Why Most Leaders’ Communication Fails To Hit The Mark

Got your attention? Spiked your interest? Curious to understand what that headline means? This is an example of a ‘hook’. A way to grab your attention and invite you to continue to read. In the world of the internet this phenomenon is known as ‘clickbait’ - a way to entice the reader in the midst of gazillions of megabytes of information. Frankly, I don’t like the phrase (and often times the examples of clickbait that I see), because they can deceive, distract and disappoint the reader. And yet, the part about clickbait that works so well is that it succeeds in getting people to look further, linger longer and become engaged with the message.

So what?

So leaders today need to take this concept and apply it far more effectively to our verbal communication. I call it a ‘hook’.

We open our mouths to do a number of things, including building rapport, asking questions, providing information, making jokes, challenging others, coaching and supporting our colleagues or team.

• I'm talking about the moments in a conversation when the time has come to influence and persuade. When we need to shift the perspective, mindset, alignment of others in relation to an issue. Too often our commentary lacks a compelling, intriguing, interesting way of getting the audience’s attention right at the start, and as a result, we have already lost them. The audience has disconnected, disengaged and dismissed the value of continuing to pay attention.

Examples of a ‘hook’ include a powerful question, a statistic, a piece of customer verbatim, a quote, a soundbite, an irrefutable fact. The point of a hook is not to be so theatrical that we feel uncomfortable and something of a twit. Instead, it’s about using a natural, relaxed, conversational style to ease a ‘hook’ into the first words that come from our mouths when we need to deliver a structured message for impact.

So next time the moment comes during a discussion when you need to influence and persuade, how can you grab the attention of your audience right at the start?