Real people talking to real people

Lucy Kellaway, the FT’s management columnist, renowned for her satirical view of management fads and jargon, was recently growing concerned that her supply of jargon was wearing thin. I was therefore both relieved and despairing to read that she still has enough material for her business “twaddle” awards. Relieved because she and they always make me laugh, despairing because I still can’t believe how organisations can get it so wrong.

 

I was reminded of a question a colleague recently asked – why is it we can happily tell stories and talk normally to our friends and family, down the pub or over a meal and then we walk into the office on a Monday morning and turn into jargon-speaking, twaddle-creating awkward people? Why do we talk a completely different language when we get into the office?

 

I don’t know the answer, and I’ve certainly been guilty of it myself, but it got me thinking that our skills as craftspeople need to come to the fore even more. A recent report, produced by Melcrum and The Company Agency highlights that CEOs are looking for help in “ensuring that their messages are credible and personally relevant to their audience”.  Rona Fairhead from the Financial Times Group described it thus: “It’s about real people talking to other real people.”

 

I am currently reading Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath - a brilliant book that discusses what makes ideas or stories stick in our minds. It says that “language is often abstract, but life is not abstract.”

Their formula is a simple one and comprises six key ideas:

Simple - finding out what is the real issue and focusing on what you want your audience to know

Unexpected - a message that forces people to stop, think and remember.

Concrete – using real-world analogies to help people understand complex ideas

Credible – giving specific details and quoting experts where possible

Emotional – people care about people, not numbers. What’s in it for them?

Stories – stories help to make messages more meaningful. Remember Joe the Plumber who featured in Barack Obama’s campaign?

 

Many of these principles were brought to life for me recently. I was lucky enough to go to a wedding in a castle in Scotland. just before Christmas. The ceremony was held in a very romantic and utterly beautiful keep. While I am a bit of a romantic I have to confess to occasionally “zoning out” at the formal elements of ceremonies such as the vows (probably in the same way employees can zone out when listening to management-speak). So there I was gearing up for the usual set of words, when the groom declared “I will watch The X factor, Strictly Come Dancing and Midsommer Murders with you without complaining, even if they are all shown on the same evening. I will never tire of listening to you typing text messages to your friends on your iphone. And I will happily finish all those little tasks you have begun in the day, but not quite seen through to the end".  

To which she replied “I will aim to get the kids in bed by 7.30 at the latest on football League nights and I will make the effort to watch and enjoy your favourite TV programme with you as long as I can sample a glass of wine during it.”

 

Simple, definitely unexpected, emotional (we were all crying and laughing) and full of stories about the couple.

 

Their vows will certainly stay with me for many years to come (and I’ll be holding the couple in question to them if they dare try to renege!).

 

I think every now and again it’s good to remind ourselves that we’re real people talking to real people and that we should do our utmost not to end up as recipients of one of Lucy Kellaway’s awards!

 

PS - For more information on Made to Stick there’s a great website and you can sign up for some useful resources

PPS – if you would like to receive a Lucy Kellaway award, how about using a business buzzword generator, as mentioned in Made to Stick

Sally

Comments

[Sue]

Oh, I do love Lucy Kellaway! I've just had a good giggle at the twaddle awards.

Two of my favourites in the past year have been the company that tried to get people excited about the lack of promotion opportunities by telling its staff there were opportunities for 'careers of horizontal richness', and a certain Black Belt person who shared in his Facebook status update that he and fellow meeting participants had just been invited to participate in a 'thought shower'. Presumably a less taxing form of brainstorming ...