Great Communicators Ask These Two Questions BEFORE They Begin
Phil Yanov by Nill Silver

Great Communicators Ask These Two Questions BEFORE They Begin

I see some weird stuff cross my desk. 

I get pitches written from the wrong point of view. 

People are telling me how great they are. 

Even if the message isn't all about their awesomeness, their point of view is so baked in that as a reader you can't get away from it.

They are telling me about how long they have been in business. They tell me what they think is important about the business they are in. 

They talk, spout, prattle and bloviate. 

But mostly... they befuddle. 

I get confused.

I sometimes think I know what they are trying to tell me, but I'm never quite sure why I should care. 

I can't figure out what it has to do with me.

It's not that everything in the world has to do with me, but it's where I start from. My understanding of them, you and the world begins with where I am standing. It begins with where I am looking from. It begins with my state of mind.

If a communicator of any stripe wants to begin a conversation, he needs to start with the audience. (Not with himself.)

There are two simple questions that you should ask yourself, before you begin to write. or speak. or email. 

If you spend time understanding the questions, you will write better. If you spend some time understanding their answers, you will speak better. You will send emails that connect with your audience instead of befuddling them.

There is no point in confusing your audience.

The two questions every communicator should ask themselves BEFORE they start:

  • Who am I talking to?
  • How am I trying to help them?

If I really know who I am talking to, then I will craft my message for them. If I understand their language, their temperament, their background and their point of view, then I will write better for them. 

Knowing the audience is knowing where to start.

If I have to deliver bad news via email, a thing I try to avoid, I will let the audience know what I am about to do. 

I sympathize with their point of view. I let them know I understand what has happened and I understand and accept their point of view. This is important to do even if I don't agree with it. 

Once, I've slipped into the point of the view of the audience, I am a better communicator. 

If you will allow yourself to understand your audience, it will shape your message. Let it. 

The audience will appreciate it and you will connect with them.

By the way, If you get the first question right, then the second becomes easier. a lot easier. 

If you really know the audience, then you can anticipate how they might respond. You will know in advance how they might react to your offer of help. 

I can remember being in the position of explaining a new software rollout to the people who would be using it. 

The process was not going smoothly. We were rushed. We had to mind the deadline, and it was going to be challenging for many of the people involved. It was not going to be fun. But it needed doing.

Before presenting, I took a moment to understand the people I would be speaking to. I reviewed prior emails to read their concerns. Knowing how they were feeling, helped us craft the message of what it was going to look like going forward. We communicated honestly and openly about what was coming. The good and the bad. The challenges and the expected reward at the end. 

They appreciated the moment. They felt heard. They felt appreciated. What we got was a group of people who were willing to lean in and help us get through the tough spot. It wasn't easy, but it felt pretty good.

You might be delivering updates. You might be selling an idea to a boss, co-worker or prospect. You might be enlisting the aid of a colleague. If you are communicating any non-trivial information, especially where there is opportunity for you to get your wires crossed with the recipients, take a moment to step back and consider your audience... before you begin. 

Ask yourself who you are talking to, and how are you helping them. It will help you create messages that are heard, understood and appreciated. That's what good communication is all about.

Hussain Musid

Inventory Control Coordinator at Feblo International, LLC.

6y

Fantastic

Monica Konarski-Fusetti

English Instructor & Writing Coach

6y

Good post--I teach my students a similar mindset for audience identification: Who are they and what do they need to know? These are my guiding questions.

Daniel Sloan

CEO/Co-Founder | Building & Investing in Web3 Software: Blockchain/AI, NFTs, Metaverse, DeFi, Web2 - Web3 Digital Transformation | FORBES TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL MEMBER

6y

Good advice

Excellent to-the-point article, Phil. When I used to do marketing training for small businesses I always told them that "What you sell or do is not what is important to prospects and customers. What is important is what you can do for them." Your article does a great job of explaining that in a succinct and people oriented way.

To view or add a comment, sign in

Insights from the community

Explore topics