Communication Foundations
Your job is to keep your team focused and aligned — and two foundations make every message land: generate action, and use fewer words.
There’s a difference between being a good preacher and being a good group communicator — someone who takes a group of scattered cats and gets them moving somewhere together. Leadership is taking people from point A to a more desirable point Z, and you do that through communication.
Keep your team focused and aligned
Write down those two words: focused and aligned. Your team can only get there if you constantly answer four questions for them:
- Where are we going?
- How do we get there?
- Why does it matter?
- What does each person need to do to arrive successfully?
If you don’t communicate, your team has no direction. They scatter, splinter, and wander — “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). And the inverse is the encouraging part: the more aligned your team is, the faster you can take them. Picture a rowing crew — they only move fast because the coach up front with the bullhorn keeps them in sync. You are the one with the bullhorn.
If you don’t feel like a natural communicator, take heart: it’s a skill you can grow. Moses started out a stutterer, and by relying on God and practicing, his words became some of the most revered in history. Lean on the Lord and keep practicing.
Foundation 1 — Generate action
There are three goals of communication: eliminate confusion, drive clarity, and generate action. All matter, but the one that matters most is generate action. You’re not just informing people — you want them to do something with the information. It’s why marketing leans so hard on the call to action (“Buy now”).
Before you write the email, plan the meeting, or give the announcement, ask: What is the purpose of this? What do I want people to do when they’re done reading or listening?
Foundation 2 — Less words equals better
Even a caveman can say it: less words, better. Use only the words necessary to make your point and cut everything that dilutes it. The goal of creativity is to get to the essence of a thing — find the essence of each sentence, cut the fluff, and the words that remain will be as sharp as a sword.
Application
- Can your team answer all four questions — where, how, why, and their part? If not, which one are you failing to communicate?
- Look at your last team email. What action did you actually want? Was it obvious?
- Take that same email and cut a third of the words. Did the point get sharper?