What we communicate and how we communicate has changed. Technology has changed how we relate to the world and each other, and this has a critical impact on how we run a business.
In this article strategy and capability expert Duncan Cawdell explains how the need to combine the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ is the secret for being successful in a rapidly changing world.
What we communicate and how we communicate has changed more rapidly in the last 10 years, then it did in the last 300 years. Not since the advent of the printing press in 1440 has so much changed in the way we able to communicate. We can talk, sms, mms, twitter, poke, podcast, e-mail, read the web, blog or even good old fashioned print and publish. The variety of communication means there is a lot of options and lot of noise.
Things have changed and we need to recognise this
‘New ways’ of communicating have a tendency to be highly personal but at the same time impersonal – texting, twittering, blogging means you can easily talk ‘at’ a wide variety of people, without necessarily talk ‘to’ or meeting in the flesh. As a consequence we are becoming much more social, but a lot less sociable.
It’s a more instant world. The world has become more instant. If you take a photograph you don’t have drop it down to Boots, and wait a week for the pictures to come back and realise it’s out of focus, or not what you hoped. You can take a picture (with a camera, phone, PDA or Mp3 player) and see the result instantly. You want to talk to someone now, you can do it instantly, need help with a problem you can speak to someone 24hours a day. Run out of milk, the shops are open all day. If we want to be a star, we go on reality TV and get instant ‘success’, and disappear almost as instantly.
If we don’t have to wait for things, does that mean that are less worth waiting for?
There is a whole new Language. Language is changing rapidly and new words and pronunciation grows. Twitting has provided an interesting challenge in getting your message across in less than 140 characters. Texting has changed what we say, and how we say it, welcome to the OMG and LOL generation. Is the speed at which we are communicating altering the message or the content?
Technology means different things to each generation. For some PowerPoint has changed their world, and they feel unable (or unwilling) to turn up to a meeting without some slides, for others the smartphone is the true enabler allowing you to phone, text, tweet, e-mail and work anywhere and everywhere.
Whatever the technology the message is clear, don’t mistake the tools for outcomes, or assume the tool is the outcome. A presentation does not ensure a meeting is successful, and an e-mail doesn’t mean you have communicated. Technology enables us, but can hinder us at the same time.
Some things haven’t changed and we need to recognise this
Even with all this change, in the business world we still need to talk, communicate and work with each other to get things done. Personal interactions are still critical. The written and spoken words have not changed so fundamentally that we need to start again.
Our social skills are more important than ever before. How do we hear the message when the noise is so much louder? How do we talk and interact with people face to face, when we spend so much of our time doing this virtually or electronically.
The basic concept of exiting in society has not changed. We meet, we talk, we discuss and we agree. Whatever the plethora of tools available we have to choose the appropriate ones for the appropriate occasion.
Ask Questions
Whether you are selling, marketing, negotiating or simple talking, the basic rules remain the same – ask good questions and listen to the answers. Key Question types could be:
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Open Questions – Broad and wide, providing the opportunity to gather a range of information
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Closed Questions – narrow the focus and elicit confirming response of ‘yes’ or ‘no’
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Probing Questions – Use to explore specific points about a particular topic. “Tell me more about…”
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Leading Questions – Use them to summarise what you may have discovered, and confirm “So if I understand correctly…”
How well do we plan and prepare our questions, and do we truly probe and engage through effective questions? For communication to be clear we must confirm or eliminate any and all assumptions.
Manage the Agenda / Set the Expectations
The average working day is filled with meetings and working sessions, and frequently managers will find it hard to identify what has actually been ‘done’. Too many meetings that are simply discussions, objectives are not clear, or meetings run out of time. We witness too often the inability to set the rules and expectations:
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What is the purpose of the meeting / session?
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What are the decisions required?
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What are the critical outcomes that must be delivered?
Because we have a lot of information, and technology has allowed us to process and present a lot of information, getting to the point is harder. However without a clear expectation or objective in mind, a meeting easily turns into a ‘talk shop’ with exchanges of opinion, but limited decision making. PowerPoint has enabled the creation of 100’s of charts – clear expectations and objectives will enable the production of an appropriate presentation that is purposeful and pertinent.
Agendas can seem boring…..but without them we get more communication, more noise and less clarity!
Let’s be High Tech
With basic rules and approaches in place we can harness technology for our purpose, rather than let technology drive us.
We must though embrace change, it is not just a question of setting up a facebook page, or asking people to follow you on Twitter, it is about the organisation supporting the whole community to utilise new technology and use it appropriately.
Video technology and smartphones can save us travel costs and days lost on flights. Skype can save you money on call costs. But it is not just about money, it is more broadly about efficiency. Communicate efficiently and the message is received, understood and acted on. Over communication and the message gets lost, or too much management time is spent reviewing the style (or the ‘look’ of charts) rather than the story and the message.
What can you do about this?
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Start with the message not the vehicle
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Focus on the communication challenge, and then use the appropriate tool (or vehicle).
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Recognise tools as tools, not outcomes.
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Focus on why and how, rather than just what
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Get commitment to the message, by convincing people why and how, not just what. If people can buy into why, then what becomes much easier
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Support the emerging business generation with active social skills.
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Embed the ‘old’ skills – questions, listening, personality profiles, planning, making an agenda. Recognise and reward these behaviours, and have senior management set the prime example for others to follow
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Support the existing generation by helping them understand the benefits and the ‘why’ of new ways of communication.
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The style and approach should empower rather than alienate those unfamiliar with emerging approaches.
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Actively encourage the face-to-face engagement
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Practice, practice, practice.
For more information contact
duncan.cawdell@leadership-solutions.com.sg +44 (0) 7788 426914
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Communication in a Modern World
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