The Art of Communicating Creatively--Making your Promotions Memorable!

By Barbara A. Glanz


Are you bombarded by stacks of paper, inundated by E-mail messages, and discover often that your voice mail box is full? You are not alone! A recent study by the Chicago Tribune reported that 60% of the individuals in the United States are in some form of the information business and that the average North American worker spends over 50 hours a week communicating in some way. When Lakewood Publications polled over 500,000 subscribers regarding the most serious business problem existing today, the overwhelming number one answer was "Communication." And just last month the Wall Street Journal reported that the average American worker receives 178 communications per day! What do you do with most of them? My audiences tell me that most often they end up in the circular file or victims of the “delete” button.


In my book The Creative Communicator--399 Ways to Make your Business Communications More Meaningful and Inspiring, I have discussed ideas in the following categories of basic communications that occur in most organizations: written, electronic, face-to-face, day-to-day feedback, enhancements and reminders, measurements, rewards and recognition, recoveries, and personal executive actions. The most important point to remember with all of these types of communication is that they involve both the sending and the receiving of a message.


My belief is that the more creatively a message is sent, the greater the chances that the message will be noticed and heard amidst the overwhelming clutter of communications that surround us. We also know that the average adult must hear something six times before it is internalized. So, in order to get our communications heard and heeded, we must either send them six different ways OR we must send them so creatively that the receiver get them the first time. My challenge to you is to get out of your boring cocoon of routine business communications and fly free. Become aware of all the marvelous, innovative, and creative ideas you can use to assure that your message gets heard.


A FRAME FOR CREATIVE COMMUNICATION

Remember the Human Level of your communications. Every interaction (and that is what a communication of any kind is) contains two levels: the Business Level which is all about meeting the external objectives and getting the business done and the Human Level which is all about how the receiver feels about the interaction. Does the person feel well-treated, cared about, and recognized as a unique individual? Or is the interaction cold, indifferent, and completely based on facts?


In my speeches and workshops I often ask people if they have ever been to a doctor who treated them only on the Business Level. Nearly every hand in the room goes up. Then I ask them how they felt about that interaction. Was it a positive one for them and one that they would choose again? What was missing was the Human Level. The same thing is true for written communications--look at the words you have chosen and the tone that comes across. Have you used words that convey a welcome, customer-friendly feeling on the Human Level or is your communication all business? Which one is more likely to produce the results you want?


These examples illustrate the importance of always remembering the Human Level in all your communications. This is where your own humanness, creativity, and passion can make a difference in the way you communicate your message and ultimately in how it is received. Begin to think about each of your training sessions, every announcement or invitation you send out, and evey event that you schedule from the perspective of both of these levels.


Surprise your receivers. Get your creative juices going so that you do something different to capture people's attention. If your communication is strictly on the Business Level, chances are it is boring, routine, and rarely gets read. If, however, you do something to surprise people, you will find that they not only heed your communication, but they are eager to get the next one!


A trainer I know always sends something "3-D" with each of her invitations to a training session. It may be a stick of gum or candy bar (you can have a great deal of fun with the names of candy and gum), a sticker, a tiny plastic replica, or a book mark; however, it is always something creative that ties to the theme of the training. One invitation was on red and white checked paper with tiny black plastic ants glued on. The note read, “Come to the session on __________. It will be a picnic!” Employees can't wait to get the next invitation AND they sign up for the sessions! Another organization sent out their marketing materials in a large red and white plastic capsule. Printed on the outside it said, “Personnel problems too big a pill to swallow? Call us for the right prescription,” and they had their marketing materials rolled up inside. Even an ordinary sign or advertisement can be worded in a way that gets people’s attention. A recent ad in Chicago magazine had the headline, “We don’t want any satisfied customers!” Such a creative headline makes you want to read the rest of the ad, and that is our purpose in promotion.


Look at such routine communications as your fax cover sheet, your business card, your voice mail message, the E-mail messages you send. Do they surprise people? Do they have a Human Level? I always end my voice mail message with a short thought for the day such as, “Be kind. Everyone you meet is carrying something.”


Make sure that your message contains something that appeals to each quadrant of the brain. There are various theories of right brain / left brain learning as well as the teachings of neurolinguistic programming and accelerated learning that emphasize different styles of learning and the importance of appealing to all of them in order for optimal learning to occur. The theory I like best to apply to creative communication is Ned Herrmann's Whole Brain Model which is explained in his book The Creative Brain, Brain Books: Lake Lure, NC, 1988.


He theorizes that most of us have preferences in more than one quadrant of the brain; however, generally we prefer to use one quadrant of our brains more than the others. The upper left quadrant thinking processes are characterized as Logical, Analytical, Quantitative, and Fact-based. The lower left processes are Planned, Organized, Detailed, and Sequential. The upper right are Holistic, Intuitive, Synthesizing, and Integrating, and the lower right are Emotional, Interpersonal, Feeling-based, and Kinesthetic.


