"Look with your eyes and not with your hands!" I used to tell my toddler nephews over and over.. and over again. I would make myself the example, putting something on the table, zeroing in on it with my eyes and dropping my arms behind my back. I'd let them try. Fail. Try again. Almost. Fail. Try again.
Every mom and childcare giver understands the principle of repetition:
- Say it once, they hear you said something. And maybe the sentiment, if you're serious.
- Twice, they acknowledge the first 50%. And that's usually only if they think you're serious.
- Three times, they're starting to tune in to the blurry figure standing in front of them. They hear you. Finally. Maybe.
- By the fourth time, if you've stood your ground, made the boundaries clear and locked all the doors til the task is done, you may get the satisfaction of seeing the response you're looking for. And guaranteed, this is not the last time you'll say it.
How many ways can you give away a message? That's the last tier of communication - generously giving away the message again and again.
One of the cool things that has happened over time is that it's become standard for interactive media to have a metrics option, so that you can watch reactions, influence and dead weight media. It's becoming easier and easier to figure out what is and isn't quality information for your public.
Tell it. Watch. Refine. Repeat.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Communicating the Message (Action) - 4 of 5
.JPG "Eleatta Diver - Graphic Recording")
I've recently broken this cardinal rule when trying to write this blog: Action!Where do I start? What do I emphasize? How can I make it helpful? It's taken me forever to start this one.
Planning is only half the fun in communication. The other half is seeing messages take flight and generate influence, hopefully for the greater good.
I had the recent privilege of working alongside a friend and client, Eleatta Diver, as she did a "graphic recording" for a regional health summit. Her doodles were not only helpful and a work of art in the making, as they unfolded throughout the day, they emphasized all the activity surrounding the discussion. (Follow the transformation from doodle to painting here.)
What they came away with at the end of the summit? Ideas. Ideas should lead to a strategic plan. A strategic plan should lead to strategic action.
My favorite phrase in the whole thing (lower left of the photo): "We must move from passive concern to strategic action."
How are you taking the risk, taking the leap and moving your fantastic communications plan into action?
Friday, April 6, 2012
Communicating the Message (Context) - 3 of 5
Context in communication is what essentially I'll call "the frame". It's the piece that was missing when you started the story that nobody understood. It's actually the fun piece, the artful masterpiece of communicating your message.
Imagine you need to create an on-ramp for selling an amazing, life-changing perfume. And your audience is a large group of 40 year-old men. What is the story?
Context is often the clutch player in making a hit or miss piece of work.
Would or should the story take on a different feel if the group were 40 year-old women?
Of course. And this is context. It can influence everything about your communication - how and where it's communicated, who your most likely audience may be, and how to talk to them.
You have an idea. Great, who knows and who cares?
Answering the questions who knows (or who needs to know) and who cares (or why they should care) are your key starting questions to getting your ideas heard.
Next up: action.
Imagine you need to create an on-ramp for selling an amazing, life-changing perfume. And your audience is a large group of 40 year-old men. What is the story?
Context is often the clutch player in making a hit or miss piece of work.
Would or should the story take on a different feel if the group were 40 year-old women?
Of course. And this is context. It can influence everything about your communication - how and where it's communicated, who your most likely audience may be, and how to talk to them.
You have an idea. Great, who knows and who cares?
Answering the questions who knows (or who needs to know) and who cares (or why they should care) are your key starting questions to getting your ideas heard.
Next up: action.
Starting Small
.JPG)
I saw this photo, and besides being completely undone by my friend's child, I saw myself, sitting in front of my computer, feeling exactly like this -- a little confused, a lot intimidated and extremely curious.
And I'm reminded that this is what I feel like every time I start a project that is worth doing - intimidated, ignorant and curious.
How do we cross over into the world of wonder from the world of fear? We get curious. We allow ourselves to move forward, gain wisdom, and we follow the gingerbread trail to its glorious end.
Stay small. It's a gift.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Communicating the Message (Idea) - 2 of 5
So, you have an idea. Or don't you?
This is one of the first questions you must ask in your communication: is my idea clear to me?
Can you explain your big-picture idea to an 8 year-old? or in one sentence?
If not, then you're probably a little confused about your idea.
