New rules of communication for 4IR

Today’s frenetic working environment means that effective communication has never been more challenging, or more important. And yet, most people haven’t changed the way they communicate in the past 10 years.

It’s natural to fall back on communication techniques learned at school, university or in early-stage careers – well in advance of the current toxic environment of “information overload”. Consequently, most of the tools we can resort to using are no longer relevant or effective and fail to take into account how audiences consume and react to information in modern business.

Experts have disproved the notion that attention spans have shrivelled to goldfish level (eight seconds). After all, people generally are more than able to focus on things that they’re interested in (The New Yorker magazine’s 10,000-word articles, for example, still attract huge readership). But, while attention spans may not have diminished, they have changed considerably in recent times.

According to Prezi’s 2018 State of Attention report, half of respondents said they’re more selective about the content they consume compared to the previous year. And it’s hardly surprising they’re picky, given the deluge of information directed towards us daily. Because audiences are more discerning, it is imperative that communication styles are tailored to connect more effectively with stakeholders and to have more successful outcomes.

New rules of engagement

Brand new communication strategies are required to persuade, influence and inspire action if we want to succeed in our careers in the new digital era. We need to learn how to cut through information overload and communicate with impact. That means we have to:

•  tailor our communication to a more discriminating audience
• learn how to overcome groaning inboxes to get our message heard
• communicate complex messages more clearly and effectively for all stakeholders
• speak and write in a way that engages and stimulates action in an environment of competing priorities.

If you’d like to find out more about The new rules of communication for the hyper-busy 4IR workplace, call to speak to Kim Arnold, one of our communication experts. Or for more information and to reserve a place for this interactive lunchtime leadership session on 6 March 2020, please click here.