Significance Messages

When we must communicate to others something very important, getting it right matters more than usual. Paradoxically, in those situations, we're at elevated risk of not getting it right. We dance around the points we most need to make. We find it difficult or scary to say what we really think. Instead, we lead our listeners close to the points we most need to make, and leave it to them to make the rest of the journey on their own. We give our listeners the information from which they might possibly deduce a significant message, but we don't articulate that message ourselves.

The significance of a set of facts is the way those facts relate to their consequences. The more complex and technical is the subject matter, the more important it is to be explicit about the significance of the information we're providing. I use the term significance messages to denote communications for which clearly stating the significance of their factual content is as important as clearly stating that factual content. Too often, we communicate facts, but we don't actually communicate the significance of what we're saying.

For significance messages, that is a recipe for communication disaster.

An example of a significance message

Project Marigold has encountered yet another setback. Its target date has been delayed twice already, and the project manager is preparing a report to the Executive Committee announcing a new, delayed, target date. The project manager has written a statement that makes the main point:

Version 1: Marigold's completion date needs to be delayed until Q2, due to changes in project objectives. Last month, for example, we reduced Marigold's budget by 15%. That change required that we reconfigure the PineTree Module, and the consultants we need for that work aren't available until next month.

This is a simple message, but it doesn't emphasize the fundamental point that project objectives have changed repeatedly. Here's a version that illustrates the importance of focusing on significance.

Version 2: Because we keep changing Project Marigold's objectives, we must expect impact on its completion date. The latest change, a 15% budget reduction, requires a delay until Q2, because we must reconfigure the PineTree Module. The consultants we need for that work aren't available until next month.

Both versions Too often, we communicate facts,
but we don't explicitly communicate
the significance of what we're sayingprovide facts justifying the delays in Project Marigold. But Version 1 emphasizes the reasons for this particular delay. Version 2 emphasizes that there is a pattern of unstable project objectives that accounts for the series of delays. Version 2 also implies that unless Marigold's objectives stabilize, there will likely be more delays.

Last words

There's a simple test you can use to determine whether your communication has given sufficient emphasis to the significance of the facts you've provided. Read the text and ask the question, "So what?" If the answer to that question includes material not contained in your communication, then the significance of the data probably isn't well enough represented.  Top    Next Issue

Do you spend your days scurrying from meeting to meeting? Do you ever wonder if all these meetings are really necessary? (They aren't) Or whether there isn't some better way to get this work done? (There is) Read 101 Tips for Effective Meetings to learn how to make meetings much more productive and less stressful — and a lot more rare. Order Now!

Your comments are welcome

About Point Lookout

Thank you for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful, and that you'll consider recommending it to a friend.

This article in its entirety was written by a human being. No machine intelligence was involved in any way.

Point Lookout is a free weekly email newsletter. Browse the archive of past issues. Subscribe for free.

Support Point Lookout by joining the Friends of Point Lookout, as an individual or as an organization.

Do you face a complex interpersonal situation? Send it in, anonymously if you like, and I'll give you my two cents.

Related articles

More articles on Effective Communication at Work:

Nasty Questions: I

Some of the questions we ask each other aren't intended to elicit information from the respondent. Rather, they're poorly disguised attacks intended to harm the respondent politically, and advance the questioner's political agenda. Here's part one a catalog of some favorite tactics.

Dismissive Gestures: I

Humans are nothing if not inventive. In the modern organization, where verbal insults are deprecated, we've developed hundreds of ways to insult each other silently (or nearly so). Here's part one of a catalog of nonverbal insults.

Twelve Tips for More Masterful Virtual Presentations: I

Virtual presentations are like face-to-face presentations, in that one (or a few) people present a program to an audience. But the similarity ends there. In the virtual environment, we have to adapt if we want to deliver a message effectively. We must learn to be captivating.

They Just Don't Understand

When we cannot resolve an issue in open debate, we sometimes try to explain the obstinacy of others. The explanations we favor can tell us more about ourselves than they do about others.

Reframing Revision Resentment: I

From time to time, we're required to revise something previously produced — some copy, remarks, an announcement, code, the Mona Lisa, whatever… When we do, some of us experience frustration, and view the assignment as an onerous chore. Here are some alternative perspectives that might ease the burden.

See also Effective Communication at Work and Effective Communication at Work for more related articles.

Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout

Coming September 4: Beating the Layoffs: I

If you work in an organization likely to conduct layoffs soon, keep in mind that exiting voluntarily before the layoffs can carry significant advantages. Here are some that relate to self-esteem, financial anxiety, and future employment. Available here and by RSS on September 4.

And on September 11: Beating the Layoffs: II

If you work in an organization likely to conduct layoffs soon, keep in mind that exiting voluntarily can carry advantages. Here are some advantages that relate to collegial relationships, future interviews, health, and severance packages. Available here and by RSS on September 11.

Coaching services

I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact Rick for details at rbrenyrWpTxHuyCrjZbUpner@ChacnoFNuSyWlVzCaGfooCanyon.com or (650) 787-6475, or toll-free in the continental US at (866) 378-5470.

Get the ebook!

Past issues of Point Lookout are available in six ebooks:

• Get 2001-2 in Geese Don't Land on Twigs (PDF, )
• Get 2003-4 in Why Dogs Wag (PDF, )
• Get 2005-6 in Loopy Things We Do (PDF, )
• Get 2007-8 in Things We Believe That Maybe Aren't So True (PDF, )
• Get 2009-10 in The Questions Not Asked (PDF, )
• Get all of the first twelve years (2001-2012) in The Collected Issues of Point Lookout (PDF, )

Are you a writer, editor or publisher on deadline? Are you looking for an article that will get people talking and get compliments flying your way? You can have 500-1000 words in your inbox in one hour. License any article from this Web site. More info