Morning Motivator – Did I Communicate Well Enough?

"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place."
- George Bernard Shaw

These past weeks, I have INVOLVED myself in a local political struggle surrounding the City of Nashville's proposed Music City Center. I have also LEARNED that the ability to communicate your actions, quite possibly, is more important than the effects of the actions taken. Let me explain…

Let's say, hypothetically, you have CREATED the cure to the common cold. You are BRILLIANT and will change the world for millions of people. Being such a shrewd INNOVATOR you have decided to share your discovery in the most EFFICIENT way possible… EMAIL THE WORLD! You can reach millions of people, DIRECTLY to their email box, in a matter of hours. BRILLIANT!!

You fire up the servers and begin the MASS email streams. Your email title is "The New Cure for the Common Cold." After 10 hours you have reached over 20 millions email boxes. Sadly, your message has been BLACKLISTED and discarded to the "trash can." But wait… you have the cure for the common cold. You are going to REVOLUTIONIZE the way people live. What happened?!?

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:

Communication is a made of key elements:

1. CLARITY – do people understand the message so as to take CLEAR action steps?

2. RELEVANCE – does the message pertain to the REAL interest of the individual?

3. CREDIBILITY – is your message REALISTIC and REASONABLE for the audience?

4. EFFECTIVENESS – has the message been received and processed? (If you left a voice mail, did you send an email too?)

5. CONFIRMATION – can the sender measure the success of the message?

Ultimately, we must RECOGNIZE that people LEARN and PROCESS information in varying manners. By ASKING the individual about their PREFERRED means for being communicated (and sharing yours with them), you are best able to EFFECTIVE communicate your message.

When all else fails – OVER COMMUNICATE. That means CALL, then EMAIL, then call AGAIN… and if necessary, send a carrier pigeon or smoke signals!! (Hint: once you are told to lay off the volume of messages, you will know you have done a VERY effective job!)

Cheers,
Zach

*To enjoy past editions of the Morning Motivator go to – http://grow-learn-lead.blogspot.com

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