Catalyst

Archive for the ‘communication’ Category

Speakers and writers have the responsibility to convey an idea to another in a way they can understand and evaluate.

Grammatical mistakes interrupt readers as well. When a speaker says, “Jeff and me went to the store,” the listener immediately assumes he is undereducated. Learn to use syntax correctly and you will allow even the most erudite to listen easily.

Eliminate passive voice. Rather than  “The book was bought by me,” employ active voice by writing“I bought the book. ” While you can use passive voice, use it sparingly.  Run your writing through a grammar checker in a word processor to snuff out passive voice from your writing.

Voicemail (depending on your viewpoint) is either the bane of existence or a wonderful tool to increase productivity. The latter is true… if you know how to leave a good message.

I receive several phone messages each week, many by salespeople. As I slog through the swamp of messages, some are easy to answer and others just get the trashcan. The ones that get a quick “delete” have the following characteristics

• The caller speaks too fast or without clarity. You understand about every third word so nothing gets through.
• The return number is spewed out like the BP oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. You can’t make out the number and have to listen to it several times just to get it. Usually the person leaving their number only says it once, making it doubly difficult.
• The message sounds like, “This is Bob. Call me.” Even if you know Bob, you probably don’t know what Bob wants or needs. He doesn’t give his number so I can’t return his call unless I want to search for Bob’s number (hoping I get the right one.)

As I’ve handled my voicemail over the years, a few things will make your message easy to return.

• Identify yourself with first name and last name. I may not know right off which “Bob” or “Karen” this is (I know several).
• Give me a thumbnail idea of what you need. Many times, people need information. I may or may not know but could find out. If I am aware of what information is needed, I can get you complete information. If not, it will take a second phone call (both a delay and a waste of time.)
• Give your return number clearly. When you speak on a phone, slow down (especially if you are on a cell phone). When giving your number, speak distinctly, pausing between each digit. Then at the end, say, “that number again is…” and repeat it. That allow me to correct any confusion about the number.

If you really want to get an answer, make it easy for me (and people like me) to answer your call. If it is not easy, the odds are the phone won’t ring.

Have you heard of:

• The kidneys thieves urban legend?
• Jared of Subway fame?
• The commercial of “this is your brain on drugs?”

If so, you’ve got something “stuck” in your brain. What made it stick?

Chip and Dan Heath wanted to know the reason so they studied “sticky” messages. The result is an excellent probe into communication in their book Made to Stick: Why Some Messages Survive and Some Die.

The book details six traits of “stickable”messages. Messages that are made to stick are

Simple

Unexpected

Concrete

Credible

Emotional.

The Heaths illustrate their results with actual examples of memorable and forgettable messages that compel the reader to confront his own communication style. Many use language and style that not only obscures the meaning but makes the message so forgettable that it goes in one ear and out the other. (I had college classes that left me at the speed of dull.)

One example particular caught my attention. It was about a man who ran the mess hall of a unit in Iraq. His was not just a steel spoon dishing out barely-edible meals. He dressed his staff in chef’s hats, put table clothes on tables, and took time to serve good food. He did all of this with the same exact supplies as any other Army unit. What made the difference was one sticky idea. He told those under his charge, “We don’t fix meals. We build morale.” That simple, concrete, dramatic message transformed a forgettable experience into something about which soldiers raved.

To enhance the learning experience, the Heaths include some thinking sections where the reader gets to check the “stickiness” quotient and how to improve the same message.

I found the book particularly useful. As a church leader, I deliver more than an average share of messages. Some take the shape of a sermon. Others are dimmed-light devotionals. Others are proposals about programs and problems to meetings. Since reading Made to Stick I have changed my approach to communication. I craft each one against the six-fold measure of the Made to Stick. My work found a new energy and anticipation.

If I had my way, I throw away most speech texts and using this book in their place. It would provide high polish to dull communications (whether letters, speeches, or ads).

The next time you make a presentation, when the final syllable is spoken ask, “What stuck?”

Made to Stick:  Why Some Ideas Survive and Some Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. Random House, 2007. 304 pages.

PowerPoint walked into the communication room like an 800-pound gorilla demanding its own way. It has become so ubiquitous that many people cannot speak, teach, or present without leaning on the electronic crutch.

The common PowerPoint presentation is a gray blob of words thrown on a page. Bullet points click off with monotonous precision. I have worked with communicators who can do nothing more than read off the screen what their audiences can read for themselves.

It has reached a melting point in one arena that demands extreme clarity-the United States Military. One military commander in Afghanistan, Brigadier General H. R. McMaster has now banned his commanders from using PowerPoint as a result of the slide shown above.
In a recent interview, McMaster said, “It’s dangerous because it can create the illusion of understanding and the illusion of control. Some problems in the world are not bullet-izable.”

Instead of throwing away PowerPoint, it is vital to use it properly. Here’s what I have learned.

Have a message before you touch the screen. If you cannot speak without the projector on, you will do worse with it on. Outline. Think. Revise. Get the message clear before clicking the PowerPoint icon.

Understand that people can listen or read–but they cannot do both at once. Too many presenters are “screen-readers.” They fill their screens with words which then get parroted back to the audience. STOP IT! If you want people to read it, print it out, pass out the pages and go home.

Use pictures and speak to the pictures. People think in pictures. They will see the picture quickly and then are ready to listen to explanation, the facts, or the opinion. See then say is the best avenue to follow.

I am thankful for PowerPoint but have grown irritated at how lazy it has made communicators. It’s not about slides, but ideas. Get clear and be clear in your presentations.

