Whether you’re an individual or a multinational, simplifying a complicated message does not mean dumbing it down, as SNP Communications’ Maureen Taylor explained at Inspirefest 2016.
Networking effectively can be crucial to the future success of a business, but many shy away completely from it or try to get a message across that might be too complicated to grab an audience.
Sometimes, however, the answer to getting across a complicated message can be as simple as ‘dumbing it down’.
SNP Communication’s founder and current chief executive, Maureen Taylor, took to the stage at Inspirefest 2016 as part of the Networking and Leadership keynotes, where she laid out many of the mistakes people make when trying to convey a message.
Citing Aristotle’s three rules of communication – seek understanding, make content clear and delivery understandable – Taylor highlighted how many people tend to fall at the first hurdle.
If people are motivated by your words, it is not dumb
The biggest problem, she said, is that when people have something to communicate (seek understanding), they tend to focus on what they need and what they need to say to people.
This doesn’t mean that when conveying your message you shouldn’t have an interest in what you’re saying but, once again citing Aristotle, Taylor said the context of it is crucial.
“In order to be persuasive or meaningful, you have to understand what people are thinking and where they’re coming from,” she said.
“If people are going to listen, they’re going to pay attention and be motivated to action, is that really dumb? Or is that smart?”
Inspirefest is Silicon Republic’s international event connecting sci-tech professionals passionate about the future of STEM.
