Periods of quick change will test an individual’s capability to adjust and react to a given situation. This is when the communication capability of a leader will be the factor that decides if a business will fail or succeed. This applies no matter whether he or she is an executive-level or front-line leader. Good communicators can present a vision, plan a feasible path ahead, and help others understand the implications. All of the things mentioned above is very important to have, particularly in uncertain and turbulent periods.
Therefore, strong communication is beyond just a catchphrase. Rather, it is a tool that can affect collaboration, customer relations, and organizational culture in a positive or negative way. It is unfortunate that a survey discovered 91% of 1,000 workers said their leaders do not have good communication capability. It is possible to track this inability back to the way in which managers and leaders are involved in or communicate with workers.
So, in what way does one make sure that their employees are able to relate with their ideas during these times? Below are a few strategies to take into consideration when emailing a co-worker, presenting something to numerous workers in a conference hall, or talking to somebody somewhere remote.
Reiterate Your Idea Multiple Times
Leaders mistakenly feel that they would achieve their objective after just communicating something with their workers and the most important individuals in their organization. They must not continue doing that believing that this is the case. There is complete and successful communication when the receiver of your message internalizes that idea instead of simply listening to it.
To make sure of this, you must repeat your messages through different mediums, like video, telephone, and email, because there is a likely emotional reaction to those ideas. This research by Queen’s University’s Kate Sikerbol discovered, “Allowing employees to share stories and feelings helped them to develop a greater sense of control over the changes, improved morale, reduced absenteeism, and built trust between managers and employees.”
Try To Get Feedback
After delivering a message, the most difficult task may be to confirm that everyone thoroughly understood your idea. In order to be sure of this, you have to make sure you seek a response from your audience. This is a way of finding out what they listened to and understood, plus which actions are occurring consequently, and the level of acceptance your idea has got. This will let you move forward by being aware that the problem has been addressed.
Control The Reiterated Things
Sometimes, leaders are aware that they will have to repeat what they communicate with their team. It is specifically the case when a company member demands their viewpoint in uncertain times because their answer will likely be passed on to other people.
Circumstances often emerge when one’s remarks or reactions give the foundation for the next action, direction, or talk. Therefore, a leader must be capable of influencing how other people understand and pass on the things they say after leaving the discussion. They may do the following things to produce that result.
- Be Proactive. Communicate the things they feel matter the most. This will confirm that the things passed on are exactly the ideas that a leader wished to communicate in their organization.
- Keep Your Ideas Simple. Individuals cannot recall all the things you say as a leader, so they may choose the things they feel are important and pass on only those. Therefore, deliver your messages as short extracts from a recorded speech.
- Do Not Say Negative Things. Several pieces of research on psychology show that individuals often keep negative things in mind longer than positive ideas. There is an appropriate situation to communicate these things, and a turbulent period is not one. In this situation, negative verbiage or examples could just be detrimental to your capability of communicating with an apprehensive audience.
- Make Your Ideas Interesting. Make it intriguing so that the audience will not misrepresent or embellish your idea. You can just add a tale, illustration, or analogy to make the conversation interesting.
Finding the appropriate words to communicate is potentially challenging for a leader, especially in tough periods. This can cause a leader to communicate only a few things of little substance to those who work for them. As a leader, you might not get the right words, but it is your job to communicate something of substance with them. Therefore, pay attention to communication activities, opinions, impact behaviour, and influence outcomes in an effective way during the right time. This way, you could just give the guidance that others seek particularly in uncertain times.
