Communication during a change prorgam is essential. We need to convey key messages, plans, impacts, next steps, how people can be involved and so on. We use a variety of channels to get those messages across. But as with so many things, it’s not just What we communicate that’s important, it’s How we communicate that can mean the difference between messages being understood, misunderstood, or ignored.

Most of the organisations I work with are big into professional and formal communication. There seems to be an underlying belief that if you stray from “professional and formal”, you risk damaging your reputation or credibility.

Part of communicating professionally it seems, is keeping our language and sentence structure formal, using jargon, acronyms and technical sounding words. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting adopting twitter abbreviations or saying “Gday mate” at the end of the email. There is a middle ground.

Let me give an example. This is something that might be sent out. It is on the  Professional/Formal side:

“Please read the attached document before the meeting and come prepared with any questions or feedback. If you are unable to attend, let Jane know ASAP so she can make alternative arrangements”,

How about this instead:

“I’ve attached some pre-reading. We’ll use the meeting to get your feedback and questions. If the meeting time doesn’t work for you,  call Jane and we’ll work something else out”.

The first is cold, bland, and sounds like a business with no soul.  The second sounds warm, friendly and actually feels like the sender is a real person who values a more personal relationship.

The reality is that people really notice and appreciate the difference between the two. I can’t count the number of times that clients have mentioned how much they appreciate my relaxed writing style and approach.

In a changing environment, the tone of messages conveys so much. Warm up your messages and people will relate to them more easily. They will stand out from the other communications they receive, and properly done – will contribute to creating the right environment for change.