As more of us work from home in this new crazy reality, knowing how to communicate concisely is more important than ever. We have all been on call thinking to ourselves – when is this person going to get to the point? A professional that cannot engage or get to the point will easily lose their audience. Being able to communicate concisely is a fundamental skill that is critical to master for all professionals.
We had a fantastic group coaching call in February about this. Here are the highlights below. I highly recommend listening to the entire call as we go indepth on the tips as well as discuss examples. I had a chance to break the recording down by sections, so it’s easier to absorb or jump to areas you care about the most :-).
Here is the first two sections of the recording – Introductions & 5 Reasons why you should communicate concisely
Also thanks to one member, Roshi, who took notes during the call, I am able to edit her notes to share highlights of the tips below. Thanks Roshi.
Why communicate concisely
Overall being able to communicate concisely enables us to be much more efficient and effective in our work and in influencing others
- You want to be heard
- Engage others
- Foster new or reinforce existing relationships
- Organizes your thoughts
- Builds your reputation and personal brand
What does Communicating Concisely Mean?
- Simplify message so it’s easy to understand
- Understand your audience and tailor your communication and story to their need
- Focus on telling your audience the “so what”
- Media is important on what you need to communicate and who to communicate
What are Common Mistakes we make?
- Reiterate too much the same information
- Leaving out information
- Rattle off without structure
- Reacting too quickly
- Cram too many things on one slide – Should have ONE so what for each slide
How to communicate concisely?
- Focus on saying so what – skip all the details of how you got there.
- Start with the end of message and go backwards with exec. Mgmt. e.g. I have bad news this is slipping and I have a plan
- Create drafts for yourself and then keep modifying – Give yourself time and expect it will take time
- Answer questions straight on – don’t have too much of a lead in
- Speak in bullets – 2 to 4 bullets is best. Anything more will feel like a never ending story that is hard to follow
How to coach others on how to communicate concisely?
- First check if the person recognize the need to be coach. If they don’t, they are not coachable.
- Ask them why they speak the way they do today
- Tailoring your tips to the person you are coaching
Your Comments: Do you have challenges communicating concisely? If so, how are you practicing to improve in this area. I look forward to your comments.
Your comments: Do you have an inner voice that tells you that you are not enough? Do you where it comes from and how to ignore it? I look forward to hearing from you.
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I am always in your corner.
Lei
great knowledge of communication skills.