How to communicate with your audience
This week’s Economist dissects Brown’s first year in office (a recurrent theme in recent media reports) and pinpoints his biggest failing as his inability to connect with the electorate. Bagehot highlights “Brown’s proclivity to be prudent with the truth” and that his themes have often been neither clear nor appealing. The author suggests we all inevitably vote with our guts “forming views on policy on the basis of character judgements rather than vice versa.”
Leaving politics aside, I couldn’t agree more. No matter your leadership position, if you are unable to state in clear and passionate terms what benefits you bring to your customers, stakeholders and peers then you are unlikely to attract your target audience.
In collaboration with Otley-based creative agency prego* we have undergone a comprehensive message strategy for one of our clients which has a particularly complex - and interesting - message to get across. We have drawn up a powerful template that details each audience, their drivers and market needs and how our client fulfils them. The result is a dissected and templated approach to all marketing with a simple and straightforward message. The client - and us - then draw on this document when marketing to a defined audience ensuring we all speak in the same language and deliver clear and appealing themes. Maybe Brown and his team need an afternoon in Harrogate with dynamic duos Quest and prego*!
[…] How to communicate with your audience No matter your leadership position, if you are unable to state in clear and passionate terms what benefits you bring to your customers, stakeholders and peers then you are unlikely to attract your target audience. … […]
Pingback made on 2 July, 2008 @ 9:56 pm
Importantly, Brown demonstrates the clear difference between effective governing (managing) and effective leadership. The first is critical to deliver, the second critical to having something to deliver!
I am an American transplant to the UK and I find it funny (ironic) that the Brits have their prototypical man in office and can’t stand him. A quality guy with loads of brains (whether you like his positions is another thing), but a complete lack of understanding of leadership when you are relying on people who don’t directly report to you.
America is the land of hyperbole, but fantastic examples of leadership are not just American or British style…rather a combination of both: A leader who can connect and a team who can deliver. Charisma can take you only so far…but as we see, lack of it takes you less far.
Comment made on 3 July, 2008 @ 10:08 pm
I think you’re right Todd - it seems in politics as in life you get what you deserve. Maybe Brown’s dour leadership is someone’s way of telling us that the good times are (at least temporarily) gone. Depressing as that sounds!
Maybe ballsy leadership wouldn’t serve us well now…but it would certainly make a tad more enjoyable.
Comment made on 7 July, 2008 @ 11:25 am