Keep It Short and Simple

Everything stems from #communication. It is the oxygen for #relationships. You communicate to explain, express, encourage, motivate, and inspire. But, do we often misinterpret effective communication?

When teaching my toddler how to communicate, my focus is to simplify — get her to learn to merge two syllables to form “Mama” and “Papa”. All of us learn the alphabet, we make up words, and then string these words into sentences.

This got me thinking, if the first rule of communication were to make it simple, then when did we start making it so complex?

For as long as I can remember, we associate effective communication at the workplace with complexity. The more nuanced the message and filled with jargon, the more sophisticated the messenger. As leaders, we often try to sound impressive by flaunting our vocabulary and language proficiency, when, in fact, we should be focusing on delivering an impressive message. In today’s busy world, people are pressed for time. Your customers or employees don’t want to jump hoops to get what they want. They’d rather have a clear story that is explained in an easy-to-follow language, with trustworthy information that they can understand, remember, and act upon.

In #business, effective communication is paramount. Whether you are communicating with customers or employees, simplicity is key. While presenting a town hall, have you ever felt that you are addressing an empty room — your words are being heard but not understood? Newsflash: employees put their leader’s complex vision, verbose statements, and wordy values in a file folder and forget about it.

Great leaders possess two qualities: a vision and the ability to communicate that vision clearly.

How can we do the latter? By learning how to K.I.S.S. — Keep it Short and Simple.

Go down memory lane, do you remember quotes, war cries, and motivational speeches by great leaders of the world? They delivered short messages in simple words and inspired countries to follow their vision. People are always drawn to words that strike a chord with them, words that they not only hear but actually understand, words that they feel.

Let’s consider these two popular campaign slogans. For his presidential campaign, Donald Trump used the slogan, “Make America Great Again”. Narendra Modi’s re-election campaign slogan was “Abki Baar, Modi Sarkar”. Regardless of the differences in each leader’s politics, country, and audience, the effectiveness of their short and simple messaging is clear. Food for thought for leaders: embrace this approach to inspire and engage your audience.

So, the next time you are preparing a speech, whether for your clients, your team, or your manager, remember the three golden rules:

·      Less is more

·      Keep it relevant

·      and K.I.S.S.

“Good communication is just as stimulating as black coffee and just as hard to sleep after.” â€”     Anne Morrow Lindbergh