Speaker 1: Hi, I'm Stephanie with Staff Base Academy. Have you ever felt misunderstood? You said something and thought your message was entirely clear, but your audience didn't get it, and maybe even came to the opposite conclusion. That's frustrating, especially if you're an employee communicator. So what went wrong, and how can we make sure that next time your message is understood and well-received? In this video, you will learn to create a story that resonates based on the three steps of framing, narrative, and message, define the intended results of your communication, and understand important rules for delivering tough messages. Plus, you'll receive an easy-to-use template to help you shape your message. Let's take a look at an easy example. The message is, we will acquire another company. We want employees to focus on how this will improve their workplace, rather than cause worry. So what's going on here? Well, it can be extremely difficult for people to understand your message if it doesn't fit with their thinking. You see, we all look at the world through a frame, and it is through this perspective that we interpret facts. But here's the good news. We can prepare for that. We'd like to take you through an easy three-step process that has been proven to be helpful in developing effective messages. The sharing of message begins with framing. How does your audience already think about it? Then we shape a narrative. What is the story you tell and the frame you suggest it's received within? And finally, what is the specific message, and what do you want them to do, know, and feel when they hear it? In order to develop a great message, you first need to understand your audience's point of view. So how can you listen to your employees? There are many ways, like talking with them, through social media, and getting their input with surveys. Keep in mind that most communication travels through informal channels, so don't be afraid of that water cooler. Effective communicators rely on their internal network and tap into the company grapevine. Let's take a look at an example. Your company is acquiring another company. What's the existing framing? This can be framed by fear over job security and uncertainty about the future, or framed by reassurance, emphasizing the success of previous acquisitions. This point of view, or frame, is now the basis to develop a narrative. A narrative is a story and a particular way of explaining or understanding events. It's very important that the story you tell fits with what people already believe. Nobody's going to believe a leader if what they say is completely detached from an employee's everyday reality. Now there are a number of different types of narratives you can tell, but the ones that really resonate are about a conflict or a challenge that needs to be overcome and requires the transformation of a hero. Here is a simple model for a narrative. It begins with our challenge, what are we facing, moves to our destination, where do we want to be, then on to the journey, how will we get there, and finally, the result, how will it benefit us in the end. Now let's take a look at our example again. If the information is, we are acquiring another company. The challenge is, the market is competitive. The destination is, to quickly innovate to become a leader in our field. The journey, we use our current rock-solid processes to integrate our new members, making them feel welcomed and supported. And finally, the result, we'll become the best place to work in the industry. So now you know how your audience thinks, and you've developed an explanation that covers why and how things are happening. Now you need to work on the central message in order to get results. The recipe for your message? It's simple, interesting, relevant, it fits within your narrative, and it's actionable. If you want to achieve a direct link between your communication and measurable business outcomes, you need to define exactly what an employee needs to do once they understand and receive that message. But it's not just what you want them to do. You should also define what they should know, and how they should feel about the topic. If we can talk about action and tangible outcomes first, it's also usually easier for leaders to grasp. As communication professionals, we know that feel does all the hard work in moving the needle. Our new key message becomes, combine strengths to become unstoppable, with a clear definition of what we expect employees to do, know, and feel. For example, for do, you want them to join the weekly updates and actively contribute questions. For no, everyone should be aware of the joint product launch on March 1st, and everyone should feel that questions and concerns are taken seriously by leadership. This feels pretty straightforward, right? Unfortunately, as you know, not everything is good news. Maybe it's a short-term crisis that requires immediate attention, or maybe that rollout is taking longer than anticipated and you need more time to prepare. Delivering bad news is when our stakeholders pay full attention to us. So when you're in the spotlight, keep in mind these six basic rules for delivering bad news well. 1. Be timely. Make sure employees hear it from you first. 2. Be accurate. Honesty is the best policy. 3. Be human. Show that you care. 4. Listen. Allow employees to vent. 5. Make a plan. Say what you'll do next and what employees can do. 6. Keep it local. Support your local leaders. So everything we talked about for the three-step message creation is especially important for the delivery of bad news. A framing that fits to what has been said before. A narrative to explain consistently why this is happening. And a simple message with a clear call to action. So your CEO just told you about that upcoming acquisition. He should have told you about it earlier, but he didn't. And now you're short on time. Hold it right there. Take some time to think about the messaging. Here's an easy template to help you focus. It works like a checklist to make sure you have everything you need for successful communication. You can use this easy one-page messaging template to bring everything together. Use this as a basis for all the content and activities about this topic. And remember, use personal experiences to bring the message to life. And it's not about exact repetition of words. Adapt your message to the sender, the audience, and the channel. And finally, it can be a great tool to ask the right questions during a leadership briefing. So let's sum things up here. We talked about how to… Create a story that resonates with your audience based on the three steps of framing, narrative, and message. Define the intended results of your communication, do, know, and feel. And understand important rules for delivering tough messages. We hope you enjoyed this video. See you next time.