#454 When Leaders Need a Script And What Happens When They Go Off-Script - Article by Niels Brabandt
When Leaders Need a Script And What Happens When They Go Off-Script
By Niels Brabandt, Leadership Expert, Speaker, Consultant
In modern leadership, words travel faster than intentions. A single unscripted sentence can define a leader, damage a brand, strain an international relationship, or leave an entire organisation scrambling behind the scenes. Yet many leaders still underestimate the consequences of speaking “off the cuff.”
Public fascination often centres on the question: Shouldn’t leaders be able to speak freely and still be trusted?
Ideally, yes. In reality, no.
As leadership expert Niels Brabandt explains, some leaders need scripts for the same reason organisations need governance structures: to prevent avoidable damage. And when those leaders go off-script, the costs can be severe.
This article examines why leaders rely on scripts, what happens when they disregard them, and what organisations must do to prevent communication from becoming a strategic liability.
Why Some Leaders Need Scripts: The Structural Reasons
The need for scripted communication rarely stems from a lack of intelligence. Instead, it arises from three structural factors that shape a leader’s communication ability.
1. Upbringing and Social Exposure
Leaders speak in the patterns of the environments in which they were raised.
If a leader grows up and lives exclusively within privileged circles, they may never naturally acquire the vocabulary, cadence, or social awareness needed to communicate authentically with people from different backgrounds. When they attempt to imitate it later in life, it often rings false.
Communication is not only about language. It is about register, perspective, and lived experience.
2. Knowledge of the Target Audience
Some leaders simply do not understand what matters to the people they speak to, their motivations, fears, and expectations.
When this awareness is missing, communication becomes disconnected or careless.
3. Rhetorical Skill Gap
Many executives excel at strategy but lack the rhetorical and communication training required for high-stakes environments.
They rely on instinct instead of technique, and instinct works only until it doesn’t.
A Case Study: When Leadership Communication Derails on the Global Stage
The recent public communication of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz illustrates the risks of going off-script. During and after the COP30 climate summit in Brazil, a series of spontaneous remarks caused global headlines.
Merz joked that none of the German delegation wanted to stay in Brazil, a comment interpreted worldwide as belittling a major global partner. The statement produced backlash not only in the international press but also among diplomatic observers and the business community.
It was not an isolated event.
His earlier remarks comparing a Pride flag to a circus tent, or describing his extraordinarily wealthy lifestyle as “upper middle class,” reinforced a pattern: a leader consistently underestimating the impact of his own words.
For organisations, the lesson is clear:
One leader’s communication failure becomes everyone’s problem, from employees to shareholders to international partners.
The Hidden Cost of Going Off-Script
When leaders deviate from prepared messaging, their organisations face cascading risks:
• Reputational Damage
Brands and institutions are judged by the words of their senior leaders.
One misstatement can undo years of work.
• Internal Disruption
Communications teams face crisis cycles, staff burnout, and morale loss when constantly cleaning up improvised remarks.
• Stakeholder Irritation
Partners, regulators, and international audiences often perceive off-script comments as intentional, not accidental.
• Loss of Trust and Credibility
Trust is built on consistency. Off-script gaffes signal the opposite.
These consequences are predictable, and preventable.
What Organisations Must Do: Awareness, Upskilling, or Full Scripting
Organisations have only three strategic options for leaders with communication vulnerabilities. As Niels Brabandt emphasises, the path chosen defines not only communication outcomes but also cultural integrity.
1. Awareness Creation
Leaders must first understand that their communication is a risk factor.
This often requires executive coaching, external feedback loops, and a structured process for confronting misconceptions about one’s own capabilities.
2. Upskilling Through Professional Development
The sustainable solution.
Rhetorical training, conflict communication, spontaneous speaking techniques, and media coaching enable leaders to communicate authentically, even under pressure.
This route reflects a commitment to leadership excellence and responsible behaviour.
3. Script-Driven Leadership
The last-resort option.
Some leaders may remain unwilling or unable to develop the required skills.
In these cases, scripted communication becomes the protective barrier, a stabiliser that reduces risk but limits authenticity.
Here, predictability replaces spontaneity, and organisational safety replaces leadership freedom.
The Strategic Imperative: Leaders Must Learn Before They Speak
Modern leadership demands self-reflection. Organisations promoting lifelong learning cannot allow exceptions at the top.
A leader who refuses to evolve becomes a liability, reputationally, strategically, and culturally.
The solution is not to silence leaders.
It is to prepare them to speak wisely, responsibly, and in a way that strengthens rather than weakens the institution.
As Niels Brabandt concludes, leadership communication is not a matter of style.
It is a matter of strategy, accountability, and organisational integrity.
Niels Brabandt
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More on this topic in this week's videocast and podcast with Niels Brabandt: Videocast / Apple Podcasts / Spotify
For the videocast’s and podcast’s transcript, read below this article.
Is excellent leadership important to you?
Let's have a chat: NB@NB-Networks.com
Contact: Niels Brabandt on LinkedIn
Website: www.NB-Networks.biz
Niels Brabandt is an expert in sustainable leadership with more than 20 years of experience in practice and science.
Niels Brabandt: Professional Training, Speaking, Coaching, Consulting, Mentoring, Project & Interim Management. Event host, MC, Moderator.