How do you balance authenticity and strategic signalling in your professional communication?

1 Know your audience

Before you craft your message, you need to understand who you are talking to and what they care about. What are their needs, expectations, and preferences? How do they perceive you and your role? How do you want to influence them or build rapport with them? Knowing your audience will help you tailor your signal to suit their interests, values, and communication style.

2 Choose your channel

Different channels of communication have different advantages and disadvantages for signalling. For example, email is convenient and efficient, but it can also be impersonal and ambiguous. Phone calls are more interactive and expressive, but they can also be intrusive and distracting. Video calls are more engaging and humanizing, but they can also be challenging and exhausting. Choose the channel that best fits your purpose, message, and relationship with your audience.

3 Highlight your strengths

One of the goals of strategic signalling is to showcase your skills, achievements, and potential to your audience. However, you don't want to come across as arrogant, boastful, or insecure. A good way to highlight your strengths is to use specific examples, evidence, and feedback that demonstrate your value and impact. You can also use social proof, such as endorsements, testimonials, or referrals from credible sources, to boost your credibility and reputation.

4 Express your personality

Another goal of strategic signalling is to reveal your personality, values, and passions to your audience. However, you don't want to overshare, offend, or alienate anyone. A good way to express your personality is to use your unique voice, tone, and style that reflect your identity and brand. You can also use humor, stories, or emotions to connect with your audience on a personal level and show your human side.

5 Adapt to feedback

Strategic signalling is not a one-way street. You also need to pay attention to how your audience responds to your signals and adjust accordingly. How do they react, reply, or follow up? Do they seem interested, impressed, or confused? Do they give you positive, negative, or mixed feedback? Do they ask for more information, clarification, or action? Adapting to feedback will help you improve your communication effectiveness and relationship with your audience.

6 Be consistent

The last tip for balancing authenticity and strategic signalling is to be consistent. Consistency means that your signals match your actions, words, and values. It also means that your signals are coherent across different channels, situations, and audiences. Consistency will help you build trust, credibility, and reputation with your audience. It will also help you avoid sending mixed or conflicting signals that can damage your image and goals.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?