Leaders and Communicators: We Often Get in our Own Way

It’s a habit that’s easy to fall into – focusing on a communication opportunity from a tactical perspective. The thought process is more about what to say than what we want to accomplish with an audience in the context of our larger business plans.

It’s often like we can’t help ourselves. What we’re really doing is making a choice to not be as effective as we can be. And to waste valuable time and energy. Not to mention reducing the chances of us making the most of the communication opportunity at hand to get the impact we want.

We move right away into talking points or messages rather than take a few minutes to plan:

1. What’s the business outcome we seek?

2. Who’s the audience and where are they coming from? What do we want them to do?

3. How do you use the audience mindset as a screen to determine how to think about messages that matter to your audience and to be consistent with the main messages you want to get across?

4. What's the best method to communicate in this case?

Many who plan well create a one-page document that frames a communication opportunity, and answers the fundamental questions above. This is done before starting to create the actual communication.

What’s getting in your way of being more planful and strategic in how you communicate?

—David Grossman

Click below to download our Take 5™ Planning Template and use it to map out your communication – whether it’s to one person, a group, or an organization.