We’ve just finished another run of my Compelling Communication Skills course, and yet again a favourite comment has come up:
- It’s not what I expected from Cambridge University.
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I love that phrase, because it’s meant in the most positive of ways:
Time after time, our lovely learners tell us (happily, and thankfully!) that the course content is absolutely cracking.
We go from the foundations of compelling communication…
To how to be a great writer… then a striking storyteller… and finally, the one they tend to dread...
A powerful public speaker.
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All the tricks of the communication trade are in the course, everything anyone needs to be outstanding at the art:
From brevity and simplicity, to the "rules" of writing, courtesy of history's greatest authors...
To how to tell a story full of drama, emotion and impact...
To the art of signposting, and using interactions to lift your presentations to the highest levels.
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And that, we're told, is exactly what the group rightly expect from Cambridge.
- Thoughtful, comprehensive and outstanding content.
Which is part one of the perfect pairing for compelling communication, the point of this blog.
You've got to have the substance to what you're saying.
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But! This is where the second foundation of truly compelling communication comes in.
And I can’t emphasise enough how much I love hearing this:
- The learners tell us that - to their surprise - they thoroughly enjoyed the course.
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They were, they say, expecting something academic, perhaps a little austere, certainly very formal.
What they actually got was a journey that's warm, welcoming, humorous, engaging and entertaining.
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The reason the course is this way is simple:
It’s created in my voice.
My unique character, my style of communication.
Which prizes entertainment alongside education.
Which brings us to part two of the perfect pairing for compelling communication...
And an important - yet often overlooked - insight.
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Yes, of course you need great content to make a big impression when you’re writing, telling a story, or presenting.
But the added sparkle, the glitter, the pizzazz which really makes for memorable work…
Is when you set loose your unique style as well.
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People relate to people, and character cuts through.
Why do we want to live in certain houses? Or visit certain pubs? Or talk fondly of colleagues?
- Because they've got character.
That uniqueness, whether with a building, an artwork, a person, or whatever, never fails to appeal.
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And so, coming back to the title of this musing...
As I often say, whether teaching, writing or consulting...
With - of course - plenty of build up, and a little writerly flourish, to help make the message memorable:
- Content and character are the perfect pairing for truly compelling communication.
