The Communication Equation Newsletter #1: An Extraordinary Paradox

First of all, welcome! You're about to dive into what I'm thinking might just become your favorite part of the week. Or at least a very enjoyable and informative one. Either way, I'm thrilled to have you on board.?

By reading this newsletter, it's safe to assume you've got at least a passing curiosity about communication. That's great! You're already well ahead of a huge chunk of the population. See, for most, the only identification they have with the concept of "communication" is that it makes them uncomfortable. That discomfort leads to poor communication, something millions of people around the world?struggle with on a daily basis.??

It holds them back from achieving goals, complicates relationships, and even costs them money. On a bigger scale, it's led to the downfall of businesses and even stoked global conflict. I'm not even being dramatic - literal wars have been ignited by communication missteps.?

A famous quote attributed to legendary comedian Jerry Seinfeld says, to paraphrase,? "People's Number One fear is public speaking. Number Two is death. That means at a funeral, people would rather be in the casket than giving the eulogy."?

Seinfeld isn't just exaggerating for effect there, either. (And major kudos if you got that Seinfeld reference, BTW...we're going to get along great.) People are genuinely afraid of communication - some studies have reported that as much as 50% of the world's population experiences at least some degree of "communication apprehension." Yes, one out of every two humans on earth are uneasy about communicating...to the point we have an actual diagnostic term for it!

Yet at the same time, communication is vital. It's present in literally every aspect of our lives. Just think of any positive thing in your life right now. Would it be possible without some form of communication? I can answer that for you: No.?

And successful people know this. Simple Google searches will reveal that employers and business owners at every level universally rank communication as one of the most important skills they look for in a new hire.

That's what I call the "Extraordinary Paradox." There's almost nothing else like it - On the one hand, you have something that evokes fear and discomfort among so many, yet on the other hand, that same thing is crucial to their very survival, and benefits them in ways they often can't even comprehend.?

Now, what if I told you I could help you conquer that "communication apprehension," and improve your life, your business, your relationships...heck, maybe even stave off global conflict? (Hey, you never know who's reading!)?

I'm Doug Taylor, founder and owner of Doug Taylor Communication Consulting and the developer of what I'm excited to call "The Communication Equation." It's a framework I've built over my 16 years as a practicing attorney for creating powerful, effective communication in any setting.?

And I want to teach you how to use it.?

By subscribing to and reading this newsletter, you've already taken the first step towards improving your communication skills, and I genuinely thank you! My mission is to help people and businesses everywhere put the Equation to use to become better communicators.

I've got some lofty ambitions that I'll get to when the time comes, but for now just know that I'm truly pumped to be sharing this newsletter with you. Every week, you'll get useful, practical and actionable deep dives and discussions into specific aspects of the Equation, and some entertaining, relevant and just plain interesting stories from the communication world in general, too.

I want this newsletter to function as a helpful supplement to your learning of the Equation. It's a method I'm incredibly proud of and confident in, and I can't wait to share it with you.

Before I do that (heck yeah I'm going to share it right off the bat in Issue #1...you thought I'd make you wait??), I need to digress a bit into some brief background. Hopefully it helps to demonstrate why I believe so strongly in what I'm saying.

I've always been a pretty stereotypical introvert. As a kid, I was painfully shy, and my heart would beat so hard and fast at the mere thought of speaking in front of people that I was positive you could actually see it moving my entire chest. But in high school, I fell in love with debate and forensics (the speaking events...we won't get into my attempts to recite poetry or recreate dramatic scenes). I loved the analytical thought process of literally "building" your message, and the organized structure it helped me to adopt towards preparing a successful message. It set me on a path to law school, and while my overall grades left a little to be desired, I nonetheless graduated, became a lawyer, and in the process, realized something about how I learned most effectively.

I discovered that while reading the mountains of case law assigned by my professors, I was able to best process and understand it when I could break the content down into its simplest form. Often times, that form was some sort of an equation - an "if/then" proposition of sorts. Many of my peers were the same way, and it's not really surprising. The best way to learn complex things is by making them simple, and there's not much simpler to recall than a basic equation.

So, after years of practice, I began to realize the skill I had for taking highly technical, complicated concepts and reframing them in easy-to-understand formats and statements. Then it hit me: Literally every form of communication can be approached this way. One night, I had my true "lightbulb moment" of coming up with a catchy name for this approach (Everything's better when it rhymes, right?) and The Communication Equation was born!

So, what exactly is the Equation? Get ready to take notes, because here it comes: EC = A + C + M.

How's that for simple? You're probably thinking "Doug, you're telling me that is going to revolutionize my communication skills?!" Well, don't call the authorities and have me committed just yet, but that's exactly what I'm telling you. I'll show you the details down the road, but for now, let me just give you the basics, and you'll see why I'm so optimistic.

First of all, we have "EC." This represents an "Effective Communication." That's what we're all after, right? It comes first, as the "product" or "sum" of the Equation, because it represents your goal. What exactly are you trying to achieve with your communication? Better sales numbers? A "yes" on a major business proposal? More followers on social media? A positive outcome from a difficult conversation? These are all possibilities of an effective communication. Identify your finish line, then start running.

Next, we have our "components," the factors that make up an effective communication.?

The "A" represents what I call "Audience IQ." This is an understanding of and relation to your audience. A lot of generic communication advice touches on this concept (maybe you've heard the oft-used phrase "Know Your Audience"), but Audience IQ captures a more nuanced approach than just simple identification. You need to do more than just label your audience with a title or a name. You need to develop a comprehensive understanding of their interests, motives, problems, backgrounds, etc. That sounds like a lot, but don't worry - I've made it easy.

The "C" represents "Credibility." This is your answer to the audience's question of "Why should I listen to this person?" It's how you demonstrate your authority and value as a communicator. You might have heard of a gentleman from a few years back named Aristotle. He knew a couple things about communication, and he had a term for this as well: Ethos.

Lastly, we have "M," which represents "Message." Or, more specifically, "Message Design." This is my favorite part, personally. Here, you put on your hard hat and begin to build your message. The options are almost limitless, but again, I've developed a method to help you focus on what I believe to be the strongest option. See, in my view, all communication is persuasion, when you really get down to it. And my "Bullseye Method" is the perfect approach to crafting a persuasive message, based specifically on how the human brain processes information and makes decisions.

So that's it! I know, it sounds almost comically simple, but there's an entire world of detail behind it all. Yet, at the same time, as I'll show you, there truly is a beautiful simplicity to the entire process. The best part of the whole thing is that this framework has two built-in advantages you won't find in other communication training:

1. It's flexible. Once you learn the Equation, you can apply it to literally any type of communication - presentations, speeches, conversations, advertising copy...you name it, the Equation will improve it.

2. It's consistent. By being patterned after a mathematical equation (without all that nasty...math), you get the benefit of repeatability. It's a true sliding scale: The stronger your components (C, A and M), the stronger (i.e. "more effective") your communication (EC) will be. Every time.

Once again, thank you so much for subscribing. It means so much to me to be able to share this true passion project with the world, and I appreciate you being a part of it. Check out the resources on my website, or look me up on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and a soon-to-be-implemented YouTube channel...I want to be available to help whenever I can!

In the meantime, be clear, be kind, and let's build a Communication Equation Community!

Take Care,

Doug

[email protected]

(785) 431-3230