a date with danielle
T H E 4 M ’S O F CO M M U N I CAT I O N by Danielle Klooster
As regular readers and members of the Sharp Women community will know, we had our flagship annual event in May, The SHARP Event. I can’t even begin to express how over-the-moon delighted and proud my cofounder Ranchelle and I are with how it all went. With several COVID-related pivots (COVITS?) to walk through, going from an in-person event to a hybrid in-person/ livestream to a complete livestream/online event, the team’s agility and commitment to putting on a stellar experience really shone through. Our gratitude knows no bounds.
Learning to Communicate Of course, there are always take-aways that we can use to learn and improve, and, for me, one key point was communication. Don’t get me wrong – I think the internal and external communications were fantastic. The team did everything in their power to think about who needed to know what, when, how and why. And, furthermore, in my years as both a consultant and leader in various organizations, whenever it comes time to sit down and talk about strategic planning and goal setting, without exception, the topic of communication comes up. It’s just one of those things that we all know needs to be front and center in our minds and that we can always do more and better.
The 4 Ms I am reminded of an excellent communications training tool I received from The Tamarack Institute some years ago. I have used this tool over the years in my communications and always found it very helpful in achieving clarity.
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Before you communicate, you communications using this process:
plan
out
your
Message: What do you want the audience to know? What action do they need to take, and by when? Member: Who is the target/audience for this communication? Method: What means are you using for this communication? There are different ways you need to communicate depending on the platform. Is it an email? An advertisement? A social post? A podcast? Moment: When is the best time to convey this message? Besides just thinking about how far in advance to communicate with people about an event or activity, you should be aware that people read their emails at a certain time of day, and the same goes for social media, etc.
Who Needs What, Packaged How, for What Purpose? Taking a little time to plan out your communications can reduce misunderstandings, improve engagement, and go a long way to ensuring that your messages are clear and well-received. I like to sit back and ask myself the question: who needs what, packaged how, for what purpose? I’m interested to hear from you about communications tools and processes that you find effective in your business or work. Message me – bonus points if you use the 4 Ms!