You should be able to reduce your idea to a simple sentence. You may need to have other points to support your idea, and that's okay. But you should have a good handle on your basic point.
Next up: context.
This is one of the first questions you must ask in your communication: is my idea clear to me?
Can you explain your big-picture idea to an 8 year-old? or in one sentence?
If not, then you're probably a little confused about your idea.
You should be able to reduce your idea to a simple sentence. You may need to have other points to support your idea, and that's okay. But you should have a good handle on your basic point.
Next up: context.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Communicating the Message - 1 of 5
"Where is the feection?" my professor belted again and again in his strong Spanish accent, "Sell me the teecket!"
As a part of a dance program one summer, I took an elective class on voice and gesture. The premise of the course was to stretch dancers to learn how to use the added medium of their voices in their art. (If you're a dancer, you understand this challenge!)
My professor was looking for the story in our art, what he called "the fiction," and he knew he needed us to give him everything we had to get the story to him, to our audience.
What I most appreciated about the class was that it was never enough only to have words. We would take a sheet of words and chop it up to work on inflection, gesturing, song, pace, tone.
And then we would perform the words. And his point was always clear: you are telling a story, engage me.
It's the same in any communication, traditional and non-traditional. Your ideas are important. Tell the story. Engage me.
In the next few blogs, I will uncover some basics of great communication: idea, context, action, and repetition.
As a part of a dance program one summer, I took an elective class on voice and gesture. The premise of the course was to stretch dancers to learn how to use the added medium of their voices in their art. (If you're a dancer, you understand this challenge!)
My professor was looking for the story in our art, what he called "the fiction," and he knew he needed us to give him everything we had to get the story to him, to our audience.
What I most appreciated about the class was that it was never enough only to have words. We would take a sheet of words and chop it up to work on inflection, gesturing, song, pace, tone.
And then we would perform the words. And his point was always clear: you are telling a story, engage me.
It's the same in any communication, traditional and non-traditional. Your ideas are important. Tell the story. Engage me.
In the next few blogs, I will uncover some basics of great communication: idea, context, action, and repetition.
Monday, January 16, 2012
The Perfect (and Brief) Response
This year, I don't have much in the way of new year's resolutions.
I started exercising (again) last November. Not a resolution.
I've just ended a nine-year career in missions, ministry and church communications and am looking for a job. But I don't desire to spend my entire year looking for a job. Not a resolution.
But there are a few larger things that keep coming back to me. One of them is my responsiveness in my digital communications.
Here's the issue: Many times when I'm responding on a personal level, it's not that I don't respond or that I don't want to respond. Usually the issue in my delayed response is that I don't know how to respond.
I have friends who do this beautifully without a hitch, and I think, now that was not hard at all.
Or was it?
Communication in a digital world is mostly just words. No hugs or handshakes, no nodding head that says you're listening. For a person who loves to see people when they speak, it's a painful reality!
I ask myself, am I kind, gracious, forgiving, helpful, friendly, concise, loving? Am I what I need to be in my response?
...And am I brief?
I would love to hear how you decide what goes into a responsive email, a tweet, a Facebook post. And when your response requires something more than the regular one- or two-liner. Please leave your comments below!
I started exercising (again) last November. Not a resolution.
I've just ended a nine-year career in missions, ministry and church communications and am looking for a job. But I don't desire to spend my entire year looking for a job. Not a resolution.
But there are a few larger things that keep coming back to me. One of them is my responsiveness in my digital communications.
Here's the issue: Many times when I'm responding on a personal level, it's not that I don't respond or that I don't want to respond. Usually the issue in my delayed response is that I don't know how to respond.
I have friends who do this beautifully without a hitch, and I think, now that was not hard at all.
Or was it?
Communication in a digital world is mostly just words. No hugs or handshakes, no nodding head that says you're listening. For a person who loves to see people when they speak, it's a painful reality!
I ask myself, am I kind, gracious, forgiving, helpful, friendly, concise, loving? Am I what I need to be in my response?
...And am I brief?
I would love to hear how you decide what goes into a responsive email, a tweet, a Facebook post. And when your response requires something more than the regular one- or two-liner. Please leave your comments below!
Friday, January 13, 2012
Open the conversation, Open new doors
I called a local kid entertainment company today in hopes that their bad reviews online were untrue.
