Communication Skills & Productivity

Extracting value of from ideas

The design of everyday business conversation

Productivity and the communication boom

Confusion - is it catching?

Extracting value from ideas
There is no shortage of good ideas in the world. Unfortunately, few are developed to their full potential. 15 years ago Michael Dell said, "Ideas are a commodity, execution is not". Then he built a 40 billion dollar business based on better execution.

One reason for mediocre execution is mediocre communication. You may think you understand the project and its value, but if you can't articulate it to others in a way that allows then to see the value as well, then your understanding fails to do justice to the idea.

The head of the Word software team at Microsoft believed that every person involved in the project should be able to articulate the reasons for the project on demand. And he would test people in hallway conversations all the time. How would your organisation fair with this sort of experiment?

An idea has far more value when its message can be explained to others in a compelling way. It can then be passed on - and your ability to execute the idea starts to increase. 

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The design of everyday business conversation
Delivering a clear message from the beginning is far more effective than attempts to patch-up problems or re-communicate information later.

A classic book called The Design of Everyday Things by Donald A Norman explores the design of physical things such as the controls on a VCR or a microwave oven, or the way a door handle operates. The point of the book is that poor design or lack of clarity on how an item will be used subjects us to unneeded frustration and confusion.

The design of spoken presentations has the same implications. Simplicity is powerful. Help people understand with simple messages. Try short statements. Minimise jargon. We are over-communicated. Therefore the best way to add value is to simplify.

Too many organisations explain away problems while the real culprit - unclear communication - goes undetected. When there is a problem, the first question should be, "Are we 100% certain that the message is clearly understood?"

Rather than angrily saying "We told them. This shouldn't have happened", consider something like "We did tell them, but it seems they are yet to understand - how can we make it clearer?"

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Productivity and the communication boom
The boom in communication technologies (phones and e-mail everywhere) doesn't make us better communicators; it simply means we communicate more often. Without clarity, this just adds more complexity to our lives.

We live in the information age, where raw information is so abundant it has little value. The value is in being able to filter this information, to translate it and communicate something useful to a specific audience. In fact, the ability to deliver an effective spoken presentation can be the difference between success and obscurity.

The value of an organisation is reflected less in land, labour and capital and more in its people and ideas. A weakness in either the clarification or delivery of information not only reduces organisational productivity, but obscures great ideas, impedes business success and wastes the great human resources sitting right in front of you.

Many managers argue they no longer have the time to prepare for the communication required of them, but ignoring communication skills is more dangerous in today's fast moving economy than ever before.

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Confusion - is it catching?
Research demonstrates that our immune system is stronger when we feel certainty, and weaker in periods of uncertainty or confusion. So people are more likely to get sick when confused or frustrated.

The same can be said of organisations. A study conducted by Reuters Business Information examined the effects of "excess information" in business. The study found that "57 percent of Australian managers agreed that information overload leads to delays in important decisions." It seems that information overload creates an environment that weakens the organisation.

Now picture an environment in which expectations are clear and direction clearly defined. Imagine meetings that end with a clearly stated decision, presentations that communicate clear and relevant messages and e-mails that don't require 3 follow-up e-mails to clarify a point.

Now, apply these scenarios to the everyday health of your organisation. Just as individuals become stressed and unable to perform, so too the organisation is made unhealthy when staff are stressed by lack of clarity or direction. The result is a cultural malaise which guarantees organisational underperformance.

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