Communications

The highest skyscraper in Switzerland (the blue-green building at right) is dwarfed by the Alps in the background.

Sitting in a restaurant atop the highest skyscraper in Switzerland, I’m reflecting on the use of language in the world of business. Here’s the connection.

I was looking forward to lunch in the Prime Tower, which does have a great view of Zurich’s lake and mountains in the distance, but I was disappointed to learn that the “highest skyscraper” is a mere 35 floors high.

The use of superlatives like “highest” or “best” or of diminutive words like “mere” or “only” can alter your meaning and your audience’s interpretation of your meaning. Among some of my colleagues, they cringe when they hear something described as being “awesome” – they label that over-the-top language as “typically American.”

In a recent article by Lucy Kellaway in the Financial Times, she pointed out how much more effective CEO communication can be when it doesn’t stray into the superlative zone.

She cited a memo written by Stephen Hester, CEO of the Royal Bank of Scotland, who described his employees not as the “best” or “greatest” or “most awesome” but as “good.” His exact words were “RBS is full of good people, doing their best …” The point that Lucy Kellaway was trying to make was that instead of using superlatives, the CEO was straightforward and realistic in his language. “Why this little word is so effective – apart from being delightfully unfashionable – is that one is rather inclined to believe it. It makes me think: yes, maybe RBS does employ a lot of good people.”

A good thought leader expresses his ideas and opinions in the least “loaded” or exaggerated language as possible. Are you paying attention to your diction when communicating with internal or external audiences and always choosing the right “reality-based” words to convey your message clearly? Ask, assess, then act. We’re here to help.

A preacher was trying to get a parishioner to return to church after a long period of not attending services after the elderly gentleman’s wife died. He called on the man one evening and was invited in to sit by the fire. Rather than talk to the old man directly about his church attendance, the preacher just sat rocking in a chair by the fire. He reached over and took a poker and then pushed the remains of one small burning stick away from the rest of the fire, and they both just watched it as those embers turned from red to cold gray. The preacher left and the following Sunday, the man was sitting in the pew of the church.

So what lessons on internal communication does this vignette hold for thought leaders? The obvious answer is that actions speak louder than words – sometimes it takes courage not to talk, but that’s the right thing to do. Other, more subtle lessons can also apply.

If your company has suffered a loss, like most firms during the Great Recession, your “surviving” employees may be feeling isolated and alone and negative about the organization. It’s important to continue to communicate frequently with them by bringing them together for town halls or internal meetings so that they can air their concerns. Don’t take this metaphor too far and start sermonizing to them, of course!

But communicating with particular individuals can also help strengthen the weakest links in your organizational chain. Are there are few key influencers inside your organization who are needing some one-on-one time with you right now – time when you can help them by your actions, as much as by your words, to strengthen their bonds to the company? Are you making it easy for people to “stick” to your organization so that when the bad times have passed, they won’t flee at the first opportunity? What can you do now, in the “mourning period” to ensure your employees will be there for you when the good times start to roll? Ask, assess, then act. We’re here to help.