the phone, via Skype, and they’re relevant
to one person and many.
The relationship between
the four elements
Message and objective don’t always have
to align. For example, an executive might
request £1 million to spend on R&D from
the board and the objective is exactly that.
But another executive might have the same
message and an entirely different objective
- perhaps, for the board to see them as the
next board member. An objective like this
would change the way the message is put
passive than active. Bs make few changes
together.
to their six points, while As’ scribbles and
Any communication could be driven by corrections run onto a second sheet of
any one of the four elements. You might paper.
think: ‘Surely the objective is the main
driver?’ And, most often, it is. But not Time and time again, we find that the
messages don’t match up. People receiving
always.
the news don’t want a rationale. Those
If your company was in trouble and you delivering the news focus too much on
were asked to speak to the press, message justifying the ‘why’. The receivers want
would be the most important thing. What to know what’s in it for them, when
if your business had an industrial relations the change is happening and how the
problem and you had to negotiate with people in charge will help them work
the union? The ‘them’ would be most through it. The more time spent justifying
important. Everything would be driven by the communication - “London is too
what they’d respond to. And if you had to expensive” or “Dubrovnik is the source of
deliver a difficult message and still needed our target market” - the more the Bs tune
the group to like you? The ‘you’ would be out.
the imperative.
Another mistake is to presume how people
You need to weigh up these principles and feel. The Bs don’t want to hear that the As
then put what’s important right at the top. “know how difficult it is” for them or how
they “must be feeling”. They don’t want
to be second-guessed. Also, when people
The ‘why’ isn’t as important receive a difficult message and it addresses
the ‘what’, they tend to accept it.
as the ‘what’
Thinking about ‘them’ requires particular
attention, because it’s hard to get to
the crux of what makes people tick. On
the Leading Change programme we
run an exercise in delivering difficult
communications. Two groups (A and B)
are given a difficult message. For example:
“We’re moving our headquarters from
London to Dubrovnik.” Group A gives
the message, group B receives it. We ask
each group: “What are six things you need
to say or hear?”
You don’t buy a car; you
buy a fast car
I was a theatre director for 13 years,
so while a script is fixed, I know that
authority comes from the delivery. All it
takes for the tone and meaning to change
is the careful selection of particular word
types. If you stress nouns, you can seem
academic, fact-driven, solid. Doctors
and accountants tend to use nouns, as
they focus on the ‘what’. Verbs are the
‘how’. People who inflect verbs can be
seen as action-orientated and energetic
- prevalent word types in the retail and
FMCG industry. Adjectives give color
and definition: they’re the ‘why’. People
buy adjectives, not nouns.
We find the results are always the same.
The Bs (receivers) always finish first,
in half the time. They also use simple,
Anglo-Saxon language. In contrast, the
givers use complex, Latinate language,
with many sub-clauses in a sentence. They
also tend to use longer words. Their points
are more official, and the language more We buy fast cars, sexy cars, hybrid cars.
We don’t buy any old car. That’s why car
salespeople, advertising executives and
actors stress these words.
What happens if you prefer nouns over
verbs or adjectives over nouns, and you’re
asked to switch up your use of language?
It can change the delivery of your
communication, and also your attitude.
But it takes time to test.
As well as the types of words you choose
to stress, idiosyncrasies can be powerful.
Get rid of generic words: authentic leaders
speak from the heart. If you only have one
sentence to say something, could you make
it count more by replacing “nice” with
“phenomenal” and “lots” with “oodles”?
Think about the words that tell a story
about you and use those.
Of the 24 most common emotion words
in English, only six are positive, write Dan
and Chip Heath in their book Switch.
Negative emotions come more easily. If
you’re communicating about a change,
keep these odds front of mind. You will
have to work to capture their hearts and
minds.
By reordering the four communication
elements, stressing the right word types
and playing with language, you have the
tools to set the tone. Sticking to the script
is for actors. Want my advice? Get power
talking!
Dr. Clifford J. Ferguson is the
Managing Partner of Rainmakers,
and Chairman of Glad’s House.
You can commune with him on this
or related matters via email at: Cliff.
[email protected], or
visit their website: Rainmakers.
uk.com.