Successful Communication doesn't begin with you
A simple hack can immediately improve the quality of your communication (and make you a better human at the same time)
What's the quickest way to improve your communication skills? Begin better. Think less about you and more about the person or people you want to reach.
Most people prepare to communicate by deciding what information they have to share. Pro Tip: If you, instead, begin by being curious about the people who need to hear what you have to say, you'll get so much further. 💪
Remember the difference between Information and Communication?
Information is what you need to say.
Communication is what you need someone else to think, feel, or do.
In other words: Success isn't about what you bring to the table; it's about what everyone else takes away with them when you're done.
Understanding that the success of your communication is defined by an active outcome in someone else's mind, heart, and body is a huge first step toward improving the way you present information to other people.
Last week, I had the pleasure of guiding Pexip’s Leadership Team in a workshop covering the 3 Steps to Successful Communication: Include, Inform, Inspire. I frame this kind of foundational consideration of the audience as Inclusion because it takes a level of care that asks vital, human questions at the outset:
Who are these people I want to reach?
What really matters to them? How will they be impacted?
In what channel or format do they best receive and interact with information like mine?
What context exists for them that could help or hinder my message?
Is there someone better than I to carry this message to them?
And my personal favorite: What do I still need to find out about these folks before I try to influence their understanding, feelings, or behavior?
This last triggers you to talk to people who are different from yourself. Someone with a different background, experience, or point of view. Once you've done this in advance of communication a few times, you make inclusive tendencies a habit, rather than a last minute hygiene check. It's a beautiful thing.
Asking first and listening actively in order to design communication is a mindset shift for most people. It takes confidence and humility. It takes openness and discernment.
The return on investment, meanwhile, is huge. Finding the answers to those questions before you communicate helps you to provide the right information to the right people in the right way at the right time. It helps you to Inspire the action you need in others. And if you follow-up with the all-important feedback loop, you can also more accurately and meaningfully measure the success of the communication in the end. ⭐
Would your team benefit from a workshop like the one referenced above? Visit audreycamp.com to submit a request.