Great leaders get things done. So, their communications must cause others to do things.
However, most business communication isn’t like this. Instead of causing the do, it transfers understanding… ‘Let’s share the new strategy, relay the company’s vision, update each other, upskill the team…’
But, transferring understanding only makes people cleverer. You want them to act.
So, when creating any communication:
- Think what you want the recipient(s) to do after it, and then
- Decide what to say, so they do it
This approach gets things done quickly. It leads to less pointless, meandering communications. After all, which meeting would you rather attend? One starting with “Today’s meeting will last 60 minutes and the agenda is …” or “This meeting’s aim is to help us do X and Y. As soon as we can, we’ll finish”.
Action Point
Apply the above two steps to your next communication. To help you, imagine your communication finishing, and the recipient(s) going to their desk and… Well, what do they do now? Sign-off something? Ring / email somebody? Prepare a document? After all, when they know what you want them to do, they’re more likely to do it.