If you’ve been on a British train in the last few years, you’ll have heard an announcement which ends “See it. Say it. Sorted.”
The announcement is asking us to be vigilant – and if we see anything we feel threatened by, say so, and they will sort it.
A good thing to publicise, of course.
And having a catchy, memorable slogan is good too (pre-pandemic, when I used to get trains every day, I’d hear this slogan so often, I’m sure I sometimes woke up saying it!)
But despite its benefits, there is one flaw with it…
It makes us remember the wrong thing!
Because, if I feel threatened, the only thing I need is the name/number to contact.
But, despite hearing this announcement thousands of times, I still have no idea what the emergency contact number is. Because the creators gave no effort to making that bit memorable.
So if I’m unlucky enough to be on a train and feel threatened, I know I’m seeing it, should say something, and they’ll sort it. But I’ve no idea who to contact, or how.
Which makes this communication – albeit a memorable one – totally pointless.
And, we see this type of thing at work too, don’t we?
We see people communicate with us. And their key message is hidden. Or there are too many messages. Or the message we remember is the wrong one.
Which means our solution is …
Action Point
- Every time you communicate
- Identify your critical message – as in, the #1 point you want them to remember and act on
- Make this #1 point the focus of your communication
- Watch month 4’s videos (they’re free of charge). They’ll show you step-by-step how to do this
Sorted!