Ever heard the cure to all problems? “Communicate, communicate, communicate!” …Yea, think of this…

A long time ago, I was in downtown Mexico City. A big place with lots of tourists. I saw an American tourist (camera and all), asking a vendor for information…in English. Yes! Next, the local doesn’t respond right…so the tourist begins to increase the volume and slow down. The third time, the woman was almost SHOU-TING  E-VERY SY-LLA-BLE! 
Can you picture that? Yes, it was funny to watch. In the end, the local never understood what the tourist was talking about. The tourist left angry and frustrated!

That’s what communication sometimes feels like in organizations particularly during times of change. And yet, all too often executives find great solace in a ‘communication plan’ as if communication will make up for the lack of ownership, disagreements at the top, misunderstood cultural factors, and some times, a plain bad strategy.

I’m not saying communications isn’t important. Quite to the contrary, I say it is critical, it’s crucial, it’s vital. It just isn’t enough. In fact, many of my communications colleagues with whom I’ve worked closely have told me their clients have unrealistic expectations of communications efforts.

So, what’s missing? Understanding! We may communicate until we are blue in the face but without understanding we have accomplished nothing, just like the tourist and the local. So how do we achieve that? Here are some key ingredients I’ve learned…

• Clarity – Message needs to be simple and straightforward.
• Relevance – Message must make sense to the intended audience. Know your audience.
• Accuracy – Information must be factual, verifiable, and trustworthy.

These first three elements are what most communications programs are all about. But what’s often missing is ‘dialog’ or conversation. Without this, communication efforts are what I call “Information Broadcasting.”

• Context – This is closely linked with relevance but it goes beyond knowing the intended audience. It requires that a change leader understands the conditions on the ground during the change transition and how the message is likely to be perceived. It requires gathering the ‘voice of the organization’ to get beyond the rumors and understand the root causes. It requires meeting people where the are in the transition process.
• Feedback – Is the process of closing the loop to know what the effect of the communication effort was. Surveys and feedback boxes may help but real dialog happens most effectively face to face. Examples include interviews, informal discussions, focus groups, and others. Social media such as IM, Novel Vibe, Wikis, and other tools also can provide a way to gather feedback. In all cases however, people must feel engaged in a conversation, not just asked for information.