If you want to be confident your communications get noticed, this is critical…
I read a lovely story this week, which had an important point to make about effective communication.
Dan Angus, an Australian academic, had appeared on the news.
It was just a short interview, but had profound consequences for him...
And in a very unexpected way.
The story was seen by a skin cancer doctor, who immediately looked him up online and got in touch.
Anyone who has appeared on the news will know you get a lot of messages afterwards.
Many, you just flick through. But this one certainly got read.
Why? Because it began this way:
- Forgive me for contacting you directly but this email could save your life.
The doctor went on to explain that he had spotted a possible melanoma on Angus's cheek.
He had it checked. It was indeed skin cancer.
Angus was able to get treatment, and thankfully the disease was caught in time.
Apart from being a great story, it makes a critical point about effective communication:
No matter how incredible, profound, or life-changing what you have to say is…
It means nothing unless it gets noticed.
Never forget that the modern world is frantically busy.
You're in a constant competition for attention.
Which means the start of anything you say, present, or write has to grab the attention.
So, don’t waft around with airy preambles…
Spend ages introducing yourself and paving the way for the point you want to make…
Or pass idle comments about being glad to be here, or thanking the audience for their attention…
Just cut straight to the chase.
Sum up your story at the start, with the most important point, short, sharp, and simple.
Just like the doctor in the Dan Angus story.
Because, as a template for how any form of communication should begin...
As opening lines go, in terms of grabbing attention…
They don’t come much better than:
- Forgive me for contacting you directly but this email could save your life.