As I was packing my bags to return to Sydney I realised there was a parallel between my packing process and communicating.
Really?
Read on or skip to the three ideas at the bottom for the ‘TLDR'.
Packing for the return trip was vastly easier than when we left for our one month away.
On the way out it was quite an effort.
I wasn't sure what the weather would be like: the forecast kept changing for the Pacific North West, so it seemed smart to be ready for anything.
I also wasn't sure exactly what we would be doing. Did I need mainly casual clothes, or to factor in some smarter nights out? How much hiking would we do? Not sure.
I was also in a rush as I left it late to pack.
The answer was to think carefully – and quickly – about multi-purposing and coordinating each item.
This meant items went in and out of the bag, and quite a few things were added at the last minute.
This made for a full looking bag that wasn't as organised as it could have been.
The reason it was easier to pack for the return was that there was no more thinking to do.
I knew exactly what to pack.
Unsurprisingly, the bag is neater and looks less ‘stuffed' too.
But … what on earth does this have to do with preparing communication?
We encourage clients to separate thinking from writing and ‘PowerPoint-ing' to ensure the end communication works.
This way, the ideas in the final communication aren't ‘thrown in' anywhere, the story isn't overstuffed with excess baggage with the overall message being muddled.
When the thinking is done, it's super easy to ‘pack' ideas into a well-synthesised, logical and engaging piece of communication.
To that end, here are three ideas to help you nail your thinking so it is super fast to prepare a high-quality document.
- Consider your first draft (possibly several) to be written for yourself, not your audience.
- Commit to containing the high-level messaging to a single page before you prepare any final documents.
- Socialise that one-pager with peers and key stakeholders before you prepare your document.
That's right … nail the messaging before you open the Board paper template, PowerPoint … or whatever medium you are using.
I hope that helps. More next week.
Davina
PRESENTED BY DAVINA STANLEY
I love what I do.
I help senior leaders and their teams prepare high-quality papers and presentations in a fraction of the time.
This involves 'nailing' the message that will quickly engage decision makers in the required outcome.
I leverage 25+ years' experience including
- learning structured thinking techniques at McKinsey in Hong Kong in the mid 1990s before coaching and training their teams globally as a freelancer for a further 15 years
- being approved to teach the Pyramid Principle by Barbara Minto in 2009
- helping CEOs, C-suite leaders and their reports deeply understand their stakeholder needs and communicate accordingly
- seeing leaders cut the number of times they review major papers by ~30% and teams cut the amount of time they take to prepare major papers by ~20%*
- watching senior meetings focus on substantive discussions and better decisions rather than trying to clarify the issue
My approach helps anyone who needs to engage senior leaders and Boards.
Recent clients include 7Eleven, KPMG, Mercer, Meta, Woolworths.
Learn more at www.clarityfirstprogram.com
(*) Numbers are based on 2023 client benchmarking results.
