In football, a pass is useless until the receiver catches it. If he doesn’t, the pass is incomplete. No yardage is gained, and a down is lost.
Similarly, in communication, a message is useless until the reader or listener “catches” it. If she doesn’t, no communication has taken place, and an email or speech or webpage – a vital opportunity to reach an audience – has been wasted.
People who are not professional communicators often complain that readers don’t read and listeners don’t listen.
Quarterbacks, similarly, could complain that their receivers have butterfingers or don’t get to the agreed-upon spot on time.
But good quarterbacks take responsibility for getting the ball to where the receiver is going to be by the time the ball arrives.
A good communicator treats the target audience like wide receivers surrounded by 300-pound guys who want to knock their knees sideways. They’re a little distracted, you know? It’s up to the communicator to make sure the message reaches the receiver where the receiver is.
The communicator’s job is even harder than the quarterback’s. Unlike football receivers, communication receivers usually have little or no incentive to show up where the ball is going to be. Communicators can’t even (usually) see their receivers. They have no opportunity to plan plays, practice, or send teammates to run interference.
In my communication classes for the Rutgers University Certified Public Manager program, I’ve been calling this central truth “the Prime Directive,” though in fact it’s not a directive but an observed truth:
Communication occurs if and only if the intended recipients receive and understand the message.
The directive that goes with this observed truth is this:
Communicators must anticipate and meet the needs of their intended recipients.
How? I’ve been covering how to reach receivers since the inception of this e-letter. The basic idea is to be audience-centered.
- It is never about us, the organization. It’s about you, the receiver.
- “You” is the most important word in any message.
- To reach your receivers, you first need to know where they are.
- Messages on your website will be “caught” only if the website is easy to find and navigate.
- Make your message “catchable” by using language your receiver can understand and avoiding jargon.
- Show your receivers how they will benefit by doing what you want. (Oops. I see I don’t have a post specifically on this topic, though it’s woven into many of the messages above. Now I know what to write next month.)
Your receivers may not be surrounded by 300-pound guys who want to knock their knees sideways. However, they are surrounded by an overwhelming number of emails, websites, calls, meetings, videos, and other forms of communication – not to mention their families, homes, commutes, volunteer activities, and the simple need to eat and sleep.
Your message just isn’t the most important thing coming at them right now.
It’s up to you, the quarterback, to make it as easy as possible for them to catch your football. If communication isn’t the job you were trained and hired to do, then you probably need help. Call me.