Adapting How You Communicate
How to check a message before you send it
A ten-second check that catches the one flaw that would make the message land wrong.
How to do it
Run five quick checks on anything that matters before it goes out. Skim them, do not study them. One of them is where your message would have broken.
Clear
No follow-up needed.
Concise
Fewest words that work.
Concrete
Specifics, not 'that thing'.
Correct
Facts and names right.
Courteous
Tone holds up.
What it sounds like
VP
“How's Thursday's report looking?”
You
“It'll be ready Monday, two days late. It's waiting on data's export, which lands Friday. I'll send it the second it's in.”
Practise it
Taylor Grant, your vp
“We're still good for Thursday on that report, yeah?”
Tell your VP it will be two days late. Clear, concise, concrete. State the dependency, do not argue it.
A strong answer: “It'll land Monday, two days late, waiting on data's Friday export. I'll ask them to prioritize it and send the moment it's in.”
Free in your browser. Speak for 60 seconds and get feedback.
The short version
Clear, concise, concrete, correct, courteous. A ten-second filter that saves the follow-ups.
Practise it every day
This is one lesson from the Adapting How You Communicate course in the Insight7 app, with a roleplay to rehearse the real conversation.