Sunday started out as a normal day–until the quiet evaporated with the ringing of the phone. At 6:45 a.m. my day shifted dramatically.

The call informed me that our preacher had fallen ill during the night and I was on tap to preach. I now had three hours to prepare and polish a message for an audience of 1000 listeners.

The sermon went well and was well-received. While that may be true, it is difficult to go from 0 to total presentation in three hours. How do stay ready so you prepare effectively when under the gun?

It doesn’t start when the call comes. Someone once asked me how long it took to prepare a sermon. My answer is simple–it took 30 years. All immediate preparation is a reflection of years of training. If you don’t put the hard hours in the cool of the day, you won’t be ready when thrown into the fire.

Yet, you need to do some things regularly to prepare for the last-minute situation. (These are also essential for the routine preparation of sermons.)

Read widely.

Reading is the river that fills the mental reservoir. Reading puts ideas into the mind and into notes. Read novels, self-help books, biographies and books on Bible topics. In addition, find some mind-stimulating blogs and read them daily. All will allow ideas to haunt the mind, reading it for the call when it comes.

Reflect daily.

Sermons take place at the intersection of text and current events. Think daily about what is happening. Analyze the news and think through reading. What do the events mean? What kind of implications are there for living? This kind of thinking is a tumbler turning rock into gemstone.

Write regularly.

One reason I write a blog post is to force me to do focused thinking. I write in a journal, put words into letters and memos, and make presentations. All are the whetstone of thinking. If the knife is not sharp, there’s no time to do it at the last minute. Too many preachers are dull because they don’t sharpen themselves regularly.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t enjoy the pressure of hurry-up preparation. I would never recommend it as a steady habit of life. However, when you take moments to prepare yourself daily, you are ready to prepare a message in a pinch.

It’s Sunday morning and when the preacher steps to the platform, he presents an “ok” sermon. But in another church, a preacher “hits the bull’s eye.” Is one a better preacher? Perhaps, but it may be that one took a better bead on the target.

It takes a small, subtle step that puts the arrow on the flight path to hitting the listener where they live.

I’ve known Robert Oglesby for over 40 years. He trained me as a preacher and I learned a lot. But perhaps one of the things he taught me about communication happened when I started working on staff with him 9 years ago at the Waterview Church of Christ.

The final step (which I omitted for several years) is a “final gleaning.” After hours of preparation, Robert has a perfectly crafted outline typed out and ready to go. But then comes the final gleaning. Robert sits down on the morning of his presentation, with legal pad and pen in hand, and quickly outlines what he will say. This resulted in taking out the chaff and leaving the presentation (sermon or class) with laser-beam focus. The final gleaning takes about 5 minutes but it makes the difference in what the audience keeps.

Recently I spoke at Waterview during Robert’s absence. The lesson just didn’t have the “zing” I wanted. So I did a final gleaning. I ended up taking 10 minutes and refashioning the conclusion. It had drama and movement and the punch it finally needed.

If you have to communicate on a regular basis, don’t ignore this last step. It solidifies your thoughts, focuses your attention, and takes your message to the next level.

One warning: don’t try it unless you really want to make your speaking better!

When Rudyard Kipling was at his zenith of popularity, it was said that each word he wrote was worth twenty-five cents. Some of the university students, full of vinegar and starch, wrote Kipling “please send us one of your twenty-five cent words.” In the envelope they enclosed twenty-five cents.

Kipling received the note and promptly answered. It contained but one word—thanks.

Thanks is on the verge of extinction. Email has deemed it unworthy with the simple reply of receipt—“got it.” The two syllables convey acceptance with the heart drained of appreciation.

Thank you notes (whether on stamped envelopes with stationery or email) are fading. Whether it is because we lack appreciation, I’ll let the reader judge. I would prefer to think that it is an untaught skill. For many, sitting down to write a note of thanks for a scholarship, a gift, or a nice evening wrings time and energy out of the writer.

Several years ago, I read a formula for writing an effective thank you note. It only takes a couple of minutes.

• First, thank the person for the gift. Be specific. If it is a $25 gift card to a local store, mention the amount and the store. Too many say, “thanks for the gift.” That just doesn’t breath life into the note.
• Second, explain what the gift did for you. A concert provided a respite from the tension of the day. A meal provided enjoyment and companionship. A gift card gave me money toward the new computer I hope to get. Givers want to know how their gift helped.
• Third, express your thanks again. “Again, I appreciate your thoughts at this important time of my life.”

A well-written thank you letter does more than fulfill a social obligation in a dust-covered etiquette book. It gives joy to the giver.

Your “thanks” is worth more than 25 cents. It’s means everything to someone who spent time giving you the gift.

During high school, I had a job as a delivery boy for a pharmacy. (That was a different time!) When I was not trying to work a paper-thin clutch in a delivery pickup, I typed up prescription labels. Each was filed away in a small manila envelope.

Occasionally, I picked up various envelopes with a handwritten “NF” on the face of the envelope. Finally, my curiosity caught up with me and I just had to ask what the NF meant.

The pharmacist explained that it was an abbreviation for “Nuisance Fee.” Some people were demanding, angry, and nasty. Those who made such behavior a habit paid an extra fee.

On that day, I learned to avoid becoming a Nuisance Fee.

We all have bad days. Irritation is part of the friction of life. Assertiveness is one thing, but meanness is another. When the theme song of your life is, “I forced them to…” you pay for it.

Watch your tongue. Guard your attitude. Sweeten your words. They might keep you off the NF list.