Communication in Business

Effective one-way communication is key to Operations

“Exhorting the Team” © David Anderson 2017, Oakland CA

Success Depends on Communication Skills

I’ve posted about Business as a System ». The various working mechanisms of the business system make up the Operations of a Business, which is the people-side of the business: engaging and coordinating teams of people — not just employees — to accomplish your goals.

Communication is the ability to inform others about who you are and what your business is trying to accomplish, and then gain their cooperation and assistance. This is not simple. You will have to continuously work at improving yourself in this area.

Many, many books have been written about communicating with, speaking to, and motivating people. But because we all speak and communicate, we doubt we have anything to learn. But as a Newbiepreneur, you have much to learn! In this short post, I am covering this topic from your standpoint: that of a person who needs to inform and motivate others to cooperate with you in your Business.

There are several types of communication: one-way, two-way, group, broadcast, presentation, written. We are most concerned with one-way communication, wherein you (the communicator) are attempting to convey a message and have it received by a receptive listening party (like an audience of one or many).

Communications lies at the heart of successful Operations

The essence of Operations is the coordination of human effort, getting everyone working toward the same goal in the same direction at the same time. To do that, they need to remember and understand your key messages. Based off of that, you need to get buy-in from your listeners, aligning their goals with your business goals.

Effective One-way Communication

In this section I give you Five General Steps for preparing for your talks. In my junior year of High School, I was the State of Oregon Men’s Extempore Speech Champion. These steps are based on the effective process and techniques which I used to craft winning Extempore Speeches, in which a contestant chooses a hidden topic at random, has an hour to prepare a 5-7-min speech without any outside assistance, then deliver that speech before judges and an audience.

Step 1: Define the desired outcome of the communication

Easily the most overlooked part of preparing a talk is this step. To Whom are you speaking and To What Outcome do you wish to achieve? Use the checklist below as a template. Answer each question as simply as possible. Be able to explain this to an associate.

1. Who is my audience? (Define median age, gender, training, experience, etc)

2. What is the single purpose of my communication? (persuade, motivate, entertain, educate)

3. What is the main message which my listener must understand and remember?

4. Actionable Outcome: What should the listener do differently after hearing the message?

5. How is the outcome measurable? (Benchmark for effectiveness)

Step 2: Gather the Content

Next, list all the information in the message to be communicated. Usually this will be too much and will have to be pared down in the next step. But get it all in now so you can prioritize what is to be cut later. At this stage, Comprehensive and complete is better than simple and short.

Step 3: Edit & Craft the Message

Take that information, and begin organizing it, crafting it into a comprehensible message. Simplify. Condense. Boil down to at most three key memorable points. Craft it into a verbal delivery that easily fits within the time limits.

This step will require many drafts, much practice, and speaking the words out loud to sense the flow and naturalness of the delivery. Step 3 will be the most time-consuming, difficult, and important step of the process.

Step 4: Test & Refine Effectiveness

Evaluates this draft against the desired outcome of Step 1: is each point clear, memorable, and unambiguous? Can a 15-year old understand it? Can someone without industry-specific training understand it? Would the mail carrier be interested?

Test it out by giving your talk in front of a mirror. If you have written out your speech, practice until you can deliver it without reading it word for word. I prefer to write the important points on a small note card and carry that with me. I practice until I can easily extemporize between the points.

Record one of your practice sessions and view it together with an associate. Critique the delivery, the content, and the message. Evaluate it against your goals of Step 1. Go back to previous steps until you get this correct.

Step 5: Showtime, Evaluation, and Feedback

Finally you will deliver your talk. Perhaps once, perhaps several times. It’s helpful if you have a few probing questions to ask random audience members afterwords so you can gauge your effectiveness in communicating your message. Ask your associate for feedback re delivery, audience reaction, message receptiveness, etc. What improvements could you make in the future?

Getting help

In business communication these steps are important. You can consult outside resources to learn how to craft an engaging speech. I highly recommend joining a local Toastmasters Club in your area to get more experience speaking before others.

What Can Go Wrong? Subjective blinders

So many things can go wrong: you are misunderstood, you speak in an off-putting way, others cannot see how their interests are aligned with yours, etc.

Many times this is because you are usually subjectively mired in what you think is important, that you fail to take into account the perspective and interests of the people with whom you are speaking.

Newbiepreneurs need to be aware of the common potential problems which will inhibit their communications. Use the following checklist to prepare yourself for your main job as Chief Business Communicator.

A Checklist of Problems

1. You are unclear about what you want.

2. You cannot explain simply and logically what you want.

3. You talk way too much.

4. You narrate way too much detail.

5. You do not know what the other person wants, nor why they want it.

6. You do not understand the fundamentals of communication.

7. You have not repeatedly practiced speaking until it becomes effortless and second nature.

8. You are afraid of public speaking.

9. You lack confidence in your plans and ideas.

10. You do not know how to formulate the salient points into a comprehensible short talk.

The Basic Three Communication Frameworks

As a Newbiepreneur, you will need to have prepared and practiced the following three communication frameworks until they become effortless to say. These topics will be covered in later posts and in detail in The Book about Business Mechanics.

• The 30-sec Bio

• The Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch

• The 10-Slide Pitch Deck