Six Spokes Of Communication

I recently listened to an interview with Glen Jackson, who is head of a PR firm in the southeast. There were many great points in the interview, but I thought these Six Spokes Of Communication were great. (Thanks to the Andy Stanley Podcast for this great interview!)

Are we communicating with integrity and effectiveness?

Think of it like a wheel. We need to determine the proper speed of acceleration for the communication. These are the six spokes of communication:

Message

Determine what your message is. Make sure it’s memorable and repeatable. Too many people don’t tighten up the message enough. They think the more words the better. The purpose of this first step is to bring clarity to your message. What are you truly trying to get across and what action do you want people to take?

Messengers

Who do we have communicating the message? Do they understand it? Have they internalized it? Are they passionate? There is a choice in who you pick to deliver the message. It doesn’t have to be you.

Timing

What is the best time to communicate the message? Just because you have information doesn’t mean you need to share it. Make sure it comes at the right time. Timing involves considering the action you want people to take, the information that is needed, the amount of information going out, etc.

Tone

Tone deals with the nonverbal piece of communication. How is the person, the video or the publication giving the message? What message are you sending off before people even listen to the words? How does it look, sound, seem?

Place

Where is the best place to communicate something? The Gettysburg Address had to be given in Gettysburg to have impact. MLK’s “I have a dream” speech worked really well being on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.