At TFQ, clear and confident communication makes our world go around.
No matter which language you choose to use, clarity of thought and confidence in your message determine how far you get in your daily life (and how easily you get there). Whether you speak to the staff at a grocery store or in a boardroom full of bored people, clarity and confidence are the tracks your message runs on. And the strength of these tracks impacts how well you can reach your communication goal. This week I want to share three benefits of knowing why you are communicating!
What services does TFQ normally offer?
TFQ is a specialised communications agency that uses strategic communication channels to generate leads, build community, and market the client’s business through a combination of writing, editing, and design. The agency is a consolidation of my previously separate offerings:
Why is a communication goal*?
Before we understand why this is vital to all aspects of life, let’s look at what a communication goal can be.
A communication goal can be to:
> define the intention and objectives of a plan
> become more persuasive
> control emotions in stressful situations
> strengthen networks
> and create self-sustaining and reliable income streams
It can be anything you want it to be. This is both a blessing and a curse.
How do you know what is essential to pursue with your communication?
Simply put, you follow the SMART path to setting your goals. Here’s a free TFQ communication goal-setting page to set your thoughts out in writing.
Now we can look at why is a communication goal?
A communication goal is what you identify and refine so that whichever way you want to write or design the message, it can reach the intended goal.
TFQ offers communication strategy as a service, and in my experience KISS** is the best option. And the KISS mindset helps clients identify and prioritise their most important communication goals and find the best-suited tone, format, and memorable actions for the end-user to take.
There are three primary benefits of knowing why you’re communicating.
One: Empathy = connection
Communication is about people sharing ideas with other people rather than presenting them to a wall. Most communication elicits a response, and depending on what kind of engagement you’re looking for, you can tailor your content and visual design to get responses. Connect with your audience or end-user as a person first, a person with a specific problem second, and why you’re the best person to offer a solution to that problem in the end.
If you speak to others about why they need you and why you need them, empathetic communication is the best way forward.
Two: Connection = Trust
Words have power. Purposeful writing and design can create meaningful relationships, and it can also help maintain them. During the covid-19 pandemic, our words became more meaningful because people were distanced from each other. What we said and how we said it impacted our lives profoundly. Persuasive crisis communication helped and reminded people to wear masks, physically distance themselves, and be generally safe from a near-invisible microbe.
Three: Trust = Reputation
Clever writing and design are vital if your goal is to build your brand into a knowledge provider. If you are interacting with others for your work verbally, cleverness and tact are equally important here too. Sometimes it might be your first time interacting with your audience or end-user, which is scary. You don’t always know how your information will land and whether your delivery will work, and that’s why empathetic communication makes a world of difference here.
TFQ offers communication strategy sessions where we discover your goals, refine your approach, and assist in practicing what you've learned in the process. Whether personal or professional, communication that is clearly understood and persuades other people into thinking in new ways about ordinary things connects us to ourselves and builds meaningful relationships with our target audiences.
*if you know, you know.
** Keep It Simple, Silly
Brilliant piece - absolutely love reading your insights :)
So keen to learn more about TFQ’s communication strategy sessions! This sounds like something my business could benefit from. Great article and love the use of graphics, Shraddha!