Communication

Are you being heard?…

One of the most important skills to get right when dealing with any kind of change is communication, yet in our rush to “get things done” we can sometimes forget to actively engage those around us in our efforts. We soldier ahead and do a “tell” after the fact. Then we wonder why we meet challenges and resistance from people who are impacted by the change! We fail to secure the buy-in from the people we need, and are left spending time “defending” our ideas instead of presenting ourselves and our ideas positively.

Other times, like the children in the clever artwork above (available here) who are trying to send a text on a tin-can phoneline, we expect too much from methods of communication that are unsuitable for the task, and then get frustrated when our message has not been heard.

If the frustration of not being heard does sound familiar, it really is time to take heed. A recent mental health in the workplace report published by BITC and This Is Me Scotland – (available here) highlights that 37% of work related stress is associated with poorly communicated organisational change.

So, since communication of new ideas is so critical, and so easy to get wrong, how can we practically take steps to become more effective communicators? This article aims to highlight some key points to remember.

1. It takes two

Even since the earliest days of the modern age, leadership wisdom has pointed us towards truly effective communication being a two way street.

You were born with TWO ears and ONE mouth for a reason (so that we can listen twice as much as we speak)

Epictetus, Greek Stoic Philosopher, c 55AD

If we expect people to be excited or positive about our venture but the first they hear of it, it’s a ‘fait accompli’ and they have had no opportunity to evaluate it or provide any opinion at all to help shape it in any way their enthusiasm will be quashed. If we offer no opportunity for their input then what we say might be “I have this great new proposition I think you will love…” but what they will hear is “I don’t value your opinion and have no interest in whether you care for it or not.” There are many ways you can create open channels of communication simply and easily – whether via social media updates, engagement surveys, open meetings with time for questions etc. It may feel like time is against you for these activities, but a few minutes spent planning a communications structure with open feedback loops will be as nothing compared with the time and effort it takes to manage a message gone awry and rectify a wrong impression!

2. Know the audience

As babies, we learn our default approach to communication – we give out a generic cry from the cradle, waiting to be heard and hoping someone will appear to attend to our needs. Our whole being, our situation and place in society (as a vulnerable non-verbal child), contributes to the way this message is heard and to how the people around us respond. As we grow however, this blanket ‘tell’ approach is no longer sufficient, especially when we have important messages to share or a specific proposition to sell. We have lost our special position of vulnerability so no longer automatically command an audience. To communicate effectively as adults, we must take time to tailor our approach to suit the intended audience. That means we have to both decide who our audience is, and get to know what matters to them.

On complex initiatives, there will be multiple sets of people with whom communication is needed. For example, imagine you had a new children’s breakfast cereal product to promote. As soon as you start to consider potential audience groups for your communications, you will recognise that the messages which may appeal to one group let’s say the child customers for example – would not the same as those in another group – such as the parents making the purchase. Identify your audience clearly, know what matters to them and make sure your communications speak to their interests.

3. Hone the message

What do purchasing parents value most when they are picking out a breakfast cereal for their kid, the opinions and contentment of their children? The price of the product? The health benefits of eating the cereal regularly? If you do not already know exactly what the interests of the group, make time to find out! This is essential to ensuring the right message is put across. If, for example, keeping costs low were of utmost importance for the parents, a slogan like “Great value snacks that your kids will enjoy” would be far more successful than “The UK’s healthiest cereal brand”. Find the phrases that will resonate most closely with your audience’s need, or hopes and fears.

4. Choose your medium

Getting to know more about who you are communicating with also involve understanding what channels of communication feel most natural to them. Choosing the wrong medium can be just as disastrous to an attempted communication as picking the wrong message. We have all heard horror stories of people being dumped by text message after several years of a relationship, or out of the blue receiving a formal lawyer’s letter detailing an otherwise never-before-mentioned complaint from the neighbour right next door. If the medium used to communicate is not in keeping with the subject matter to be discussed, or with the nature of the relationship between the two parties, it causes at best, frustration and confusion, and at worst, distress and destroys trust in the relationship. Find out which methods suit the person/people you are trying to connect with and then adapt appropriately. In office situations, working out who always dutifully reads and replies to every emails vs who will respond better to a mobile call en route to their next meeting can make the difference for your project between languishing in a permanent state of frustrating delay and getting tasks over the line.

5 Perspectives and Lenses

When we receive a message, we interpret it through the lens of our own experience. For example, imagine you just got the fifth leaflet in a row this week about replacement windows and doors. You may be forgiven for completely skimming over the content and putting it straight into the waste paper bin – on the assumption that you already know exactly what they are selling you and have decided it is something you do not need. A marketing expert would make it their business to identify this challenge and come up with a more creative, stand-out idea to counteract the problem and grab your attention. Likewise, when you are deciding how to craft your own message, it can help to draft it first, then consider the draft from a range of different perspectives. Even better, if it is possible, test it with some real life users and take their comments on board to reshape the communication if needed. Confirm with them that what they ‘hear’ matches the message you intended to deliver.

6. Close the Loop

Engaged audiences respond more to our messages. As discussed above, we need to get to know what our audience care about and the best way to communicate with them, but we also need to find out whether our messages are hitting the mark or not. So each time we plan a communication we also have to consider how we will gauge its success. The good news is, as long as it is done in an appropriate way and at a good time, the process of gathering feedback demonstrates that we do care about what the other person experiences, and giving them space to provide feedback helps them to feel more engaged with us/our brand. Asking someone for their advice is a positive stroke to their ego and which can make them feel at least acknowledged, if not important.

Summary

In summary, to effectively communicate and engage people about our new idea or a change that will impact them, we have a few questions to consider…

• Who is affected? (Who is my message for?)
• Do I know/ how can I find out what they care about?
• What do I need them to know/understand/care about and how can I adapt my message to something that will resonate with them?
• What medium will best suit both the audience and the message?
• How will I know whether my communication was successful?

To work through these questions further with some practical examples then download the mini guide worksheet attached, where you can use a fictional case study and try it out for the next key messages you need to communicate.

In the spirit of closing the loop, I would like to encourage you to share your own thoughts or comments on the usefulness of this miniguide by making use of the comment option!