TO TWEET OR NOT TO TWEET NUTS BOLTS

TO TWEET OR NOT TO TWEET: NUTS, BOLTS AND GEARS OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION WITH PAT HUGHES TRILLIUM LEADERSHIP CONSULTING, SEATTLE WA

TO TWEET OR NOT TO TWEET • Match what you want to say with the right method • Drill down on five ingredients of high impact messages

A BRIEF HISTORY OF COMMUNICATION • 30, 000 B. C. – Cave Painting and Petroglyphs • 3500 B. C. – Kish Tablet and Egyptian Hieroglyphs • 1200 -600 B. C. – Written language in China, then Americas • 200 B. C. – Human messengers on foot or horseback • 14 A. D. – Roman postal service (for the masses) • 105 – Tree bark, hemp and fishing net paper • 1040 – Moveable type • 1605 – World’s first newspaper in Germany • 1835 -1976 – First fax machine, telegraph and telephones • 1983 – Internet • 2007 – i. Phone

WHAT WE COMMUNICATE • Logic and facts (logos) • Emotion (pathos) • Ethics (ethos) 335 B. C. Greek philosopher and teacher Aristotle introduced the first model of communication “A speaker discovers rational, emotional, and ethical proofs, arranges them strategically, clothes the ideas in clear and compelling words, and delivers the product appropriately. ”

WHY WE COMMUNICATE Three reasons people communicate: • To make or maintain relationships • To share or receive information • To persuade Communication is done with any combination of spoken words, written text, nonverbal sounds, physical gestures and facial expression

WHAT CAUSES MIS-COMMUNICATION? • Misaligned vocabularies (“plethora” vs. “plenty”) • Messy thinking (esp. during stress or emotion) • Beating around the bush (diluting a difficult message) • Using jargon, buzzwords or acronyms • Cultural differences • Conflict avoidance • Brains make meaning and assumptions based on our experience or expectations #1 problem in organizations

EMAIL & TWITTER Email Video Use Email or Twitter to: • Provide one or multiple audiences with a brief status update in the body of a message • Deliver a longer message or information as an attachment to your intended receivers • Give timely information consistently to a group of receiver(s) • Prompt the receiver(s) to view web-based content or other content that’s attached

QUIZ • Hi Brian, I don’t know how to break it to you, your mother had a heart attack last night. • I can’t make it to the meeting today – something came up. • What’s the price for the contract? You told me $40, 000. • Hi honey, I forgot to turn off the gas range. Kindly turn it off now. • I’m sorry for what happened in the meeting yesterday. I thought you said … and then I felt … • Don’t you think our CEO is a crook and an idiot? !? • Cynthia told me there is a controversy with the team. Care to explain? • I think there’s a problem with the project timeline.

EMAIL & TWITTER Email is too often used for the wrong thing, like: • Bad news • Gossip • Last minute cancellations • Negotiations over money and price • Emergencies – action required now • Problem solving and figuring stuff out • Controversy and complexity • Anything you don’t want on the front page of the newspaper

MAKING GOOD COMMUNICATION CHOICES When to use: Phone call: Understand or explain something. More than two messages with someone about the same issue. Getting a quick response Email: Send info with supporting documents. Status reports to lots of folks. Confirmations of previous meetings and phone calls. IM: Quick bits of info with links or photos attached Video Call: Presentations. Engagement and dialogue. In Person: Get someone’s attention. Real time problem solving and decision making. Relationship building. Complicated stuff.

FIVE INGREDIENTS FOR HIGH IMPACT MESSAGES The theory of learning styles • Verbal – Words, stories, dates • Logical – Facts and reasons “left brain” • Visual – Pictures and images “right brain” • Kinesthetic – Actions, timing, physical skill

PRESA – FIVE INGREDIENTS FOR HIGH IMPACT • Point • Reason • Example • Summar y • Action

LET’S REVIEW: TO TWEET OR NOT TO TWEET • Match what you want to say with the right method • Drill down on five ingredients of high impact messages Pat Hughes Trillium Leadership Consulting Th-th-that’s all folks!