Put People First

1. Content
Cascade one message at a time throughout the entire organization. Deliver a clear, digestible message that people can understand and that lands well in different communication channels. Meet people where they are: in face-to-face gatherings (if/when possible), virtual conversations, videos, virtual town halls, newsletters, or internal message boards. Maintain a consistent cadence of clear messages.

2. Context
Engage in conversation around the relevance of the content to each person’s role. Offer a safe, inclusive channels for people to participate in discussion. Invite questions and respond as transparently as possible. Equally important, listen with an open mind. People will feel better and do better work.

3. Action:
Call to action. Motivate people to apply the content in specific behaviors. Measure how well people understand and act on what was communicated.

4. Insights:
Last, but not least, analyze the impact of the messaging and communication strategy. Identify where new behaviors are driving desired business results and where clarification may be needed. Refine messaging as needed and repeat.

Whether there are 3 people in the company or 30,000, conversations are the heartbeat pulsing positive or negative energy throughout the organization. The cumulative energy created in those conversations determines the healthiness of relationships, trust, and bottom line results.

Judith E. Glaser, author of Conversational Intelligence®, said it best:

To get to the next level of greatness depends on the quality of the culture,

which depends on the quality of the relationships,

which depends on the quality of the conversations.

 Everything happens through conversations!