Important communications have three elements – prep, delivery and follow-up.

However, I frequently see people only put one of these in the diary – the delivery.

But this causes you to have to fit the prep and follow-up around your diary. And in my experience, this means people…

• prep at home at the last minute
• don’t follow-up at all

This clearly reduces (eliminates?) your chances of an optimal outcome. Poor prep often leads to poor communication. Zero follow-up often leads to zero action.

A simple way to combat this is to have three diary entries:

1. Put ‘prep’ in your diary, at a time when (a) your brain is at its best (morning?) and (b) you’re unlikely to bump it in favour of other things on your to-do list
2. ‘Delivery’, as you usually would
3. Put ‘follow-up’ in your diary asap after the delivery. Ideally, it will happen immediately after it. This could well only be a 5-10 minute entry, but it helps ensure you start rolling the ‘Momentum Snowball’ you wanted your communication to initiate

And, when you follow-up, if people have already agreed to do the actions you asked, don’t ask them again in the follow-up. Simply send an email which says something like…

‘Thanks for agreeing to the next steps we discussed. To confirm, I’m doing X by tomorrow, Bob is doing Y this week and Jill is doing Z next week. Any questions, just call’

Action point

What’s your next important communication? Have you diarised the prep and follow-up? If not, schedule them in and see if it helps. If it does, you’ve got a great technique for all future key communications….

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Can you remember a time when you looked at the person you were speaking to and thought ‘they just don’t understand this at all’?

I’m sure you have. Everybody has. So, here’s a technique to help you make sure this doesn’t happen again…

To help people understand something new, liken it to something familiar to them, by using analogies. Here are two examples…

1. (First, the analogy) TV weather forecasts use visuals really well. There are minimal words on the weather map behind them, so they don’t compete with the weatherman/woman’s script. The map changes to reflect what they are saying. The message comes across clearly because of the combination of the visuals and the presenter

… (Second, make your point) It should be the same with PowerPoint – minimal words, use animations to clarify the messages, ensure your visuals and delivery complement each other

… (Third, your advice) So, next time you’re using PowerPoint, remember the weather forecast idea, and make sure your slides enhance your message

2. If you set off in the car, with no idea where you’re going, you’re unlikely to get somewhere good. Or, if you do, it won’t be via the most direct route – wasting time, petrol, and money

… Communication can be like that. Unless you know what the destination is – i.e. what you want people to do afterwards – it will waste time, resource, and money

… So, next time you’re running a meeting, start by outlining its purpose, and end by confirming what’s happening next

Action point

Think of a message you’re trying to get others to see, but they can’t/won’t. What analogy could you use to help? I should add here that I enjoy doing things like this (I know… a bit geek-y), so feel free to email me if you want to run something past me.

Other actions – if you have any PowerPoint presentations or meetings coming up, try the tips above…

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The ability to ‘work a room’ is a key business skill. But it is not easy… How to start? What to say? How to get away from somebody boring…

I recently asked an audience of 300 whether they thought they hated networking more than everybody else in the room. Over half put their hands up. I said “you can’t all be right”.

Yes, networking is hard. But it’s hard for everybody. To have a productive conversation, remember the four steps ‘in / you / me / out’….

In

Get into the conversation. Approach someone and ask “Mind if I join you?” When they say “yes”, this step is complete.

You

Talk about them first. It’s more polite to do this than talk about yourself. It’s easier – you don’t have to think of amazing things to say. It helps them feel comfortable with you. It tells you about them, so you can tailor what you say during the conversation.

To stimulate chat about them, ask questions:

• Introductory questions, to kick things off – What do you do? How’s business?
• Unearthing questions, to find their key areas of focus – In your company, what are you responsible for?
• The Big Question (you will need this later) – Who are good contacts for you?

Me

They will then ask about you. It’s more interesting to talk about what you cause – “I help companies pay less tax” – than what you do – “I’m an accountant”.

When they ask for more information, examples of successes you’ve caused for others are much more memorable than listing all your products and services (remember – facts tell, stories sell).

Out

If you want to follow-up with them…

• Ask for their business card
• Ask when they want you to call them
• Ask if you can write the date/time on the back of their card. (This makes it ‘official’ that you will be calling)
• End the conversation. “I’ve enjoyed talking to you tonight. I will call you on Monday, as agreed”

If you don’t want to follow-up, use their answer to The Big Question to help you extricate yourself… “I’ve enjoyed our conversation. You mentioned earlier that you want to speak to lawyers. If I bump into any, would you like me to pass them your way?” [Yes, please]. “Great, I will do. Enjoy your evening”.

And don’t forget…

• Follow-up – call when you said you would, or everything above is a total waste of time
• Never sell when networking (it’s really annoying for the other person). Securing a second meeting is the best outcome you can get, so aim only for that
• To get best results when working a room, make sure you’re in the right room. If you want to speak to lawyers, go to rooms that are full of lawyers

Action Point

Next time you’re networking, use in / you / me / out at the event, and follow-up afterwards.

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Scenario 1: Mr X gives a book to Mrs Y that she thinks Master Z might want to read. She runs to his desk, throws the book at him, says “read this”, and walks away.

OK, it’s a weird scenario. After all, why would Mrs Y do something like that? What’s Master Z going to think? What’s he supposed to do with the book? Why will he think she’s given it to him? Will he be grateful to her? Confused by her? Would he read it?

Scenario 2: Mr X emails Mrs Y an attachment that she forwards on to Master Z with the message “FYI”.

If you didn’t work in the corporate world, you’d think this scenario was equally weird. Again, what’s Master Z supposed to do, think, feel…?

But maybe the weirdest thing of all – the world is full of FYI-loving Mrs Ys …

When you send something FYI, what are you expecting the receiver to do? Read it? File it? Absorb it? Email you their views? Any of these? None? Does it matter?

As I once read, FYI often means “You’re probably not interested in this. But I’ve covered my back by sending it to you”.

So, if we shouldn’t use the words ‘FYI’, what is the best alternative? Well, like most things, it depends. But usually your email should contain at least …

… a scene-set, to give context; and

… an action, to give direction

So, alternatives would include …

‘The attached relates to X that we discussed yesterday. Have a look, and tell me what you think’

‘I received this from X, and think it might help us with X. Check out section 3. Should we change our approach?’

‘Head Office sent the attached to me, concerning X. I haven’t time to read it now, but think it might be interesting to you, because of X. If you agree, have a read and – if appropriate – please feed back anything you think I need to know’

Doing this takes longer than writing ‘FYI’ (though not much, to be honest). But it’s better for the reader – and therefore better for you – to do so. After all, you would never throw a book at someone saying “read this”. So why do the equivalent when you email?

Action point

There are none this week. It’s just FYI.

Only joking. This week’s action point is…

Check your Sent Items. Do you send many FYIs? If so, change to the above two-step approach. Then, when you get improved responses, keep doing it.

When you receive FYIs, save yourself time (and help the sender achieve their objectives) by replying “Thanks for this. What would you like me to do with it?”

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