I talked with the manager. She was very kind and took initiative to address my concerns.
As we talked, I heard two common problems arise, that I have heard in my own efforts to solve tough problems: some defensiveness and some tied hands due to company culture.
It sounded like she may have heard similar complaints and wanted to defend herself, her work, her employees and her business. And it sounded like she really didn't have the authority to make the necessary changes in company policy she would need to in order to respond fully to the bad reviews.
Two lessons come to mind:
1. On a personal level, defensiveness can always close the conversation. It's so important to listen. Be sure you understand the questions or the attack and then attempt to begin the conversation - with the customer, your employees, and yourself.
2. On a larger level, bad company culture (and/or our own bad management) can close the doors to new growth. Don't forget to listen. Be sure you give the people you lead the room to think critically and make the changes they need to in order for your organization to grow.
Listening from your core can open the conversation and open new doors.
I talked with the manager. She was very kind and took initiative to address my concerns.
As we talked, I heard two common problems arise, that I have heard in my own efforts to solve tough problems: some defensiveness and some tied hands due to company culture.
It sounded like she may have heard similar complaints and wanted to defend herself, her work, her employees and her business. And it sounded like she really didn't have the authority to make the necessary changes in company policy she would need to in order to respond fully to the bad reviews.
Two lessons come to mind:
1. On a personal level, defensiveness can always close the conversation. It's so important to listen. Be sure you understand the questions or the attack and then attempt to begin the conversation - with the customer, your employees, and yourself.
2. On a larger level, bad company culture (and/or our own bad management) can close the doors to new growth. Don't forget to listen. Be sure you give the people you lead the room to think critically and make the changes they need to in order for your organization to grow.
Listening from your core can open the conversation and open new doors.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Comm 101
It's the first day of summer classes. I walk into what will be "Intro to Communications" for the next six weeks, grab a syllabus from the teaching assistant (TA), and find a seat. I take a look at the syllabus. I see some writing, an image of two phones with lines back and forth between them, and more writing. And then I wait for the class to commence.
The TA begins to talk about communications theory. That many people think it happens in a single direction: someone says something, they've communicated. Turns out that's a pretty ancient way of thinking.
And I had no idea that those two phones on the syllabus would haunt me for life.
"Two-way communication theory," he/she says. (Sadly, I don't remember the teacher. All I remember are the phones.)
Two-way communication was the phrase we were going to get sick of hearing for the remaining six weeks. Thinking of communications as "two-way" says that after all the hustle and bustle - the emails, the tweets, the hoot and hollerin' of the message - there is something that remains to be done.
There must be feedback.
Just as there is no successful telephone call without an acknowledgement, a response or an effect from the one being called, there is no real communication without a full-circle process from sending the message to getting the cue the message has been received.
I'm sure this is oversimplified and most communication theorists would slay me, but this is what's haunted me in my years of traditional and non-traditional communications experience. It is not enough to create the message. There is no communication without response.
It's important to think of communication in any form - mass, traditional, interpersonal, electronic - as a conversation, a dialogue, a relationship.
Allow that thought to be your guide as you communicate.
And I hope to hear from you.
The TA begins to talk about communications theory. That many people think it happens in a single direction: someone says something, they've communicated. Turns out that's a pretty ancient way of thinking.
And I had no idea that those two phones on the syllabus would haunt me for life.
"Two-way communication theory," he/she says. (Sadly, I don't remember the teacher. All I remember are the phones.)
Two-way communication was the phrase we were going to get sick of hearing for the remaining six weeks. Thinking of communications as "two-way" says that after all the hustle and bustle - the emails, the tweets, the hoot and hollerin' of the message - there is something that remains to be done.
There must be feedback.
Just as there is no successful telephone call without an acknowledgement, a response or an effect from the one being called, there is no real communication without a full-circle process from sending the message to getting the cue the message has been received.
I'm sure this is oversimplified and most communication theorists would slay me, but this is what's haunted me in my years of traditional and non-traditional communications experience. It is not enough to create the message. There is no communication without response.
It's important to think of communication in any form - mass, traditional, interpersonal, electronic - as a conversation, a dialogue, a relationship.
Allow that thought to be your guide as you communicate.
And I hope to hear from you.
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