As always, and as a disclaimer… the theory of communication is easy… the practice of it is not. This is about rigour; that’s the challenge. Doing this well, whether we’re prepared or not, whether the audience is receptive or not, whether it’s our area of expertise of not, being a brilliant communicator in the hybrid world of work today means:
- Replace Speed with Specificity: too often the pace of discussion is very quick with almost no ‘thinking time’ before the speaking starts. As a result, the length of contributions is too long and not sufficiently relevant. Instead, slow down, pause, reflect and then comment in a specific and relevant way.
- Replace Data Density with Decisiveness: A wall of data is just that… a wall. It overwhelms and confuses the audience. Decide what your message is and then decide the most compelling data around which to convey your story.
- Replace Being Clever with Being Curious: Managers have all the right answers; leaders have all the right questions. Proving what you know all the time persuades no-one. Ask more; tell less.
