Get to the Point

Who is that person in your life that takes up more of your time than is needed? You know the one that when you ask them the time, they’ll tell you how the clock works. Wouldn’t it be better if they could get to the point and just tell you what you need to know, with nothing more.

I had a plumber come to fix a faucet. A few minutes into the job I asked him how it was going. He then proceeded to give me every last detail about supply lines and the convergence of hot and cold water, instead of spending that 20 minutes under my sink taking care of the problem. He was a really nice guy and I didn’t want to be disrespectful but I had an appointment to get to, and I needed him to finish before I could leave. I wanted him to get to the point and tell me just what I needed to know. I wasn’t concerned with the details, I just wanted to know that my faucet was fixed, and what I could do to prevent the problem in the future. That’s it.

Junior people in large organizations often have similar challenges with over-communication. Consider the head of a business employing hundreds or thousands of people. The boss asks a question and gets a ten minute dissertation on something that could have been answered in 30 seconds. Think about how frustrating it would be. The higher you are in an organization the more macro focused you are. It’s nearly impossible to successfully run a large company if you get sucked into the minutia. If you are the boss, explain this to your people. If you are the person talking to the boss, see things from their vantage point and ask yourself what they would need to know. Deliver only that information. If they want more they’ll ask, or they’ll let you know through their body language.

Whether you are the long-winded person or not (if you’re not sure, you probably are) we can all improve the efficiency of our communication. The goal should be to get to the point more efficiently. In your interactions this week, try the following steps:
.
• As you communicate, see the world from the perspective of your listener.
• Decide what is important and/or interesting for them.
• Aim to have your dialogue reflect the most efficient delivery of that message – in the proper sequence, with no wasted words.
• Give the listener only what they need to know with no excess detail.

Shoot me a note to let me know how it works out.
[email protected]