Who is your audience?
Is it the teacher or the school administrator? Might be the CEO, the maintenance worker, the mailroom clerk, your supervisor, or even your peer. You can learn about them - once you've identified them. You'll need to tailor your message accordingly.
Recently there is also a cyber audience on facebook, myspace, twitter, and others... you know the sites. So consider this - when you post that naughty picture on facebook? Are you communicating with your 30 friends? Is it also possible that you are communicating with your friends, and their friends, and their friends? How about the cyber-stalker that might cause harm? And did you think of this... you might even be communicating to a future employer who wanted to learn more about you before an interview for a desirable position.
Lesson # 1 Know your audience well, but since you won't always know who they are... make your message appropriate.
What is your message?
As global interactions increase, what we are communicating becomes very vital. There is so much to consider as we craft our messages. Recently I heard a 15 year old respond "IDK" rather than "I don't know". It made me raise an eyebrow but I did smile. Cyber-talk may just be another language to master.
But there are also messages we unwittingly transmit, like misleading or misdirected body language we send out in error. However, there is also a perception that you sometimes create for your audience.
The naughty facebook picture might leave the potential employer with a wrong impression of you. Sometimes that impression may hurt your opportunities. What is the image you want to communicate to your audience? Recently I found this quote, "Our bodies manifest the pictures our minds send to them." So with that, may I suggest you:
- Walk purposely! You are headed somewhere
- Dress neatly - you care about presentation
- Look someone in the eye - you can be trusted
- Stand tall - you have a right to be here
- Speak strong - you should be heard
- Be courteous - you respect yourself and others
It's a lot... I know. But, remind your friends, tell your young people, remember we are helping develop tomorrow's leaders... all of us!
Besides what is communicated and to whom, I am also concerned with how it is communicated. I'm not always sure that we are sensitive to how we communicate important messages. Whether to our teachers, employers, a stranger, or business partner. I know I am experiencing the generational divide when I read text messages that should have been phone calls etc. I wonder whether the "how" of communication will continue being an issue. I wonder since this blog is about the lessons that leaders learned, I wonder whether the lesson of appropriate medium for communication is a lesson that will hold to the next generation of aspiring leaders.
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