Timing is Everything

I was talking about a specific policy with my boss, and she asked if I had learned about it during onboarding. Unfortunately, I couldn’t say if I did because I was in information overload my first few days.

Thinking about this situation reminded me of two communication rules I live by when sharing a message.

1. 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱.

We often think we can check communications off the “to-do” list when we send out an announcement or speak about a topic during a meeting. However, we rarely loop back to see if our message was received and understood. This is particularly true if it’s during a time when employees have other deadlines or topics on their minds.

This brings me to my second rule…

2. 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴.

If you are trying to communicate with a colleague who is desperately trying to meet a deadline, you will be challenged to get the individual’s attention.

I can’t remember much from my new hire orientation because I was in information overload, had a sick husband with covid, and was trying to focus on getting my workstation set up.

There is value in communicating in multiple ways — and looping back about that information. It’s also good to consider your audience’s workload and the timing of your announcement.