Communication Resolutions for 2023: Five Key Tips

As the year comes to an end, it’s time for reflection, renewal, and commitment, often through pledging to New Year’s Resolutions. Next year, why not take a quote from an admired historical figure that informs communication? After all, it’s something we do 24×7, whether we want to or not, and whether we intend to or not. By focusing on how we communicate, we may have more successful results.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes:

• “Be sincere; be brief; be seated.” Franklin D. Roosevelt
• “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” Winston Churchill
• “Grasp the subject, the words will follow.” Cato The Elder
• “Speak clearly, if you speak at all; carve every word before you let it fall.” Oliver Wendell Holmes

All of these quotes sound the same themes:

1. Be strategic in communication – ask, what is the goal to be achieved?
2. Once determined, be intentional – select the words that allow for goal achievement.
3. Be impactful – be economic with word choice since less is more.
4. Listen to how others respond, and engage with an appropriate rejoinder.
5. Leave the listener with the impact you intended.

Be Brief

Mark Twain once stated, “I didn’t have the time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” Amusing and true. It takes more time to be brief than to be long-winded. Being brief requires the discipline to have determined the goal of the communication and once known, as Oliver Wendell Holmes stated “carve every word before you let it fall.”

Example: Avoid repeating what was said or written in advance. At our Wednesday Rotary meeting, the person who recommended a speaker introduces him or her. Being strategic, the introducer assumes the attendees read the weekly notice, including the speaker’s bio, thus, the goal is to add something of interest to spark the memberships’ engagement and curiosity, ensuring their attention.

Be Brilliant

Simply stated, being brilliant requires revisiting the strategic goal or aim – in our example, to offer up new and exciting facts to ensure audience interest, rather than to repeat her qualifications. Determine what one or two points the speaker wants the audience to take away, whether focused on the topic, or something noteworthy about the speaker.

Be Gone

Less is definitely more. Keep the audience eager and guessing. Those who want to know more will seek out the speaker. Sometimes it takes the form of asking for a copy of the talk, the PowerPoints or other visuals, or an email or phone exchange. The Q and A following the talk allows the speaker to clarify points, or engage in an interactive dialogue – learning the questioner’s issue or concern, and addressing it. This is often the best part of the meeting.

If one is a consultant, the talk can lead to work. For those who have little interest in the topic or speaker, being brief and gone allows them to move through their days without a bad taste in their mouths – about the speaker or introducer.

Recapping

1. Be strategic in communication – ask, what is the goal to be achieved?
2. Be intentional – select the words that will allow goal achievement.
3. Be impactful – be economic with word choice since less is more.
4. Listen to how others respond, and engage with a response.
5. Leave the listener with the intended impact!

I would love to hear stories of how this worked!