We work with our clients all the time on message development. We think that figuring out what you want or need to say is critical to great communication in today’s world. Otherwise, your unorganized, unplanned message will just drift in the background noise of an incredibly loud and busy world.
But there is another way to think about the benefit of a well organized message and story. When people are listening to you, if your message and story about your idea, recommendation, or product is not clear to them, it creates a void of understanding. If you cannot (or do not) fill the void and explain to people, “Here is my point, here is my story, here is the message you need to hear,” then your audience, or someone else, will fill that void for you. If people walk away from a conversation or meeting with you and are not sure what you are saying and why it is important, then you have left a void of understanding. And only two things can happen with that void… neither of them are good for you. Your audience will either ignore you completely and move on to something else, or your audience will want to know more. But since you did not fill that void, they will fill it for you… with assumptions, their own perspective (because you did not successfully persuade yours), their own version of the facts, etc.
Great message development benefits you in a number of ways:
You portray yourself as organized, thoughtful, smart, prepared, strategic, etc.
You portray yourself as someone who does not waste other people’s time.
And you make sure that your message gets heard in a way that you want it to be heard. Otherwise, you leave a void, and someone else will likely fill that void for you. Not good for you…
Have a great day.
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Does your team:
– Overwhelm the audience with too much detail?
– Make things too complicated?
– Fail to ask for what they want or need?
Does your organization:
– Waste time because of poor internal communication?
– Take too long to make decisions?
– Struggle to clarify and frame discussions?
Do your leaders:
– Exhibit poor executive presence?
– Lean on incomplete communication skills?
– Fail to align the organization?
We transform teams and individuals with repeatable toolsets for persuasive communication. Explore training, coaching, and consulting services from The Latimer Group.
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