8/3/21 Notes for Communication

Book: The brain that changes itself by Norman D.

Message Design Logic:

Expressive
- Authenticity.
- Kanye West

Conventional
- Bring people together. Community
- Unity

Rhetorical
- Adapt to audience.
- Presentation, getting things done

Common Exigencies
- Authorizations
- Resource requests
- Status updates
- Briefings
- Diagnostics
- Forecasts
- Pitches
- Suggestions

Preview
- Know your audience
- Speak to their bottom line
- Know your stuff
- Design for the occasion

Levels of decision making

- Discrete (you don’t bring a customer complaint to C suite)
- Operational
- Strategic

First Principle: Know your audience

Audiences:
- Peers
 o Sound familiar
- Managers
o Have to be comprehensive, don’t go into details details
- Executives
o Be concise

Gather intelligence and know their: communication preferences, decision making tendencies,
presumptive attitudes

Gather intelligence from: your sponsor, experienced colleagues, company website, linkedin,
directly from them

Pre-meeting Email
- Reminder
- Outline
- Pre-reads

Second Principle: get to the bottom line

WIIFT (What’s in it for them)

The 6 executive performance levers:

- Money
o Drive up profit, drive down cost
- Market
o Drive up market share, drive down time to market
- Exposure
o Increase retention, decrease risk

Third Principle: Know your stuff

There will be Questions and Interruptions

Allot your time accordingly: 40%-60% presentation, remainder of time for Q&A

Know your core message, key numbers, counter arguments

Prepare appendix slides

Fourth Principle: Design for the Occasion

Report – > reserch findings > financial presentations > product launch > VC pitch > keynote
Speech -- Story

Prepare possible requested materials

Listening - > conversation > speech > deck talk > text message > email > one-pager > Slide-Doc >
Report – Reading

Send a follow up email

- Express gratitude, thesis, summary, action steps, follow through, reminder, positive
touch