Catalyst

Posts Tagged ‘messages’

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.