Member Exclusive: Asking the right questions to nail your C-suite comms

A guide to getting the most out of meetings with your leaders

By Sean Devlin, editor, Ragan Communications 

When internal communicators are charged with writing on behalf of the C-suite, they need to do the legwork before making a single keystroke on any memo or statement. This includes asking questions that enable communicators to learn more about what’s on the mind of leaders to help capture their voices and priorities.

Below you’ll find an example prompt document used by Council member Ellen Parlapiano, senior manager, internal communications at Blood Cancer United, during her regular conversations with the organization’s CEO. She shared this format to help other members when they’re looking to get the most out of their content-focused meetings with the top brass. 

Related Article: Your guide to writing effective memos from the C-suite

CEO Listening Session Questions

Goals: As we prepare our CEO communications strategy for FY26, we want to understand your vision and identify the top 3-5 themes you’d like to focus on both internally and externally, as well as the best channels and platforms for amplifying your messages.

We will take the insights we learn from this conversation and develop a communications plan that reflects those themes and goals. We’ve listed some open-ended thought starters below and look forward to a rich discussion.

Questions

1. Who do you want to be as president and CEO? ("The leader who is [insert idea here].") A few examples below but this is not an exhaustive list: 

• A transformational leader who drives change and influences the way people think.
• A convener who brings people together around a cause.
• A visionary leader with a clear vision for the future.
• A strategic leader focused on long-term goals and strategic planning.

2. What legacy do you want to leave at our organization? 

3. Now that you’ve told us what kind of leader you want to be, what kind of thought leadership is most important to you?

• Internal examples: Being perceived as empathetic by staff? Being perceived as transparent by staff? Being approachable by staff? 
• External examples: Being the CEO that the New York Times calls? Speaking alongside other CEOs? 

4. Considering the legacy you’d like to leave, what are the dream publications or media outlets where you’d like to be seen and read? 

5. What CEOs or leaders do you admire for their thought leadership, even outside of the health space? What is it that makes you admire them? 

6. What types of speaking events are of interest to you? 

7. At conferences and events, who are you most interested in networking with? 

8. What are the top 3-5 themes and topics you’d like to focus on in the coming fiscal year, internally and externally? 

9. In the coming months you will be the face of a new organization in a space that no other competitor can claim. We’ll be tripling down on our efforts across all blood cancers. Keeping that in mind:

• What are the platforms that you’d personally like to explore further as a tool for communicating as CEO? Think about platforms that play to your strengths but also stretch your comfort zone.

10. We’ve heard you want to understand communications better. Tell us what you mean by that.

11. How can our comms team keep you better informed about our strategy, approach, roles and responsibilities, and how we’re integrating thought leadership into our overall communications plan?

• Quarterly updates with you and/or the executive leadership team?
• Regularly sharing learnings and new trends?

12. What does success look like for you as a leader? 

13.. What else is on your mind that you want our team to know?

For more resources on executive communications, be sure to visit the Executive Communications toolkit in the Member Library.