Two C’s of effective communication
What is a likely way to impress an audience that doesn’t know what they are looking for?
Barrage them with facts, figures and thoughts.
Hand them so much information, that not only do they not have any questions, the thought of having a question does not enter their mind.
We, I’m sure, want to communicate with more discerning people. The kinds of people who want exactly what you are prepared to offer them.
The reality is that there is no value in being verbose. You can throw as many punch combos as you want in a verbal sparring match, and leave someone no more enlightened as to what you are trying to say.
That antidotes to chaos and confusion are clarity and concision. But let’s not use these words without understanding what they mean:
Clear
Clear communication is specific.
It’s the difference between saying “We offer the best writing equipment” and saying “We sell fine-tipped pens”. “Writing equipment” can mean different things to different people. If you want to sell pens, you say “pens”.
Let’s take another example.
Most organizations don’t have a mission statement for the sake of having one. There is an end goal there (often, “We want to be relatable”).
Clear communication means everything you write or say is in service of your chosen goal.
1. Make every statement contribute to a goal.
Concise
To quote Robin Williams in Dead Poet’s Society “Avoid using the word ‘very’ because it’s lazy. A man is not very tired; he is exhausted.”
Conveying something in a sentence, when you could have said it in a paragraph, is hard work. It requires the sort of mental rigour that needs to be cultivated.
2. Cut down verbiage.
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To keep it simple, let’s put people in two camps:
- People who say or write anything that comes to mind.
- People who have a hard time putting thoughts down.
The first group is faced with this problem—lack of awareness (In the case of writing, there is leeway in the form of editing, sure). They can’t figure out that they are conveying too much, much less what to cut out. The second group is paralyzed by too much awareness.
The best place to be is somewhere in-between. You say exactly what needs to be said, and expand if necessary.
While just that awareness will steer you towards effective communication, here are some practical resources all the same:
How to ensure clarity in your communication
The Sense of Style by Steven Pinker
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If you care about the art of it all, clarity and concision in language is beautiful when put into practice.
The real world implications of clear and concise communication go beyond artistry. It means we do justice to the ideas that we have, and get people on board with them.
See you next time,
Mukundan
