Full transcript
0:00[MUSIC]
0:05Communication is critical for
0:08our professional and
0:09our personal lives.
0:10I'm Matt Abrahams, and
0:12I'm a lecturer at Stanford Graduate
0:14School of Business, and
0:16the host of the GSB's Think Fast,
0:18Talk Smart, The Podcast.
0:20I am so excited today to share with
0:22you five key takeaways from my
0:25class, essentials of
0:26strategic communication.
0:28[MUSIC]
0:34When it comes to our communication,
0:37many of us
0:37make a fundamental mistake,
0:39we start from the wrong place.
0:41We start by saying,
0:42this is what I want to say,
0:44rather than thinking about what our
0:47audience needs to hear.
0:49We need to do reconnaissance,
0:51reflection and research to better
0:53understand our audience's knowledge
0:55level, their attitudes,
0:57their resistance points, along with
0:59their expectations and motivation.
1:01By taking the time to really think
1:03about our audience,
1:04we can make sure that our messages
1:06resonate, and are more likely to be
1:08remembered, and acted upon.
1:09[MUSIC]
1:14Most communication needs
1:16to be goal-driven,
1:17especially strategic communication.
1:20To me a goal has three parts,
1:22information, emotion, and action.
1:25In other words, what do you want
1:27your audience to know?
1:28How do you want them to feel?
1:30And what do you want them to
1:31do when you're done with
1:32your communication?
1:35Having a clear goal,
1:36allows you to focus your message on
1:38the needs of your audience, and it
1:41allows you to judge the success of
1:43your communication after the fact.
1:45[MUSIC]
1:50Have you recently been victimized
1:52by somebody who just rambles
1:54on and on?
1:54Doesn't feel so good, does it?
1:57We need to make sure that we
1:58structure our information, so
2:00we make it easier for
2:01our audience to follow.
2:03In fact, our brains are wired for
2:05structured information.
2:07There are lots of structures and
2:09frameworks you can use to
2:10communicate, my favorite is,
2:12three simple questions.
2:14What?
2:15So what?
2:16And, now what?
2:17What is the information that
2:18you're conveying?
2:19It's your idea, it's your belief,
2:21it's your, product, your service,
2:22your offering.
2:24So what is about the relevance for
2:26your audience?
2:27What's the value that your idea of
2:28products, service, or
2:30belief brings?
2:31And then finally, the now what?
2:33That's what's comes next,
2:34maybe you're taking questions, or
2:36showing a demonstration, or
2:37setting up another meeting.
2:39By leveraging structure, you not
2:41only help your audience process
2:43your information more fluently, but
2:45it helps you to think about your
2:47message in a more concise and
2:48clear way.
2:49[MUSIC]
2:53Attention is the most precious
2:55commodity we have in
2:56the world today.
2:57We are constantly bombarded with
2:59information.
3:00If we are to achieve our
3:02communication goal and
3:03help our audience with the content
3:05we're giving, we must take the time
3:07to engage them.
3:08To me engagement is just
3:10sustained attention.
3:12And there are three engagement
3:13techniques I'd like for
3:14you to consider using.
3:16The first is physical engagement,
3:18where you get your audience
3:19actually doing something,
3:21responding to a poll,
3:22typing into the chat,
3:23collaborating on a whiteboard.
3:25The second is cognitive engagement,
3:27getting people answering questions
3:30or considering an analogy.
3:32And the third is linguistic,
3:34using the word you or
3:36people's names, draws them in.
3:39Using terms like picture this, or
3:41imagine, or think back to when
3:43are ways that you can get your
3:45audience to visualize what you're
3:47communicating.
3:48Using engagement techniques,
3:50help enliven your communication,
3:52and they help your audience
3:54to engage and remember.
3:55[MUSIC].
4:00Finally, even if we have the most
4:02audience centric, goal directed,
4:05structured and
4:06engaging communication, we can fall
4:09flat if our presence isn't strong.
4:12Having an authentic, confident
4:14presence in your writing or
4:16speaking is critical to
4:18your communication success.
4:20If you're presenting,
4:22record yourself and watch.
4:24If you're writing,
4:25proofread what you've read, and
4:27certainly ask others for
4:28feedback to help you.
4:30Communication is critical to your
4:32success.
4:33Using these takeaways, can help you
4:35improve your communication.
4:37We must take the time to
4:38dedicate to this improvement
4:40through repetition, reflection and
4:43feedback, but doing so, will help
4:45you get your points across.
4:47[MUSIC]
5:02I never had a problem talking, so
5:04I don't think people who knew me
5:05would be surprised that I'm in
5:07a role where I'm doing a lot of
5:08speaking.
5:09But I thought I was going to be
5:10a doctor, and then I met calculus
5:12and we didn't get along, and
5:13then I met chemistry and
5:14we got along even worse.
5:15So, I found communication as my
5:18passion.
5:19So, I finally found the subject
5:20that started with a C that
5:22worked for me.
5:23[MUSIC]