Cut Through the Clutter with Your Communication

Most of us are inundated with communications, both personally and professionally. E-mails (So. Many. E-mails.), newsletters, town halls, instant messaging, social media, in-person discussions, quarterly meetings, bi-weekly meetings, weekly meetings, daily standups…and the list goes on and on (and on).  Everybody has a message to share and when you’re the communicator, you must find a way to capture your audience’s attention with a message so important that people take notice. We met with Danielle Carnes, owner of Decipher Coaching, a consulting firm that focuses on organizational change management, executive leadership coaching, organizational development, and strategic communication to discuss the best ways to cut through the cutter with your communication.  

Use just in time messaging 

OCM professionals must reframe their thinking. Once upon a time, we’d begin communicating system implementation projects 18-months before go live, but Danielle contends that it can be more effective to focus on timely communications. By keeping the scope of the communication near term, you’re more likely to gain the attention of your audience for the takeaway that you need them to remember. Consider how you use your GPS to reach a destination. At the start, you may zoom out to see the big picture but then, you use the step-by-step directions right before it’s time to turn. This is essentially just in time messaging. Once people understand the big picture of the initiative, you can communicate what’s changing for them just in time.  

Customize communications  

People need to know the “what’s in it for me?” which is essentially how the change will impact their life. Messages should only include what people need to know and be customized by team or individual to be the most effective. Granted, customizing communications will make the change management or communication practitioner’s job more challenging, but messages will be shorter and people will actually read them.  

Use consistent messaging 

When messaging is consistent, it helps people absorb the content. Perhaps you send an update every Monday or have a ‘Coffee Chat’ meeting on Fridays. Consistent timing helps people know what to expect. Additionally, staying consistent with the design of your communication is easier for people to follow.  

Use clear visuals  

Nix visuals that too complex or unclear and instead focus on using powerful visuals to stand out. Danielle joked, “I've never met anybody that sees a visual and is like, ‘Oh, I'm really not a visual learner. Can you just present it in text?’” Almost everyone prefers a clear visual over text. 

Include a call to action 

What is it that you want your audience to do with the information that you’re sending them? Every communication should clearly state what people should do based on the communication. Once you have that, you can go back and take out anything that doesn't get you closer to achieving the call to action. Keep in mind that some of the messages are an emotional call-to-action. If you’re messaging in the awareness stage of the change, then perhaps you share case for change messages, such as, “This initiative is going to help the company be more efficient.” 

Put yourself in the seat of the listener  

Speakers often focus on “This is what I need to tell you”, but they should be asking themselves “What do they need to know?” The focus needs to be on the listener of the message so you should switch seats and consider what the listener needs to hear, how they need to hear it, and what they need to do with the information. You’ll hit the mark more often if you put the listener’s needs first. 

Resist the temptation to word vomit  

Sometimes change practitioners think, “I have all of this information and I don’t want to keep it to myself so I’m going to share all of it with you.” Excellent communicators should focus on what people need to hear. If the message is overwhelming, too long, or isn’t timely, people will likely put it aside and think “I don't have time to deal with that.”  

Keep an emotional pulse  

Communications should be sent out by whomever on the change or communications team has the emotional pulse of the organization. If it’s known that people are feeling defeated, overwhelmed, etc., consider postponing your communication a week or two so that people have the emotional capacity to absorb the information.  

Avoid tech speak  

Time and time again, IT leadership insists on this, that, or the other technical jargon be included in the change management communication when in actuality, few people need (or want) to see it. Good communicators should avoid having technical people provide the change management updates because they're likely to include confusing tech speak. 

Your project might seem like the biggest thing since sliced bread but the person that you’re communicating to likely has a full-time job, family obligations, and all of the things that they manage on a daily basis. You must come in knowing that your audience is juggling a lot and find a way to reach them with a message so important that they take notice. Try using just in time messaging that’s consistent, customized, has clear visuals, and includes a call to action. Resist the temptation to word vomit or include tech speak. By putting yourself in the seat of the listener and considering their emotional pulse and what they need to know, you’re more likely to cut through the clutter with your communication.  

Contact ChangeStaffing to learn more about elevating your presentation style at your organization!  

Thank you to Danielle Carnes for her thought leadership and for collaborating with us on this blog.  

Written by Kylette Harrison.