I was recently asked, “What form of communication do you use to communicate with teens?” I replied, “As many forms as possible.” The number one mistake we all make when it comes to communicating is not doing it enough.
Courtesy of garyknight/Creative Commons License
You could have a thought, communicate that thought and believe that everyone else now has that same thought, but that would be foolish. To communicate effectively and make your message stick you need to:
While you cannot over communicate you cannot expect to communicate in every way ever invented (Besides carrier pigeons are expensive). The way we can communicate is changing, you just need to know where you can be most effective.
Look at the mediums you feel most comfortable using. Study their effectiveness and then practice using them over and over again. When you utilize the medium correctly the message will stick.
Delegate communication to others so that you can expand your capacity. Not only are you limited by the mediums of communication, you are also limited by your time. There are people in your church who are communication specialist. Seek them out and develop a plan.
Communication is a skill. If you aren’t learning how to better communicate then you won’t improve. Find people you feel communicate well and listen, watch and study them. If you get the opportunity talk to them about what works and what doesn’t.
The more you practice your communication (Written or spoken) the more effective you will become. You will gain confidence and clarity. Both aspects will give your message strength.
While you can’t over communicate you can be reckless. Just talking, writing and emailing won’t be effective. Develop a plan, measure the results and keep tweaking it.
Survey what other people are hearing. Follow up and measure what is working. Make sure you know what works and why. The more you know the more your communication will have focus and impact.
You are never done communicating. It will feel tedious, obnoxious and even tiresome, but it’ll be worth it. You’ll know people heard you when they ask you to stop. Repeat and continue to clarify what it is you want to say. Don’t be afraid of repetitiveness because it will work.
If you want people walking away with a clear message you need a strategy. You need to review that strategy and work at perfecting it. Don’t hold back. Don’t assume. Just keep working at getting the word out to your audience.
[reminder] What has worked for you in regards to getting the word out to your audience? [/reminder]