If the Communicator Is Unable to Communicate Clearly, the Hearer Will Be Unable to Comprehend Clearly.

I am intrigued and entertained by the DirecTV commercials that start with “When you have cable. . .” and end with something ridiculous. 

The writers of these commercials apparently never read Winston Churchill’s admonition: “If you have an important point to make, don’t try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver.”

Remember this one?

When you have cable and can’t find something good to watch, you get depressed. When you get depressed, you attend seminars. When you attend seminars, you feel like a winner. When you feel like a winner, you go to Vegas. When you go to Vegas, you lose everything. And when you lose everything, you sell your hair to a wig shop. Don’t sell your hair to a wig shop; get rid of cable, and upgrade to DirecTV.

The commercial certainly makes the point that one bad decision can lead to outcomes of greater negative implication.

In the workplace, this form of communication might cause significant “guessing.” What do they mean? What is the real message? Are they telling us we should never go to Vegas? Have they cancelled attending seminars for fear we might become winners?

A Fog in the Pew

Professor Howard Hendricks tells his seminary students, “If it’s a mist in the pulpit, it will be a fog in the pew.” Believe me, a slightly confusing message from the lips of a leader will ultimately result in mass confusion among team members.

It’s simple: if the communicator is unable to communicate clearly, the hearer will be unable to comprehend clearly.

Churchill was right, when you have something of significance that needs to be communicated, deliver a clear, concise (no guessing) heartfelt message.

I am certainly an advocate of diplomacy and communicating important messages with a sense of “heart.” A Chinese proverb says, “Do not remove a fly from your neighbor’s face with a hatchet.”

Yikes!

How you say something is probably just as important (if not more important) than the message you are delivering.

Perfect Clarity

Once communicated, there should be perfect clarity about the message thus producing the expected results or actions.

Practice. When you have an important message, find a trusted advisor, an accountability partner and practice delivering the message. Ask for complete honesty!

“Is this how the message should be delivered?” “Am I as clear as clear can be?”

“Will team members walk away with a firm grasp on the issue?”

“What did I miss?”

If it is below you to ask for help effectively communicating messages, then effectively communicating might be above you.

Just saying. . .

Questions to Consider:

What is the main point of your message?

What do you want people to take away from your message?

How will you know if you connected with the receivers?

What action, emotion do you expect in response?