don’t shoot the messenger!

The other day, a friend of a friend asked me what I do. “I help people and companies with their communication” I said.

“Well that sounds like a waste of time” they said.

Clearly as someone who lives and breathes comms in all its forms, a statement like that drives me bananas. Yes, it’s ignorant and frankly rude. But that’s not what bothers me the most.

It’s how limiting that statement is. Because communication is at the heart of absolutely everything we do. If you are not communicating clearly – with your team, with your customers, with your potential customers – then not only are you wasting opportunities, you’re also likely causing damage. Damage to your reputation. Damage to sales. Damage to morale.

Strategic messaging takes many forms. It can be internal, meaning how you speak to your team members, how you convey to them your company purpose, and how you set objectives. If people don’t understand what you mean, you’ll never achieve your goals. And if you’re not communicating clearly, you can (unwittingly) be causing damage. Confusion. Delays. Insecurity. De-motivation.

External communication takes that same clear sense of purpose and direction – and tells the world about it. The best communication clearly outlines what you do, and why you do it. 

This can be done through a variety of ways, including (but not limited to) branding, storytelling, public relations, media relations, social media, thought leadership, speaking engagements, elevator pitches, cocktail party chatter … But whatever the method, the core messaging should always be the same.

If you don’t spend time honing your message, ensuring it’s clear and concise (That means understandable!) then you are missing opportunities and potentially causing damage.

So how do you hone your messaging?

Yep, you can hire someone like me. But here are a few tips:

Editing is your Friend. I love this Stephen King quote: “To write is human, to edit is divine.” When you first develop your messaging, I guarantee you can simplify it. Longer doesn’t mean better or easier to understand. What can you cut? Editing is your best friend. Could your friends understand it?

Read it out loud. This is a trick I learnt in broadcasting. Whatever copy we wrote, we always read it out loud. Makes sense because we were broadcasters. But I soon learnt it works no matter what you do. When you read something out loud it quickly reveals whether it makes sense, whether something stands out (for the wrong reason). Try it. It works!

Repeat Repeat Repeat. Once you’ve honed your messaging, and you’re happy with it, use it! Use it internally, use it externally, use it on your social media and in your emails and on your website. Use it on strangers when you tell them what you do. Great messaging deserves to be shared!

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