Technology has upped the ante of communication tools available as many of us work remotely due to the pandemic. Slack, Google Meet, Zoom and the like are all great tools to keep in touch with your small team, but communication is about so much more than just connecting.
Despite it being easier to connect with someone than ever before, it’s also harder to be heard than ever as well. Effective communication is about context and offering ‘why’ you are communicating things. It’s a simple premise, but your team won’t buy the who, what, where and how, if you don’t offer the ‘why’ this or that has to happen.
Business is about results. You need your team to ‘buy the why’ and be emotionally engaged to achieve the best results.
The ‘curse of knowledge’ is often the reason for forgetting the why. The communicator, or presenter, assumes that their team already has the information that is critical to the message, and it’s left out. Messages fall flat, are disconnected, confusing and, in most cases, irrelevant if the information is incomplete.
This is where storytelling assists, offering narrative to deliver complex information. Many may misunderstand what we mean by this. By ‘storytelling’, we mean building on the previous points, taking people on a journey, not dumping platitudes or facts on them. We tell stories every day in our conversations … so, have a conversation, not a lecture.
PowerfulPoints is about communication, it’s my business. And I would be ineffective in my role if I didn’t apply the golden rule: active listening. Asking questions and listening is where the power sits, and this can be applied in-house.
Clients are often surprised by the questions we ask and the knowledge we seek. Apart from the answers, we look for what they imply or don’t say, in there lies the possibility of impact for their message. It can offer us and their project an edge that may have been buried among the ‘facts’ otherwise.
The shift to a more inclusive and emotionally-connected work environment has also changed our communication. Long before the pandemic, as the old guard of HR and top-heavy decision-making moved aside and millennials entered the frame, I started to see more inclusivity, equality, collaboration and consideration of not only what we communicate but how.
Culture now means embracing teams that are more diverse, who want to work smarter, together. They don’t respond to hierarchical environments where they aren’t listened to or valued. They want to contribute and be part of a team where everyone has a voice, which is why ‘context’ is invaluable today, in any business.
Interestingly, people sometimes ask why PowerPoint is still a relevant tool for communication in the landscape of increasingly innovative technology. I believe it’s even more relevant as it’s still one of the best tools to tell a story. Its success lies in the fact that you can collect, organise and manage information in one place, then apply techniques, visuals and dynamism to create a narrative that engages your audience while also highlighting important information.
The challenge people have is confusing knowing how to use the software with knowing how to communicate…they aren’t the same.
Finally, nothing gets people on board more than authentic passion and enthusiasm. When you communicate, let that passion and enthusiasm come through, let your audience hear it, experience it with you. If you are truly authentic about this, particularly around the ‘why’, you will be amazed at how that will influence people.
