As the 80/20 of business success can be traced back to leadership and communications, what could be more important?
- Be clear & concise – it is amazing how often the messages can become garbled (similar to the old game of telephone). Take the time to be clear and concise. Extra, non-essential information is just confusing.
- Communicate often – people need to hear the same communications/ messages multiple times in order to absorb it successfully. Don’t expect once to be enough.
- Use varied mediums – not everyone hears in the same way. Who do you know who learns better with written communications? All-hands meeting? Email? Newsletter? Videos? Phone calls? Social media?
- Do what you say you’ll do – much easier said than done. Think about what you commit to, as having credibility in communications is vital.
- Explain the backstory – take the time to discuss the “whys”. It is amazing how much more successful your communications will be when folks understand the whys.