While it is important in any communication to include the facts in a planned and organized way (left brain processes), I believe that in order for your communication to be heard and acted upon today, it is of the utmost importance to include right brain processes (creativity and the Human Level) in your communications as well. In fact, I call my book "a right-brained book for left-brained people!" The important point to remember is that no matter whether you're predominantly right-brained or left-brained, you can choose to express your ideas in innovative and creative ways. You only need a few "whacks on the side of the head" and a little practice!


Creativity may express itself in one's dealing with children, in making love, in carrying on a business, in formulating physical theory, in painting a picture.
- Jerome Bruner -


SUMMARY:

When you have an important message to communicate, always ask these three questions:


1. Does it get the information across clearly and accurately? (Business level)
2. How does it make the receiver feel? (Human level)
3. Does it surprise the receiver? (Creative communication)


BARBARA GLANZ BIO

TOP TIPS: 10 ways to breach cultural barriers

Being aware of different spins resulting from language translation when communicating with foreign audiences is a valuable asset. Take note of these tips for clear and effective global communication.

An Association of Strategic Practitioners Internal Communications (ASPIC) discussion on “acting globally and thinking locally” produced these top tips for communicating with European and global audiences:

1. Middle managers are very powerful communicators but already have a day job — help them communicate the message by showing its benefits and giving them tools.

2. Create an upward push for information — tell employees that they should expect management to give it to them on a certain date.

3. Beware of different spins resulting from language translation and cultural attitudes that may see
withholding information as empowering

4. Be aware that for some issues a blanket approach will be unfeasible. Have an honest discussion and then let people make their own decisions.

5. Work fast and get to employees before the rumors do. The message can be explained to managers in full at a later date.

6. Don’t overload people with information they don’t really need to know.
7. Create a trustworthy network of communicators. You can’t be omniscient so rely on people making their own decisions.
8. Don’t underestimate the credibility of the CEO. He/she can have a big impact just by doing a few grassroots focus groups.
9. If you have too many locations for the CEO to visit personally send other senior staff.
10. Video employees interviewing the CEO about contentious issues and distribute it.

10 steps to cross-cultural communication

If you want to do more to break down the cultural barriers affecting your company, try these tips for improved communication.

1. Understand different culture types and the interaction between them

Map out these factors and look for intersections between different groups. Target your communication efforts here, as these are the pressure points where culture clashes are likely to occur.

2. Plan communication centrally and deploy locally

When communicating across cultures, strategy should have a clear and common purpose, but not be tied to a single geographic location.

3. Invoke personal power

Strategy and process will take you so far, but if there’s ever been an area that requires communicators’ human discretion and energy, this is it.

4. Look at the big picture

Look beyond the template of a desired culture — it might not fit. Corporate culture isn’t the only influence in the organization, so work out what other forces are at work and how they interact.

5. Build an effective communication platform

Build a platform that draws on the skills and talents of all employees. This will help to build an effective, positive culture. People really are an asset!

6. Encourage a knowledge-sharing culture

Exchange of information is essential if the organization is to learn and move forward in a global, multi-cultural environment.

7. Leverage diversity

This approach facilitates cultural understanding and is a valuable differentiator in the global economy.

8. Adapt your website

List all subsidiary/overseas offices, with contact details and links to any local site (which should have at least some material in the native language). All sites should actively encourage feedback and provide facilities for this.

9. Do the universality test

Check all communication for items that don’t translate. Acronyms (for example, contact head office ASAP) don’t travel well and neither will many graphics, symbols or analogies based on so-called “familiar” concepts.

10. Encourage innovation and excellence

A positive culture is an effective one, so make sure incentives are in place for continuous improvement. Ensure there are mechanisms for capturing the sparks generated by cross-cultural communication.


http://www.internalcommshub.com/trial/professional/toptips/cultural.shtml

Three levels of listening

In pairs, participants undertake the following three activities:

Level 1 Listening.
One person listens while the other talks. The person talking describes a holiday they took and what went well and could have been better.
The partner listens to the other person's story and interprets it entirely in terms of their own experience. This means commenting on what the person is saying and offering an opinion. The pair then discuss how it felt to listen and be listened to at level 1. Normally the partner is busy listening to what is going on in their own internal dialogue and making judgments rather than listening to the other person. This can leave the person talking feeling they haven't been listened to.

