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3.) Speak the truth with compassion
Don't tell people what they want to hear. Tell them what they need to hear. Just make sure you tell them in such a way that they'll listen.
Too often, out of a fear of conflict or disagreement, the partial truth is told or the message deflected away from what really needs to be said. Telling the truth in a way that minimizes conflict creates a number of benefits. It saves time, energizes the relationship, builds trust and gets to the point.
Leaders aren't always right, but they are clear about what they believe. In the process of expressing your unique point of view, remember that others often have a different perspective. One of the biggest obstacles to effective communication is discounting another's point of view.
There is your view and their view, and often the best point of view lies somewhere in-between.
4.) Focus on the listener, not the communicator
There are three modes of communicating. They are being:
1. Self-centered
2. Message-centered
3. Listener-centered
To be listener-centered requires that you put personal needs aside and become so familiar with the message you are trying to communicate that you can focus on and respond empathically to the listener.
Either consciously or unconsciously, as most people listen they ask themselves, "What does this mean to me?"
Good communication answers that question by making it easy for the listener to understand the message's impact.
5.) De-complicate the message
Several years ago I spoke at a one-day leadership symposium for a telecommunications company. Using PowerPoint slides, upper leadership shared 138 leadership imperatives with those assembled. I don't know about you, but I have a hard time remembering seven-digit phone numbers.
What chance of success do you think those leaders had when they returned to their teams and said, "Good news! There are only 138 things we've got to do every day to succeed."?
Leaders are boil-down artists. They de-complicate the world and make it easy to understand. De-complicating means giving context to what you're asking another person to do. It takes her or his personal view of the world and fits it into your view of the world for the shared and the bigger view of the world at large.
The only thing people have less of today than disposable income or time is attention. With excessive demands on limited attention, effective communicators harness the power of the sound bite. They make concepts easy to understand and repeat.
For more great information and resources from Mark Sanborn, visit his website
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