learnt to appreciate different viewpoints and approaches, including cultural nuances, toward the same communication challenge. All these made the solutions I designed for my clients even more holistic and robust, and also made me a better leader.”

Terence continues to draw on his learnings from his MCM experience, applying them both as a leader of his organisation and as a consultant for his clients’ communication projects. He continues to apply what he learnt after he took his company through a merger and acquisition and pivoted the business to focus on people and organisation development. The skills gained were also able to value-add meaningfully to various organisations he volunteers with.

On whether he has mastered the science and art of communication, Terence thinks he still has a long way to go.

“Learning is a lifelong journey, which is why I am grateful that I’m an alumnus with SMU – there are plenty of opportunities to continue my learning, be it with peers, fellow alumni from other industries or backgrounds, or from faculty through auditing modules at the present MCM programme,” says Terence.

“Mastery is a journey, not a destination,” adds Terence. “I hope to see many more organisational leaders embark on this journey to master the science and art of corporate communication for communication is a powerful tool – in the hands of a skilful practitioner, it can be a force for good, or a weapon of mass destruction.”