by Paddy Barr, Managing Partner, Barr Performance Coaching and IMI associate
High calibre leaders differentiate themselves through the clarity and authenticity of their communication. Ambiguity arising from poor communications is often the root cause of failure for many teams and organisations. Good, well-structured communication inspires the audience to actively support you in your endeavours. High quality communication can help inspire trust in you, it can defuse potentially stressful situations, and reduce anxiety in the audience by removing ambiguity. The opposite is also true: poor communication can provoke a reaction in the audience that can result in loss of faith in your capability as leader. Honing your communication skills is a critical aspect of leadership continuous professional development. There is no one size fits all approach to communication, audiences and scenarios will differ so the leader must be able to adapt their communication style to meet the requirements of the situation. Your communication should be designed for your audience and the outcomes you want from the engagement as opposed to being all about you.
In order to maximise the impact of your communication I suggest you follow the steps outlined below;
The steps are equally true of both written or verbal communication.
Be very clear on the outcome you want to achieve both in terms of practical actions and the feelings/emotions you want to evoke in the audience.
It is vitally important that your message resonates with the head, the heart and the gut of the audience. The head typically responds well to data, logic and a clear rational to support your message. The heart concerns feelings and emotions, what in your delivery of the message is evoking positive feelings and emotions in the audience? And finally the gut, the communication must engage the instinct of the audience – what is the audiences’ instinct telling them? They have listened to you they may even agree with your logic and data but instinctively they may be drawing a different conclusion. Before you start be very clear on what you want your audience to know? How do you want them to feel? And what action do you want them to take as a result of listening/reading your communication? Put simply why should your audience care about what you have to say? And why should they care now?
Be very clear on who is your real audience?
You may be communicating with a group of people but invariably there are one or two key stakeholders who will influence the larger group. What preconceptions or hopes and fears do they bring to the topic? Do they have a good understanding of the context and background to your communication? How do they like to receive content?
Less is more!
The old expression “if you are explaining you are loosing” is true. Skilled communicators make their message really simple. Make it very easy for your audience to understand your message. Get to the point very quickly, make the audience aware of the purpose of your communication from the outset. If they know why the communication is relevant to them they are more likely to listen. Communication is not about sharing information or data; it is about giving meaning to the information and the data. What do the audience truly need to know for them to be successful? What will the audience learn from your communication?
Choose the right channel and package the message appropriately
Invariably we have to communicate with people from many different parts of the business consequently they will be motivated by and interested in aspects of what you have to say. Some will want to hear the message in person some will be happy to read an email. Think long and hard about which communication medium will resonate most with the audience. Talk to the audience in their language, make it simple, avoid the temptation to use business buzzwords that can mean all things to all people. Check that you have not been overly technical. Will the language you use evoke the desired outcome from the audience? Really good communicators are able to make the topic real for the audience by explaining the topic in a manner that is engaging, storytelling can be very powerful in this regard. Don’t be afraid to show your passion for the topic. If you don’t convey energy and interest in the topic it is highly unlikely your audience will interested.
Circle back and ensure that your intended message has landed and been understood in the manner you intended.
You always know what you have said but you never know what you have communicated until you see the audience react. Never assume your audience heard what you intended to say. It is important to calibrate with the audience that they are leaving the engagement with the outcome you desired. If you are in person always ask a couple of questions to elicit a response that indicates the audience have understood your key message and are going to react in the way you hoped. Always follow up with the key stakeholders to make sure you get your desired outcome.
Be yourself it is important to be genuine and honest. If you don’t know something simply let the audience know what you are doing to acquire the relevant knowledge. If you get asked a question you can’t answer ask for time to go and get an answer rather than try to bluff an answer in the moment. You can destroy your credibility in an instant if you bluff. Finally, we all work with and through other people so be sure to give due recognition to those who helped you along the way.
About the author
Patrick is the owner & Managing Partner of Barr Performance Coaching a boutique coaching and leadership development company focusing on enabling clients maximise their potential and achieve exceptional personal and professional results. Patrick’s commitment is to collaborate with clients to design, develop and implement high quality business, career & personal development strategies using challenging innovative processes and creative, insightful thought leadership.
