One Key Message
3 Tips for Effective Communication
How well do you know what you know?
A rather convoluted question, for a reason.
Each of us has expertise. Certainly we are extremely knowledgeable in our professional area of expertise. Likely a high level of expertise in hobbies or subjects where we have a high level of interest. Maybe just a boundless curiosity in a range of subjects.
We forget how well we know what we know.
We forget the lengthy learning process that accompanied our gaining a level of expertise. When we try convey to others the information that seems so obvious to us, we tend to jump straight to PhD level information, never mind kindergarten through high school, much less years of experience or additional degrees. I’m totally guilty of speaking in paragraphs, with footnotes, segues into historical context, explanations of how I found the information. Suffice to say my normal mode of communication is more a journey than a straight line. Valuable in identifying the key points, but totally useless in communicating the key points.
One of the greatest communication challenges is to share your expertise simply and concisely.
You have a choice. Continue to shock and awe with your intellectual superiority and nothing changes because no one is totally following your logic unless they have a similar level of expertise or interest, or learn to distill the essence of your expertise in language that translates to understanding and action for every audience.
To be an effective communicator, follow these 3 tips:
Identify your ONE key message - yes, one key message. Not 15 key messages, each with a page of supporting footnotes and research, but ONE key message. The most that anyone can be counted on to remember is three things, so you can, maybe, sneak in two other messages, but ask yourself, if my audience remembers only one thing, and then acts on that piece of information, will it make a difference? What is the one key point that will change attitudes and behaviors?
Too Much Information: When you approach a street, anywhere from one lane to an 8-lane highway, assess the flow of traffic from both directions, identity stationary objects which may impede with your ability to notice oncoming vehicles, determine your possible acceleration given the shoes you are currently wearing and the road and weather conditions, assess the speed and volume of all vehicles traveling on the road, remove all headphones or mute the sound on any handheld devices, then make a decision about whether it is safe to proceed.
One Key Message: Look both ways before crossing the street.
Acronyms - don’t fall back on the alphabet soup that has become shorthand in your field. There are very few acronyms that are part of virtually every person’s vocabulary. I’m guessing that most people know U.S. stands for United States, but beyond that, you should never use an acronym. In the early days of texting, I went for months thinking that LOL stood for ‘lots of love’, thereby sending totally inappropriate text messages as I apparently ‘laughed out of loud’ at emotionally wrenching communications. Feel free to LOL at my mistake, but you are potentially doing the same every time you use an acronym.
Alphabet Soup version: The ARC, AAP, BSA, and others are involved in drafting the USNWSAP.
Plain Speaking version: A number of major organizations are involved in drafting a National Water Safety Plan for the United States. These organizations include the American Red Cross, American Academy of Pediatrics, Boy Scouts of America, and others. For more information about our members, click here.
Avoid Jargon - use words that an 8-year old would understand. Use the opportunity to communicate, in simple terms. Give your audience the vocabulary to identify the problem or issue and to act appropriately.
Jargon - Secondary and dry drowning is not appropriate terminology, the only correct term is ‘drowning’, so if your child is showing signs of distress after being in or around water and may have been involved in a drowning incident, seek medical help immediately.
Plain Speaking version - If your child has been in the water and is having trouble breathing, coughing, chest pain, difficulty breathing or speaking, or low energy or sleepiness, seek medical help immediately. (In this example, don’t describe the terminology, describe the symptoms and tell people what to do)
When in doubt, run your words through an online thesaurus. If there are simpler words available that mean the same thing, use them.
A great example of communication is CPR training. Part of the reason recertification for CPR is required annually, is because it is recognized that in moments of panic, we don’t want people to have to wade through a ton of information and complex decision trees. We want people to take the correct action, so we repeat the same simple actions every year until they become internalized. Check the victim (if you aren’t putting yourself in danger), call 911, check for breathing, check for a pulse, start CPR.
The one key action is always ‘call 911’. If the audience remembers nothing else, we want them to call for emergency help. Short, simple, directive statements. No complex words. Pulse, not carotid artery. Breathing, not pulmonary function.
One key action.
Simple words.