An Important Communication Lesson from 2014

Over the holiday, I was reviewing my client notes from throughout 2014. Last year we worked with client companies in a range of industries, including financial services and banking, insurance, mining, oil and gas, aerospace, commercial construction, and several other forms of heavy industry. And we worked with executives and professionals from North and South America, Asia, Australia, Africa and throughout Europe and the Middle East.

The point is that our work bridges many industries and all areas of the world.

And the key lesson that we (re)learned again last year is this… throughout the world, executives want the same thing from their professional communication. They want you to get to the point, communicate things in a valuable way, and respect their time. We heard the exact same requests/complaints from executives in Shanghai, Brisbane, Singapore, Johannesburg, Paris, India, Dubai and the USA. No matter where these executives were born, no matter what their first language may be, they all speak the same language… they all speak “executive.” And they all value their time.

Are there some cultural communication differences? Yes, of course there are. But I have never met a single executive, from anywhere in the world, who has shareholders expecting performance and employees looking for leadership, who likes to have their time wasted.

I make this point all the time… and I’ll keep making it. You need to get to the point, quickly and clearly. Because no matter how often the point is made, we still see people every single day who simply cannot (or will not) get to the point.

And that’s my point.

Have a great day.

At The Latimer Group, our individual Coaching services are highly customized and designed to help you achieve your specific goals. Typical engagements focus on developing skill sets in Leadership Communications, Public Speaking, and Executive-Level Business Presentations. To learn more, e-mail us at info@TheLatimerGroup.com

Photo by Sean MacEntee used under the following license.

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Dean Brenner

A book about change

The Latimer Group’s CEO Dean Brenner is a noted keynote speaker and author on the subject of persuasive communication. He has written three books, including Persuaded, in which he details how communication can transform organizations into highly effective, creative, transparent environments that succeed at every level.