Know Thy Audience
Nick Morgan, author of Power Cues: The Subtle Science of Leading Groups, Persuading Others, and Maximizing Your Personal Impact, introduces a timeless lesson about crafting clear messages from Supercommunicator: Explaining the Complicated So Anyone Can Understand, by Frank J. Pietrucha.
The
expectations of the youths were high as they knocked on the door.
The great writer, too, was enthusiastic as the conversation began;
he knew the sweetshop in question and was a patron. He started to
explain, in endless, circuitous Jamesian phrases, the nature of
candy, the varieties available at that particular shop, and the
merits of long-lasting suckers versus the quicker gratification of
the kind you could chew.
The
youth contingent stared at James, at first with puzzlement and then
with horror as he went on and on in his inimitable, orotund,
beautifully balanced phrases. Finally, they turned en masse and ran,
without any of the money they had come for. James never got over the
mystery of how English boys could turn down money for treats.
A
century later, many executives, particularly in high-tech industries
and functions such as engineering, are in the same boat as James.
They enthusiastically launch into the finer points of their subject,
creating more bafflement the longer they attempt to explain it, all
the while having the clear intention of doing the opposite.
It’s
a modern tragedy. Our world is based on science at a level that no
one but a specialist can understand, and yet when that specialist
tries to explain his or her understanding to the rest of us, we want
to run away. The excerpt below from Frank Pietrucha’s
Supercommunicator
is
an antidote to this dilemma; it provides guidance and hope for
leaders everywhere.
—Nick
Morgan
An
excerpt from chapter 6 of Supercommunicator:
Explaining the Complicated So Anyone Can Understand
Explaining the Complicated So Anyone Can Understand
Veteran
astronaut Joseph P. Allen told me a NASA legend that could have
easily been a deleted scene from Ron Howard’s 1995 film Apollo
13.
In this altered version of the movie, the focus isn’t on
astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise as they fight
for their lives after an explosion cripples their spacecraft en
route to the moon, but what Mission Control’s Flight Director Gene
Krantz, portrayed by actor Ed Harris in the film, is doing back in
Houston. Described to me as “an engineer’s engineer” by Allen,
Krantz wasn’t what you’d call media astute. A highly capable
engineer, he lacked the ability to discuss his work in a manner
anyone but an experienced technician could understand.
As
the crisis escalated aboard Apollo
13,
the news media demanded information from Krantz about NASA’s plan
to bring the astronauts home. But there was a problem: Krantz hated
giving interviews. In an act of compromise he begrudgingly agreed to
a one-on-one interview with a single reporter. The press corps
selected a young but promising journalist who was considered
knowledgeable about the Apollo
13 mission.
That reporter would serve as the media’s ambassador and get from
Krantz what they collectively wanted: a good story about the crisis
that had captivated the nation.
The
interview, however, didn’t pan out as well as the media had hoped.
The highly sought meeting began with Krantz pulling out two massive
system diagram manuals. He opened the first tome—several inches
thick—and lectured the lone reporter on the technical
specifications of the modules. He described the mechanics of the
operation in great detail, using jargon only an aeronautical
engineer could comprehend. Using detail after detail, Krantz
elaborated on the inner workings of the countless bits and pieces
that powered the Apollo mission. He finished the first book and
proceeded onto the second, equally intimidating. Krantz got further
into the weeds, elaborating on facts only relevant to a specialist.
The engineer didn’t make eye contact once during the interview,
nor did he let up for a second to allow the journalist to ask a
question or say, “Slow down.”
After
exactly one hour the journalist raced out of the interview room and
passed his colleagues as he gunned toward the exit. The other
reporters stopped him and demanded to know what Krantz said in the
interview. All the journalist could muster was: “They’re gonna
get ‘em back safely.”
The
reporters that day learned nothing new from Krantz that was helpful
in explaining plans to save the doomed astronauts. Krantz had so
much information he wanted to share, but by giving the journalist so
much, none of it made sense. Knowing thy audience is crucial.
Understanding the audience’s educational background, technological
experience, and need for the information is a top priority to avoid
issues like this from derailing your communication efforts.
Some
smart people excel at explaining complicated content to
nonspecialists, while others bomb. There are several reasons many of
them find it so difficult to communicate in layman’s terms:
•
THEY
WERE TAUGHT HOW TO COMMUNICATE TO PEERS, NOT TO BROADER AUDIENCES.
Most educational systems teach specialists to communicate to
like-minded people using specialized language. This might be
efficient for peer-to-peer communication, but it’s a hindrance
when these same individuals need to communicate outside their
immediate professional circle.
•
THEY
LIVE IN A BUBBLE.
Many professionals live and breathe their science
or technology. They work long hours together, socialize together,
and sometimes live together. They find it hard to comprehend that
others outside their world don’t share their excitement for the
latest gadgets or small discovery. The more engrossed they get in
their profession, the more difficult it is for them to relate to
folks not in their field.
•
THEY’RE
TOO BUSY.
Professionals stretched to their limits often don’t have
time to customize their communications for specific audiences.
Consequently, a one-size-fits-all approach is created out of
necessity. Customizing papers, web content, and presentations to
select audiences is time consuming—but failure to do so can lead
to a communication meltdown.
•
THEY’RE
DRIVEN BY EGO.
We humans can’t help ourselves. We want to impress
our audiences with our intelligence—it’s in our DNA. Many
specialists often, consciously or subconsciously, use their
platforms to make themselves look smart. Unfortunately, speaking or
writing to impress often comes at the cost of failing to reach your
audience with meaning.
If
you’re a technically minded individual—do any of the above
points describe you? Sometimes appreciation of your issue with
audience awareness can be the key that unlocks your potential as a
better communicator. You can work on ways to find commonalities with
your audience and develop empathy with them. You can expose yourself
to people outside your immediate circle to give you a more balanced
perspective on the world. And you can most certainly learn to see
your communication efforts not as a way to show off, but as a way to
bring meaning to the people who need your expertise. Be
proactive—talk to your colleagues in sales and marketing about
your communication style.
If
you’re an executive or communications pro working with a
technically minded individual fitting one or more of the above
points—can you figure out a way to help that person overcome these
challenges? Effective managers help employees identify shortcomings
and work with them to find solutions. You can give them the time to
focus on audience needs when putting together presentations. You
can gently alert
them to their myopia and suggest ways to broaden their worldview.
And you can work with them directly to help them see how their frame
of reference impacts their outreach efforts. Be proactive, but
understanding.
—Frank
J. Pietrucha
By
Nick
Morgan
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