Give everyone a reason to get hooked!
Try your hand at speaking in word pictures
Communication is key to making a change event successful. By effectively communicating new information to the organization, the decisions made by the front line will more quickly be carried out by the troops.
Informative communication gets as much fact as possible out in the open, preparing people to come to grips with the change issues as well as their own personal issues quickly. When people are having difficulty making sense of what they are hearing or are distracted—and when they are unsure of how to interpret their environment—they don’t always hear messages accurately the first time.
These two components enhance informative communication:
Supportive communication that seeks to preserve a positive relationship while still addressing the problem at hand
Visionary communication that allows people to envision how they are linked to, and contribute to, the achievement of the organization goals; how their commitment makes a difference.
Studies confirm the most effective way to articulate a vision in a clear and energizing way is to create word pictures, stories, metaphors, and real-life examples. People are more likely to understand and be moved by a vision if it has both right brain (intuitive, pictorial, story-based) as well as left brain (logical, reasonable, performance based) elements.
For example, in describing a move to different office space, you might say, I know that it’s going to be challenging to leave our office. We’ve worked here together and have created familiar routines. But, the fact is that we simply need more space in order to work together effectively. Our new space will be like waking up to the expansive ocean: peaceful, roomy, and relaxing. In the mornings we’ll enter a bright, open lobby, our new logo splashed upon the wall. Rather than packing into these dark, cramped conference rooms we have here, we’ll have open, flexible areas where project groups can meet.
By communicating effectively, employees buy-in to decisions more quickly, and are more in line with the goals. Coaching you through decision-making and effective communication is one of the many ways MergerCoach makes your merger work!