Communicating in COVID times — Why this is so important and the first steps anyone should take…
The shift to remote working has impacted many industries. It has required a complete re-think in the way we communicate. Whether you are a CEO leading a large established business, managing a small team in a start-up, or an individual working on your personal narrative, it is an area we can all improve in.
I asked communications expert Sophie Clark for some insights and tangible tools that could help. Sophie’s clients are everywhere from Los Angeles to Sydney and in between. People from small and big companies like Warner Music, Morgan Stanley, BT, HSBC, Coca-Cola through to entrepreneurs. Part I of III.
Why is communication so important and something everyone should reflect on?
It effects every aspect of your business and personal brand. Everyone I work with has a blind spot in their communication somewhere and they are often unaware of the impact this has on others.
Most people would like to be better at communicating than they currently are.
They might be talking too much, providing too much information, not give the right level of clarity, fail to project confidence in their body language and delivery...there are so many ways and everyone is different.
Peoples’ attention spans are more limited now than ever before and it is very easy to lose them, in this virtual work environment. While there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach; clear, high-impact messages and connecting with people quickly is often where people need help.
The number of pitches I have heard where people get to the fourth minute of dialogue before they are describing what their business does and what makes them really stand out… this is more common than you would realise.
What are 2–3 must haves for communication success?
This varies so much individually however the most common ones are:
- Think about your audience more than you already do. 99% of my clients do not think about their audience enough when prepping a pitch, a document or meeting summary.
Ask i) why they would be interested in the topic? ii) what would their resistance points be? iii) how much information do they really need? iv) what would bore them?
Very few people do this. Start by thinking from their side first and work backwards into the detail.
- Cut…. Cut…. Cut…. There is often too much information and it takes too long to get to the point. This is true in written communications as well as in meetings and is absolutely vital when speaking virtually.
Cut content, cut the number of people in the meeting, cut the material, cut the agenda items… everything takes longer virtually. When pitching or presenting — there are often too many slides and too much information on each slide.
For a fundraising deck, can you get your story and the premise of your business down to 10 to 12 slides? You may have an appendix, but the main body should be really tight. Frequently too much information is used to prove that something works without thinking about whether all this information is digestible or not.
What are some tangible changes people can make?
- Scheduling prep time — This needs to be a priority, even in a COVID overworked world. The time it will save is worth it. Imagine if instead of taking 25 to 30 investor meetings for fundraising you needed just 10 because your message was clear. Improving the quality of your meetings ultimately will save you time in the long run. Carve out and see the value upfront of that prep time — make it a priority.
- Your starting point — Most people’s starting point is, “I have this amazing thing and everybody should be as excited as I am”. Get out of your world and get inside the head of the other side. If you are them, this will create a very different approach. Ask yourself the questions that your audience will ask.
- Clarity and evolution — Your presentation or pitch deck will not be static. Don’t be lazy — tailor it for the person you are meeting. When you are asked a great question, your pitch deck can evolve to address that point for the next meeting.
Headings and titles on slides and documents should be your key messages. A great way to think about how to form your one main point is to imagine the recipient only has 1% left of their phone battery. You need to provide them with a short and direct point quickly. That will help you filter it down.
In the next post in this series, Sophie highlights some common communication pitfalls, how to avoid them, and ‘tips’ she thinks are actually bad advice.
More posts from the Illuminate Financial team here.
Thanks to Katherine Wilson for the help on edits.
