Communication

Chapter contents

• Difficult Conversations 6 entries The four sentences that do the work, feedback that changes behaviour, saying no, and delivering a decision people will dislike.
  1. 01The Conversation You Are Avoiding
  2. 02The Four Sentences
  3. 03Giving Feedback That Changes Behaviour
  4. 04Receiving Feedback Without Punishing the Giver
  5. 05Saying No
  6. 06Delivering a Decision People Will Dislike
• Foundations of Communication 5 entries What communication is for, why clarity and simplicity differ, and why a message must be delivered far more often than feels necessary.
  1. 01What Communication Is For
  2. 02Clarity and Simplicity Are Different
  3. 03Read the Room Before You Choose the Words
  4. 04Register: Formal, Plain, and When Each Fails
  5. 05Repetition Is Not Condescension
• Institutional Voice 5 entries Speaking for an organization rather than yourself: message consistency, the public statement, open records, and when to say nothing.
  1. 01Speaking for an Organization
  2. 02Message Consistency Across People and Time
  3. 03The Statement
  4. 04Public Meetings and Open Records
  5. 05When the Institution Should Say Nothing
• Listening and Inquiry 5 entries Listening as an information system: questions that get real answers, what silence means, and hearing bad news well.
  1. 01Listening Is an Information System
  2. 02Questions That Get Real Answers
  3. 03What Silence Means
  4. 04Hearing Bad News Well
  5. 05The Skip-Level Conversation
• Persuasion 5 entries Making a case: evidence and its presentation, pre-wiring, building a coalition, and recognising when persuasion has failed.
  1. 01Making a Case
  2. 02Evidence and Its Presentation
  3. 03Pre-Wiring
  4. 04Building a Coalition
  5. 05When Persuasion Fails
• Spoken Communication 7 entries The briefing, presenting to a board, speaking without notes, hostile questions, and talking to a reporter.
  1. 01The Briefing
  2. 02Presenting to a Board
  3. 03Speaking Without Notes
  4. 04Hostile Questions
  5. 05The All-Hands
  6. 06Talking to a Reporter
  7. 07Reading a Public Meeting
• Written Communication 7 entries Conclusion first, the one-page discipline, documents that survive the room, and email as a governance instrument.
  1. 01Writing Is How Decisions Persist
  2. 02Conclusion First
  3. 03The One-Page Discipline
  4. 04Writing That Survives the Room
  5. 05Email as a Governance Instrument
  6. 06Board Packets and Reports
  7. 07The One-Page Memo