Developmental Resources
UPDATE MESSAGES
Clear & Organized
I'm sitting in a room. It's a team meeting. The room is set up conference style with one long table in the middle and about eight people sitting around it. There is one speaker phone in the center of the table for the team member calling in. The meeting is scheduled for an hour, as most team meetings are (and will probably run a touch overtime, as most team meetings do). The part of the meeting that caught my attention was the amount of wasted time that occurs before each person begins their update. For example, I heard at least six versions of the following set-up for each update:
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"Well now, I guess it's my turn to go; although, I really don't have much to report, but then again, I guess that's why we're here. So, I'll get to it. As most of you know, well everyone except Andrew because he was out on vacation last week in Hawaii, we have proceeded to speak with our new agency to begin setting up the 2007 campaign. Now, I know that many of you have concerns. Hell, we've spent how many months discussing them over lunch and other meetings like this one? And, I read your emails last week, every single one of them. So, I want to make sure that I understand them, and we address them accordingly. So, I thought we could take few minutes, with the exception of Janice because her concerns are a bit more intricate as she's focusing on the financial perspective which we really have minimal influence around in this room, to discuss each person's wish list and make sure we begin brainstorming some ideas. As we go, we can prioritize and create an action list that I'll be happy to present to the agency, as long as everyone knows that I won't be able to meet with them until the end of the month and they may have some pushback on us regarding expectations and feasibilities. So, how does that sound? Who would like to begin? |
Difficult to read? It was that much more difficult to listen to. And, with all that detail, with all that information, after this person asked for volunteers, a hush fell across the table. Why? No one was certain as to what they were being asked to do? In the end, this came across as vague, scattered, and difficult to follow.
When it is our turn to speak up, deliver a message, provide an update, or make a recommendation, we need to come across prepared. We need to be clear. We need to be organized... even before we ever get to the detail. You will lose your audience if you don't grab them in the first two sentences, so make sure you use:
| THE FIRST TWO SENTENCES SHOULD BE... |
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HEADLINE
DIRECTORY |
Surveys
Training
Keynotes
Coaching
Consulting
Facilitation
Assessment
Development
Presentations
Focus Groups
| HEADLINES | |
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When someone asks ,
"What's the bottom-line?" they want a single sentence that sums up your
position, project, or point. "Sum up your message into a single overview sentence." |
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Headline it! Say it in a sentence. |
| PROMPTING STATEMENTS | |
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"Use lead-ins and prompts to tee up your message." Hear how lead-ins can start your headline and grab your audience's attention. Use lead-ins to begin your update, argument, or position. |
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Tee it up! Use lead-ins & prompts |
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DIRECTORIES |
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"Think Three!" Hear how organizing your message into three concise categories creates a clearer, easier-to-follow message. |
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Directories! |
| B.A.G. IT! | |
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Use the Brown B.A.G.
method to create a simple, practical directory for updates.
"Been - Are - Going |
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