Roughly two lifetimes ago, I worked with a team that created everything from scripted shows for children to corporate awards ceremonies to spectacles that celebrated the place we live in. They taught me that impactful and memorable experiences are created by people that know how to tell stories.

And every message is storytelling. A board presentation; a classroom lesson; a speech to the team about a key change to the business. Each of these carries a message that we want to resonate with the people that we are delivering it to.

Today I want to focus on what I think are the top two things we need to think about when crafting messages.

1) Know Your Audience

Is it the finance department, your direct reports, the entire company? Is it a customer with their own culture and expectations? Without considering the audience, you run the risk of them politely sitting through yet another PowerPoint and then never thinking of it again. I’m sure you’ve sat through at least one of those. Maybe, like me, you’ve delivered a few as well? Instead, consider your audience – what drives them; what they care about; what their focus is – and then craft your message.

I was reminded of this watching the movie “News of the World” – Tom Hanks rides around the country reading the news to the locals. His character adapts what he reads and how he reads it depending on the crowd (sometimes to avoid getting shot).

A more directly relevant example: Early in the pandemic, I was part of weekly update meetings presented to the entire company. A big part of that was thinking about how to tell them what they needed to know in a way that made sense to them. There was a lot of other stuff we talked about behind the scenes, but it wasn’t directly relevant to them at that time. We trimmed and reworked until it was focussed. In the end, those first few weekly presentations were critical to helping people cope during an intensely uncertain time.

2) Editing

People who know me will find this funny (I am a work in progress ????). Being concise keeps the message digestible. Editing involves re-considering your key messages and how to communicate them clearly and concisely. It could be minor tweaks or wholesale changes to the structure. And it’s part of the process, not just an activity at the end.

Judicious editing is hard. Use this mantra: “I am not the audience”. Of course you think everything in there is important, you live this stuff. What does the audience need to hear?

Thoughts? Did I tailor the message? Do I need more editing?