Indra Nooyi used these 4 communication skills to become PepsiCo CEO

Indra Nooyi worked at PepsiCo for 24 years, 12 of them as CEO, before stepping down in 2018. (Illustration by Suneesh K)

Having good communication skills is imperative in most jobs and former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi is clear about one thing: "You cannot overinvest in communication skills."

And Nooyi's investment began in school when she was on the debate team in India. But, once she moved to US and enrolled in Yale's business school, she realised that her public speaking skills needed work, reported Inc.com.

When she failed in a communication course, it was turning point for Nooyi because she had failed at anything. At that time she was determined to not let it happen again.

Indra Nooyi then used these four skills to get better at communication--a trait that led her to lead PepsiCo one day.

1. Know the content
In her Masterclass, Nooyi said she rose quickly through the ranks of PepsiCo because of a core competency--a "hip-pocket skill". She was able to study complex problems and communicate them clearly to help senior executives make better decisions.

"It sounds counterintuitive, but it's nearly impossible to simply information unless you understand the topic," Nooyi said. "When I work with CEOs and top leaders at cloud companies or other organizations handling highly complex products, I ask to read the technical material. Yes, it can get boring and mind-numbing, but I'm looking for key messages and specific examples that are often buried under mountains of data."

2. Start with the big picture
Nooyi learned that simplifying messages means that one has to start with the big picture--the conclusion. Make your point first, and then follow up with the reasoning behind your conclusion, she said.

Read more: Indra Nooyi to top bosses on gender pay gap: Would you treat your daughters this way?

3. Make a minimal number of statements
When she became CEO, Indra Nooyi embarked on a new initiative for PepsiCo. She introduced a strategic direction called "Performance With Purpose" and chose three pointers to focus on: "Nourish our consumers, replenish our environment, and cherish our employees."

"Regular readers of my column and books know I'm a fan of the rule of thirds," Inc.com quoted Nooyi as saying. "It simply means that the human brain has trouble remembering lists of more than three or four items."

4. Keep messages short and simplePepsiCo wanted to focus on producing and distributing "convenient" foods and beverages, so Nooyi thought of a simple yet catchy way to describe convenience. She said PepsiCo makes products that consumers can "rip, flip, twist, or tear", thus capturing every product in the company line.

Read more: 'Pull up a chair, you belong at the table': Indra Nooyi's pro-tip for work, home and life