Clear and Credible Messages

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A great story keeps you interested because it’s compelling. When listening to a story, a powerful combination of effective style and real substance makes it stay with you. For a leadership message to have the same effect, it must adhere to the same rules. There must be style and substance.

There are three main benefits to making your leadership message clear and credible. The first is that those you address will be more likely to trust you. The second is that they are more likely to remember your message. And the third is that your audience will have a better idea of your intentions and plans.

Creating clear and credible messages

When you’re putting together a leadership message, you’ll visualize the intended results. You’ll want your audience to walk away from your message inspired. You’ll also want them to feel more informed. Achieving these two goals is no easy task. In fact, there are several elements to effectively inspiring and informing others with your message.

• Planning is important to making leadership messages clear and credible.
• Your organization, like any other, will have a business plan.
• Another helpful technique when it comes to creating a worthwhile leadership message is to get a second opinion.
• A third technique for creating a clear and credible leadership message is to use brainstorming.
• A fourth technique for creating your message is to work from the end-point to the beginning. The end-point is the outcome you want to achieve. By working back from that, you can make your communication more coherent.

Power of clear and credible messages

A clear and credible leadership message can have powerful effects. It can help improve the performance of employees. It can also help improve the overall operations of your organization. In other words, it’s of major value.

One way to help ensure your leadership message achieves its necessary goals is to use storytelling. Rather than just using dry facts, use a story to help employees or colleagues relate to your message.

Four methods can help you create clear and credible leadership messages. Plan your message and think about what your audience wants to know. Get a second opinion on your plan and use brainstorming. And work backward from what you hope to achieve with the message. Clear and credible messages should update your audience and engage them. Such messages should also spark the audience’s interest and encourage participation in the endeavor involved. Storytelling can also be used to make your message more clear and credible.

There are four steps to creating a clear and credible leadership message.

• Plan – Plan out the main elements of your message
• Get a second opinion – Get a second opinion from someone else about your message
• Brainstorm – gather together a group for a brainstorming session focused on your message
• Work from the end-point to the beginning – Work from the end-point to the beginning in your leadership message

For a message to be clear and credible, it needs to do several things. (Note: Not all four attributes are necessary in every leadership message. Use the ones you require depending on the context of your message.

 

Certified Leadership Communication Professional

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