What Do They Need to Hear vs. What Do I Want to Say?

Often we become so obsessed with what we want to say. . .that we completely overlook what the audience is able to hear.

And just to nip this in the bud. . .I'm not suggesting for minute that just because no one wants to hear bad news that we should fail to deliver it.

Whether it be bad news or good news, however, our messages will go so much further if we stop for just a minute and think about what our audience is able to hear.  Here are a few examples from real-life experience.

• CEO or CFO will launch into a complicated explanation of annual results that truly would require a degree in accounting to fully grasp.   The positive impact is lost on the audience because they aren't trained to hear it. . .what they need to hear is a much more simple message.  "Folks, due to your great efforts we increased sales 7% over last year and beat our goal by 4%.   Great job."
• Boss is so pissed about something that he/she finds the nearest party and just explodes.   First of all, it may not even be the right party and there is no foresight as to how and when to deliver a much more constructive message.
• There is a "going away" party for hundreds of people who have been laid off - but first (oh yes, this really happened) the president "updates" all attendees on the quarterly results.  Do you think they cared?
• Boss wants to assign Marie a complicated project. . .and because boss wants to cross it off his/her list, decides to call Marie in right now. . .despite the fact that Marie is still knee-deep in the last big project.    Do we think Marie can even do a good job of assimilating the information?

There are two key elements in the delivery of messages to your team:   when is the right time and how will be they hear it.

When thinking about the right time consider these elements:  

• What else is going on for you?
• What else is going on for your team?
• Is the recipient preoccupied with something else (deadline, upcoming vacation, stress in the workplace or home) so that they can't hear your message right now?
• Given the current status, can the recipient focus on your message?

When thinking about how they will hear your message, consider:

• Do they talk your technical language - will they understand your use of acronyms and language short-cuts?
• What do they think about you in general? Are you trusted?  Do they believe you will look out for them or that you will look out only for your own good?
• Does the message even have relevance for them?   Do they have a relationship with the subject matter or is it just clutter that they don't care about?  In other words - what is in it for them?

One of the keys to making your leadership life better is this:    concentrate far less on what you want to say. . .focus far more on the best time and way to say it so that it is readily received by your audience.

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My book "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" is available for e-readers, tablets and PCs on Amazon Kindle.