Why do so many individuals and organizations struggle to get their message across? Do they accept that messaging takes time to enter an audiences' consciousness? Do they understand that effective messaging works across a communications continuum or, as Billy Crystal said about grieving in the 2002 movie Analyze That, "it's a process"?
First, your audience needs to hear the message. This takes disciplined, creative repetition animated by stories and facts and conveyed across varied media. Ultimately, however, how do you know in empirical terms whether your audience actually heard the message? How are you measuring receipt of and interaction with your messaging?
Next, your audience needs to understand the message. Just because they heard it, doesn't mean they were listening well and "got" what you were communicating. Have you built in feedback loops to help you interpret whether your audiences understand the intent of your messaging? It's risky to assume that hearing the message and interpreting it correctly are the same thing.
Third, your audience needs to internalize the message. Perhaps they have heard and understood it, but does this mean that they "buy" it? Have they accepted its premise? Have they made the message their own?
Finally, your audience needs to act on the message. These three previous steps are essential precursors for action but, until the audience does act in some way - making a purchase or a referral, for example - the path across this communications continuum has not fully played out - or paid out. After all, the underlying objective of communication is often behavioral. We actually want people to do something.
Thinking of communication behaviorally on a continuum from Hearing and Understanding to Internalizing and Acting can help us be more patient and potent in delivering our message.
First, your audience needs to hear the message. This takes disciplined, creative repetition animated by stories and facts and conveyed across varied media. Ultimately, however, how do you know in empirical terms whether your audience actually heard the message? How are you measuring receipt of and interaction with your messaging?
Next, your audience needs to understand the message. Just because they heard it, doesn't mean they were listening well and "got" what you were communicating. Have you built in feedback loops to help you interpret whether your audiences understand the intent of your messaging? It's risky to assume that hearing the message and interpreting it correctly are the same thing.
Third, your audience needs to internalize the message. Perhaps they have heard and understood it, but does this mean that they "buy" it? Have they accepted its premise? Have they made the message their own?
Finally, your audience needs to act on the message. These three previous steps are essential precursors for action but, until the audience does act in some way - making a purchase or a referral, for example - the path across this communications continuum has not fully played out - or paid out. After all, the underlying objective of communication is often behavioral. We actually want people to do something.
Thinking of communication behaviorally on a continuum from Hearing and Understanding to Internalizing and Acting can help us be more patient and potent in delivering our message.
