complex to clear project - university of st gallen

How to be CLEAR in Complex Corporate Communication

Nicole Bischof @ IABC Eurocomm 2011 Turin

Nicole.Bischof@unisg.ch

„Everything that can be said, can be said clearly.“

Ludwig Wittgenstein

„The problem with communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished.“

George Bernard Shaw

Agenda

  Why Clarity matters

  State of the Art

  Managing Clarity in Communication

  Examples

  Conclusion

Why care about clarity? An illustrating scenario

Complexity of modern business communication request for clear personal communication 1.  Change communication: dealing with uncertainty or „How

to motivate for change?“

2.  Crisis communication: time constraints or „When to address whom?

3.  Strategy communication: vision, mission, goals and values or „How to make your ideas clear?“

4.  … many other complex issues

“Clarity is business communications’ most sacrosanct topic.”

“Clarity is the most serious communication problem in business.”

Why care? Importance of clarity for business communication

[Suchan & Dulek, 1990]

“The process of knowledge communi-cation is the activity of interactively conveying and co-constructing insights, assessments, experiences, or skills through verbal and nonverbal means1.”

Knowledge communication in business communication - implicit challenges

[Eppler 2007]

The context: Information versus knowledge communication

Agenda

  Why Clarity matters

  State of the Art

  Managing Clarity

  Examples

  Conclusion

“The state, or measure of being clear, either in appearance, thought or style; lucidity.”

“Clearness or lucidity as to perception or understanding; freedom from indistinctness or ambiguity.”

“The state or quality of being clear or transparent to the eye”

What are we talking about? Three definitions of clarity

The concept of clarity has been studied in different disciplines

Clarity

The „Hamburg Clarity Concept“

1. Simplicity

•  Familiar words •  Explained terms •  Simple sentence

structure •  Concrete and

specific

4. Stimulation (moderate)

•  Personally adress reader

•  Provide examples, images, quotes

•  Use humour and fun elements

3. Conciseness (moderate)

•  Focus on essentials •  Described briefly •  Short sentences

2. Structure

•  Overview and priorities

•  Logical sequence, •  Highlighting important

elements

Typical elements of clarity found in the literature

Findings:   Structure   Unity & Coherence   Eliminating the irrelevant   Writing / speaking in the language of the audience   Simplification & Disambiguation

Insights:   Clarity of thought precedes clarity of expression   Clarity is relative …to the audience that is addressed.   BUT: A lack of systematic, actionable guidelines

Agenda

  Why Clarity matters

  State of the Art

  Managing Clarity

  Examples

  Conclusion

Our CLEAR formula

C ontextualized With regard to the targeted audience, the reason for the communication of that knowledge, and its urgency and importance.

L ogical Logical in the sense that elements build on one another in sequence; accessible in the sense that it is self-evident and intuitive.

E ssential Focus on the essential elements and show them in overview before going into details.

A mbiguity free Interpretable in one way in order to avoid misunderstandings or misapplication.

R esonating Fit the needs, preferences and foreknowledge of the audience, knowledge must be made actionable.

Mediators •  S tandards •  T raining •  A ccountability •  R eviews •  T ools •  E xamples •  R esources

Managing and facilitating clarity

Clarification Process

From Complex •  C omplicated •  O verloaded •  M essy •  P olysemic •  L inked •  E verchanging •  X traneous

To Clear •  C ontextualized •  L ogical •  E ssential •  A mbiguity-free •  R esonating

Contextualized

Negative example for contextual depiction

Contexualized corporate communication: in line with company objectives

Logical

Logical Structure: Use templates

Essential

Keep it essential: Remember clarity of thought precedes clarity of expression

Ambiguity free

Negative example: clarity is lost if you mix metaphors

Resonating

Resonance is missing due to unattractive appearance

Resonance is achieved through a multimedial and facts-oriented approach

Application: CLEAR e-mail example

C ontextualized

L ogical

E ssential

A mbiguity free

R esonating

previous e-mail excerpt, reason for writing

fact – meaning – needed action

one message per e-mail, one paragraph

words like soon, urgent, or our client are replaced by ‘next week’, ‘tomorrow’ and ‘Mr. Stevens’

reply options are pre-listed

Application: CLEAR report example

C ontextualized

L ogical

E ssential

A mbiguity free

R esonating

authors stated, version stated, date stated, contact details stated

summary – topic/pb. – findings - suggestions

less than 10 pages, half page summary

Unspecific business buzz words are avoided

Right level of detail for target audience, action points are categorized and put on a timeline

Agenda

  Why Clarity matters?

  State of the Art

  Managing Clarity

  Examples

  Conclusion

Four validation points of our CLEAR formula for communication

Literature

Review

Case Studies

(contact us)

Audience

Surveys

Experts‘

Review

Survey: Clarity in PowerPoint presentations

What are the most likely effects of a bad, unclear ppt presentation on you?

Which of the following factors have the most negative impact on clarity in ppt knowledge presentations?

What are the most important issues to consider when you communicate knowledge with a ppt presentation?

Which of the following mechanisms is most likely to increase the clarity of a ppt presentation?

3

4

2

1

You forget the presentation content quickly. You don’t listen to what the presenter has to say. You don’t take the presentation seriously. You perceive the topic as complex. You get angry with the presenter.

What are the most likely effects of an unclear PowerPoint presentation?

Not likely at all

Very likely

Too much text on a single slide Unclear presentation structure Missing link between presenter’s speech and slide text Long phrases instead of keywords Slide shown too quickly

Which of the following factors have the most negative impact on clarity in PowerPoint presentations?

Very important

Not important at all

Your main message/goal Having a clear structure/slide sequence Your speaking style Involving the audience Including good visualizations / graphics

What are the most important issues to consider when you communicate knowledge with a presentation?

Very important

Not important

Training the presenter Rehearsing the presentation Watching great presentations Proof reading and style checking Getting feedback on the presentation

Which of the following mechanisms is most likely to increase the clarity of a PowerPoint presentation?

Not likely at all

Very likely

Four validation points of our CLEAR formula for communication

Literature

Review

Case Studies

(contact us)

Audience

Surveys

Experts‘

Review

Customer service quality as main challenge for companies such as AXA Insurance

AXA guide to clear letters: Templates, checklists and examples

Swisscom‘s internal communication: implementation of vision and mission

Clarity problem pattern as a tool of analysis

Background Foreknowledge Customs

Involved Persons & Teams

unclear elements, inconsistency, redundance

  Too Big to Fail: A document has been growing to a point where everybody agrees with it, so no one wants to modify it, although it contains many unclear passages.

  Implicit Implications: A document is perceived as unclear because its originators do not specify its consequences for the addressed target group(s)

  Insight without Oversight: A document or communication creates confusion, because it does not provide the necessary big picture context for its messages

Clarity problem pattern - examples

“Can you think of clarity problem pattern in your work context?”

Discussion

Agenda

  Why Clarity matters

  State of the Art

  Managing Clarity

  Examples

  Conclusion

  The magical number seven, plus or minus two

  Examples, examples, examples   Pre-structures   Fore-knowledge and motivation

Facilitating complex corporate communication

[Lutz 2011]

Conclusion: Clarity matters and can be managed

  Complex corporate communication requires clarity.

  Clarity makes communication of complex managerial issues more precise, efficient, user-friendly, and reduces misunderstandings.

  Clarity in communication can be specified, analysed, managed, and trained (CLEAR formula).

  Measurement and emotional issues of the clarity concept are research gaps which should be explored further.

“Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it and, above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light.”

Joseph Pulitzer