Knowing your audience and tailoring your messaging to their knowledge level, attitudes, and points of resistance is crucial for effective communication.
Paraphrasing is a valuable tool in communication for distilling information, validating others, and moving conversations forward.
Deep dives
Knowing Your Audience and Setting Clear Goals
In this podcast episode, Matt Abrahams emphasizes the importance of knowing your audience and setting clear goals in effective communication. He highlights that instead of starting with what we want to say, we should focus on what our audience needs to hear. Understanding their knowledge level, attitudes, and points of resistance can help tailor our messaging to make it relevant and engaging. Matt also emphasizes the significance of having a clear goal for our communication, which includes conveying information, eliciting emotions, and prompting action. By structuring our messages using frameworks like 'what, so what, now what,' we can make our communication more effective and memorable.
The Power of Paraphrasing and Handling Feedback
Another key insight from the podcast episode is the value of paraphrasing in communication. Matt explains that paraphrasing allows us to distill information, validate others, and move the conversation forward. It is particularly useful in showing active listening, buying time, and politely redirecting discussions. Additionally, the episode addresses the challenge of giving feedback. Matt advises approaching feedback as an opportunity for problem-solving and focusing on collaboration rather than criticism. By inviting others to engage and participate in finding solutions, we can reduce defensiveness and encourage constructive dialogue.
Adapting to Virtual Communication
The podcast episode also explores the impact of virtual communication, highlighting the need for conciseness and engagement. Matt emphasizes that virtual platforms require us to be more concise and clear in our communication as people are easily distracted and have a busy schedule. Additionally, to compensate for the lack of in-person cues, it is crucial to be more engaging in virtual interactions. Leveraging tools such as polls, chat features, and shared whiteboards can help gauge audience interest and maintain active participation. As virtual communication continues to be prevalent, these skills become even more essential, particularly in hybrid settings where a mix of in-person and virtual participants are involved.
To celebrate our 75th episode, we hosted a live "Ask Me Anything" event with Matt. In this global gathering, listeners called in with questions ranging from making a first impression and giving negative feedback to presenting virtually and the worst communication advice Matt's ever received. In addition to audience questions, Matt also shares a short lecture to outline his top three guiding principles when it comes to being a confidence speaker and leader.
(00:02:00) Know Your Audience: First and foremost is their knowledge level relative to the topic that we're discussing. Do they know a lot or do they know just a little?
(00:03:51) Principle 1. Set Your Communication Goal: A goal has three major parts: information, emotion, and action. The best metric of success is: Is your audience leaving knowing what you want them to know? Feeling how you want them to feel? And doing what you want them to do?
(00:05:08)Principle 2. Structure your message. Using: What, So What, Now What.
(00:07:01) Principle 3. The Art of the Paraphrase.
(00:09:14)Using Paraphrasing to move a conversation forward
(00:11:01)Ask me anything:
[11:24] Question 1: What is the worst communication advice that you have ever given or received?
[13:11] Question 2: How can you try to understand the expectations or knowledge or background of your audience in order to make your presentation effective?
[16:05] Question 3: How do I communicate negative feedback to a colleague, especially when there's an action step involved?
[18:30] Question 4: How would you make your first impression?
[22:00] Question 5: How has virtual communication changed the way we communicate?
Get the Snipd podcast app
Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode
Save any moment
Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways
Share & Export
Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode