Concise Communication master class pt. 2

If you have ever tried to learn a new language as an adult, you know how frustrating it can be. Certain words in one context have a completely different meaning in another context.

Truth is, everything exists in context.
Language, in its most basic form, is simply a sound we gave an agreed upon meaning to.

When we agree upon the meaning, we can speak quickly and clearly, using words that have a common context behind it, understanding one another easily.

Where we get in trouble is when one word can mean different things and we assume our meaning is the same as the person we are speaking to.

Building context is one of the most powerful things we can do to ensure effective communication. It allows us to speak to each other and have confidence that what we mean is being understood by the other person.

A lot of cultures and communities take time to create shared meanings.

There are catch phrases, acronyms and slang.

Bugs means something different in programming than it does in medicine or out in nature. Unless you are fluent in tech speak you will probably have very little idea what DNS, SaaS, Agile, AWS or MFA means, and yet we use them without thinking twice, all the time.

When we understand context, we can communicate in a highly effective way, very quickly and concisely.

Why concise communication matters

There are four main reasons why prioritizing concise communication is important:

1. Precision: The more concise your words, the more precise they tend to be. Using many words to say something simple can hide the lack of a concrete point, and confuse the listener. Brevity gets straight to the hearts of the matter.

2. Impact: Just like a water hose that is on “spray” setting -when we use many words it softens the blow. Turning the hose to “stream” focuses the energy and creates a more powerful impact. It’s the same with words - concise, truthful statements hit harder and linger longer.

3. Accessibility: The more clear and brief your message the more universally accessible it will be - cutting across language or background barriers.

4. Honesty: There’s less room for manipulation when you speak plainly. The truth stands on its own and doesn’t need a lot of “fluffing up”. Say what you mean, mean what you say.

One of the strategies we use at Clevertech, which helps us do high quality work with speed and accuracy, is to build a context for concise communication patterns.

We define what we mean in times of calm, through trainings and work standards, so that when things get chaotic - the pressure is on, a deadline is approaching, or an unknown obstacle presents itself, we have already built enough context to easily navigate critical and complex discussions with relative ease.

High level communication, collaboration and contribution

Saying Hard Things

This “shorthand” and context building is especially useful when we have hard conversations that need to be had. The truth is : the things we avoid saying are the things that most need to be said.

We typically don’t say the hard things, because we don’t want to create friction or be mis-understood, we are unsure if we have the full story, we don’t want to be wrong, we aren’t sure how to say what we want to say without it getting misunderstood.

This is where “code words” (this is what I like to call words that have already had a lot of context built into them) can be helpful.

I was working with two executives in a coaching session, one of the executives had a big personality and would naturally take up all the space in the room. The other executive, was newer and trying to step into a leadership position. The newer leader took the time to explain how this was impacting his ability to lead and do what he was hired to do.

As soon as they had the hard conversation they both agreed that a change needed to be made. But oftentimes, we do things habitually, without full awareness. And the executive who took up all the space didn’t always know when he was doing it - so we came up with a code word. A playful way for the newer leader to let the older executive know he needed to slow down and make room.

They have been using this code word (we settled on “breathing room”) for some time now, and every time they use it, the older executive instantly knows what’s happening and is able to adjust.

They didn’t need to keep having the same conversation over and over again - they had already done the work once, all they needed was a quick way to re-calibrate.

Say what you mean and mean what you say

They say talk is cheap - and if there is no action to back up what we say, our words will be meaningless, but - it’s also true that if there is no shared understanding behind what we say our communication suffers and ends up taking much longer than it needs to.

One of my favorite pieces of advice is : Go slow so you can go fast.

When we slow down, define terms, make sure there is a shared meaning and context behind some of our phrases and code words, we can move fast when we need to - full of confidence that what we mean is being fully understood and executed on.

Homework

What hard thing do you need to say, but you aren’t sure how to say it?
Take a second, think about it - write it down.

What context building would be helpful to allow you to say what you want with greater ease?

• Do you need to clarify expectations and get buy in and agreement on standards of behavior?

• Do you need to clarify what accountability looks like?

• Do you need to establish consistent check ins so that it’s expected and a normal part of your dynamic?

Once you establish context, it makes the hard conversations much easier - without any type of shared understanding or regular check ins - things go unsaid, resentment builds, expectations remain unmet and delivery suffers.

In the world of tech, if we aren’t communicating concisely and carefully things fall apart. Building context allows us to avoid these pitfalls and run highly effective teams.