The Importance of Thinking Through Your Communication
If you have ever led a team professionally or personally, chances are you have been challenged to communicate better. Leaders often struggle with why their associates do not fully embrace or retain their messages. You may think "Why are they asking the same questions over and over again? I already told them once in the town hall meeting?" Following years of coaching high potential leaders, we have found the most effective leaders are those who have mastered the ability to drive both consistency and clarity of message. When is the last time you headed into a meeting or team huddle and just spoke off the cuff? When the message matters and you expect people to not only retain what they have heard but also act upon it, there are some guidelines for increasing retention.
"What are the most critical messages you need to drive home?”
1. Pre-plan the 3 Key Points You Want Them to Retain. What are the most critical messages you need to drive home? Take the time to be more deliberate in determining the take-aways you want your team to remember from the interaction. Think in terms of bullets to frame your messages. You will be able to elaborate on each of the three bullets while staying on point. Many leaders fail to plan the core messages in advance and wonder why retention suffers.
2. Communicate What You Want Them to Take Away From the Start. Frame your communication to be clear on what they will be taking away. If you need them to execute a plan, let them know that by the end of the meeting, they will be in a position to drive X, Y and Z. If you need them to cascade messages to their respective teams, let them know that the meeting will focus on 1, 2 and 3...
"To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.” - Anthony Robbins
3. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Find ways to repeat your messages in a consistent manner to increase retention. From meeting to meeting, you can reinforce the same messages with fresh stories, new examples and additional supporting data, if appropriate until you hear your team members begin to play it back using their own words.
4. Check for Understanding. Most people are not willing to acknowledge when they either don't understand or what they're being asked to do is unclear. Establish a "safe"
climate for them to ask questions and obtain the clarity needed to meet your expectations and act accordingly. While this is not rocket science, most leaders are guilty of simply asking their teams "What questions do you have?" and move forward quickly when there is a moment of silence. Instead, change it up by saying "I want to make sure that I've been clear in my own communication so that you have what you need. What questions still remain? What do you need from me to move forward?
Summary
By incorporating these simple techniques into your leadership communication, you will enhance the quality and retention of your messages. The next time you need your team to retain and act upon your communication - take the time to pinpoint the three messages that matter. You won't go wrong.
Key Takeaways
- Determine the 3 key points you want your audience to retain
- Use bullets to frame your messages
- Communicate exactly what you want them to do
- Ask questions such as, "What do you need from me to move forward?", to make sure your audience is clear on what you wan them to do