How to communicate strategically

COMMUNICATE STRATEGICALLY

Imagine 10 senior leaders or perhaps board directors sitting around the table spending 20 minutes debating the meaning of a single paragraph?

It would be annoying for them, but what does it really cost?

Hint: Better ‘writing’ and better ‘paragraphs’ aren’t the answer.

The answer is to think strategically about your messaging and then craft it in a way that is easy to understand.

I’ll unpack that a bit more here as well as offer the recording from my free Lightning Lesson on that topic.

The cost of that paragraph is higher than you think for you, your board and your organisation.

A whisker over 3 hours in time sunk around that table means poor quality outcomes for everyone:

  • The company is unlikely to get a good decision, let alone a fast one
  • The board spends less time adding real value
  • The leader presenting it is mortified they missed it in their reviews and is sent off with more questions than answers
  • The author is embarrassed and facing into preparing yet another presentation in the hope that this one meets the mark

And all from one poor paragraph.

So, what to do instead?

We need to dig more deeply than the ‘writing’ and ‘paragraphs’ to find and fix the root cause.

Sure, we can write better paragraphs.

But we need to ask WHY the paragraph was poor in the first place.

The real problem lies as much in the process as it does in the writing itself.

  • Lack of clarity on what really needed to be said
  • Too much ‘chain of pain’ editing
  • Lack of true ownership of the narrative
  • A leader reviewing either late at night or on the weekend too close to the due date.

The solution is to think, work and communicate more strategically.

>> Watch my free Lightning Lesson to learn more.

I hope that helps.
Davina

Want to communicate better?

Clarity​ First's courses help you structure your thinking so you engage decision-makers better.

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ABOUT AUTHOR: DAVINA STANLEY

Davina helps senior leaders and their teams prepare high-quality papers and presentations in a fraction of the time,  nailing the message that engages decision makers fast.

She learned structured thinking at McKinsey in Hong Kong in the 1990s, was approved to teach the Pyramid Principle by Barbara Minto in 2009, and has coached leaders and teams globally for 25+ years. Clients report cutting review cycles by ~30% and prep time by ~20%.*

Recent clients include 7Eleven, KPMG, Mercer, Meta, and Woolworths.

Learn more at www.clarityfirstprogram.com

* Based on 2023 client benchmarking results.