Look around. Stare (nicely!) at all the people you can see now.
Let me guess – they all look different to each other.
And that’s just their outside. Their inside will be even more different.
Which makes it hard to communicate with them. After all, communicating in ways that work for you, won’t work for them. Because they’re different.
So remember the two Is:
- Intention – when you communicate, you have a certain intention
- Impact – when they hear you, you’ll have a certain impact on them. This might not be the same as your intention
For example, when sales teams start with "we were founded in 1922". They think “heritage”. We think “why tell me how old you are?"
Or when bosses shout "Here’s our new strategy". They think “exciting!” We think “We don’t have time to do this.”
So how do you know if your impact’s the same as your intention?
Feedback.
Where people tell you the impact you had on them.
So try this: choose someone you trust. Ask for feedback on your impact when you communicate. Ask what’s good and bad. Then act on it.
So simple. So effective.
Action Point
Ask for feedback from someone you trust. It won’t take long. And it’ll make a huge difference.