Level 2 Listening (sometimes referred to as active listening).
Working with the same partner - and the same story - this time the focus in on being curious about what the person telling the story is saying. The person listening asks questions, clarifies points and summarizes what they are hearing.The pair then discuss how it felt to listen and be listened to at level 2 and how it differs from level 1. In this instance people usually feel they have been better listened to and that they have learned more about the other person.

Level 3 Listening
Again working with the same partner - and this time a different story
- this time the focus is on listening to the emotions and words. The
task for the person listening is to follow both the story and the
emotions to get a more rounded view of what the other person
experienced. They then discuss the differences between the three
levels. This usually results in people realizing how much they
usually miss in a conversation and how great the experience is to be fully listened to.

Three ways to improve manager communication

How to harness the organization’s most popular information source.

by Andy Szpekman, president, AHS Communications

Managers are popular sources of information because employees often have little interest in what’s communicated through other sources. Much of what they read on the intranet, see on closed circuit television or hear from senior executives might be mildly enlightening, but it has little impact on their day-to-day lives.

Managers can relay information that applies directly to people’s jobs and careers.

Managers, on the other hand, can relay information that applies directly to people’s jobs and careers. They can provide performance feedback and recognition, discuss opportunities for professional development and career advancement and hold salary reviews. Other sources of information, no matter how well crafted or well intentioned, are hard-pressed to provide such compelling news.

If improving the management skills of your organization’s managers is a business priority, here’s a simple three-step process you can use to help make them better communicators. One tip before we get started: don’t expect to go it alone. You’ll need support from HR and senior management to be successful.

Step one: Define manager communication accountabilities
When employees think of “good manager communication,” they are generally envisioning a manager who engages in frequent, two-way dialogue about topics the employee finds personally meaningful. They are picturing a manager who, besides giving performance feedback, involves employees in important decisions, recognizes contributions, discusses career and professional development, and is receptive to ideas and suggestions. Employees are not thinking of a manager who provides frequent briefings on companywide programs, updates on other departments’ activities and messages from the chairman.

Here are a list of actions all managers at Bank of America (where I was previously head of HR communications) are expected to take:

* Communicating clear and specific performance expectations and measures of success.
* Providing candid performance feedback.
* Conducting formal reviews at least once a year to appraise performance, plan career and professional development, and discuss compensation.
* Encouraging associates to speak openly and candidly about issues.
* Explaining business unit goals and results, and how associate contributions made a difference.
* Encouraging and rewarding associates who do the right thing for customers, clients and shareholders.

Has your company defined a similar list? If not, I urge you to do so as a first step in improving manager communication.

Step two: Motivate managers to communicate
If you want managers to communicate with employees, you need to consider the items in the figure below. For example:

* Do senior leaders serve as communication role models?
* Do manager hiring, coaching and development processes emphasize communication skills?
* Do incentive and recognition programs reward manager communication?

Motivating managers to communicate



Step three: Provide training and tools

Once managers know what they are expected to communicate and are motivated to do it, they will view communication training and tools as resources that can help them meet their business objectives.

From my experience, managers need competencies in four areas, shown in the figure below. Based on how you define managers’ communication accountabilities, your list of competencies might be different, but this provides a good starting place.

Developing managers' communication competencies



For the actual training session, here’s the agenda I would follow.
Start off by explaining the benefits of improved employee communication from the manager’s perspective – i.e., more motivated and productive employees.
Next, describe the type of communication employees want from their managers. We covered this in the first part of the article. Use the balance of the session to review the competencies managers need, and then let managers practice demonstrating these competencies. Here are a few best practices to follow:

Keep the sessions brief. Two hours is usually long enough.
Begin or end the session with a senior leader emphasizing the importance of manager communication.
Use role-play to give managers the chance to practice what they learned and critique each other in small groups. Rotate managers through the roles of manager, employee and observer.
Provide reference materials and resources managers can use after the training to continue building their skills.
Be realistic. Don’t expect to transform anyone after a one-time event. Set practical goals and craft a plan to build on your progress.

Part of your ongoing campaign to help managers communicate more effectively might involve developing a standardized communication tool. At Bank of America we developed a "huddle template" (see below). Sometimes, it’s filled out and given to managers. Other times, managers complete the blank template themselves to prepare for a team meeting about an important change. The huddle is meant to be brief, as it generally occurs before or after a shift. The meeting structure, however, is adaptable, and an actual huddle can be shorter or longer depending on the topic.

The communication huddle template



Management’s big advantage

When you add up employees’ communication needs and managers’ accountabilities, it may seem like a tall order to get managers to communicate effectively. But managers possess a big advantage: they know their teams well. They know their team’s interests and subject-matter knowledge. They know how their team will respond to an issue. They understand the work environment, and they are generally seen as trustworthy. In short, managers have the insight necessary to tailor information to their audience’s needs – something few communicators are as qualified to do.

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