COMMUNICATION THAT YIELDS THE DESIRED RESULTS.
Ishola Ayodele (ANIPR)
*How not to communicate*
Sacked Chairman House, Committee on Appropriations, Abdulmumin Jibrin, took evidence of budget padding by the speaker of the house of Representatives of Nigeria Hon. Yakubu Dogara and four other principal officers to the Department of State Service, DSS, with a plea on the agency to probe the embattled speaker.
In an interview with journalists
Yakubu Dogara was asked concerning the budget padding allegations levelled against him by Abdulmumin Jubrin.
*Reporter: there are allegations that you padded the budget. Is this true?
*Dogara: I'm a lawyer and lawmaker, I have never seen a law that says padding is an offense*😳(OMG). You are the journalists do your investigation and let me know.
*Reporter: Are you worried in anyway?
*Dogara: Worried! Why should I worry, I'm not worried.
*Dogara's Mistakes*
1) he didn't know his audience. His audience was the citizens of Nigeria not the journalists in his front.
2) He wasn't prepared for the interview. Obviously his media/PR team are not professionals or perhaps he fails to listen to them.
3) He did state the fact, "Padding is not an offense according to his understanding of the Nigerian constitution as a lawyer" but what Nigerians heard was "Yes, I stole but what can you do"
4) And obviously he was talking to himself when he said, "I'm not worried" but unfortunately for him what Nigerians heard was "Even if I stole, I don't care how you feel about it"
*Here are tips on how to communicate better*
1. *Know your audience*
Being clear on who your message is meant for will help you tailor your message.
While this might seem like a lot of work, it can pay dividends when your audience responds to your message and avoid using jargon when your audience won’t know what it means, and don’t use five words when one will do.
2. *Have a winning formula*
Speaking or writing in a way that creates a connection with your audience is a challenge One way to achieve this is to show that you understand where your audience is coming from and the challenges they’re facing.
3. *Develop your key messages*
Key messages are those things you want everyone to know about your organisation. Use one or two key messages throughout your promotion - these will help you stay focused and create consistency.
Communicate your message in ways that are meaningful to your audience, so choose words that will have maximum impact. Eg. ‘We’re open 24/7/365’ might mean something to a young audience but is probably meaningless to a 75 year old.
4. *Stories sell*
We all like a good story. They give us something to think about and can be a great way of illustrating key points.
Either make sure you get the person’s written permission before writing about them or, if your story includes a young person make sure their parent or guardian provides written consent.
Alternatively, you can make stories anonymous by changing personal details and using pictures from an online image bank such as istock.com Testimonials from satisfied customers are also a good way of boosting your credibility.
5. *Use framing before facts*
Often times we assume that all we need is to convince people are facts. Which informs sayings like "the fact says it all", "statistics don't lie". The truth is that what people choose to do or believe is a reflection of their mindset.
Fact is just a tool, only the user's ability can make the difference. Statistics says we are the second biggest economy in Africa but that won't convince an average man on the street that Nigeria's economy is worse.
As a communicator we must learn to frame messages in such a way that the facts we presented can make meaning to our audience.
6. *Their message not yours*
Often times we prepare messages from our own point of view whereas the message is meant for others.
If you want your message to make a meaningful impact then you must realize that you are talking to the most sophisticated computer (the human brain) which will not just take in message hook line and sinker. It will decipher your message and gives it its own interpretation if your wasn't clear and concise enough.
Please share your thoughts with me by clicking the post a comment box below
For more insightful information and resources about effective communication visit http://bit.ly/2bcctfR
Ishola Ayodele is a Public Relations practitioner and a member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations.
He offers the following services to Large Corporations, SMEs and Individuals.
Result Oriented Communication,
Effective Crisis Communication,
Effectual Political Communication,
Reputation and Image management,
And Impactful Presentation Coaching.
He can be reached on
BBM 58ED6030,
twitter @ishopr and via
Email impactfulcommunications@gmail.com
Ishola Ayodele (ANIPR)
*How not to communicate*
Sacked Chairman House, Committee on Appropriations, Abdulmumin Jibrin, took evidence of budget padding by the speaker of the house of Representatives of Nigeria Hon. Yakubu Dogara and four other principal officers to the Department of State Service, DSS, with a plea on the agency to probe the embattled speaker.
In an interview with journalists
Yakubu Dogara was asked concerning the budget padding allegations levelled against him by Abdulmumin Jubrin.
*Reporter: there are allegations that you padded the budget. Is this true?
*Dogara: I'm a lawyer and lawmaker, I have never seen a law that says padding is an offense*😳(OMG). You are the journalists do your investigation and let me know.
*Reporter: Are you worried in anyway?
*Dogara: Worried! Why should I worry, I'm not worried.
*Dogara's Mistakes*
1) he didn't know his audience. His audience was the citizens of Nigeria not the journalists in his front.
2) He wasn't prepared for the interview. Obviously his media/PR team are not professionals or perhaps he fails to listen to them.
3) He did state the fact, "Padding is not an offense according to his understanding of the Nigerian constitution as a lawyer" but what Nigerians heard was "Yes, I stole but what can you do"
4) And obviously he was talking to himself when he said, "I'm not worried" but unfortunately for him what Nigerians heard was "Even if I stole, I don't care how you feel about it"
*Here are tips on how to communicate better*
1. *Know your audience*
While this might seem like a lot of work, it can pay dividends when your audience responds to your message and avoid using jargon when your audience won’t know what it means, and don’t use five words when one will do.
2. *Have a winning formula*
3. *Develop your key messages*
Communicate your message in ways that are meaningful to your audience, so choose words that will have maximum impact. Eg. ‘We’re open 24/7/365’ might mean something to a young audience but is probably meaningless to a 75 year old.
4. *Stories sell*
We all like a good story. They give us something to think about and can be a great way of illustrating key points.
Either make sure you get the person’s written permission before writing about them or, if your story includes a young person make sure their parent or guardian provides written consent.
Alternatively, you can make stories anonymous by changing personal details and using pictures from an online image bank such as istock.com Testimonials from satisfied customers are also a good way of boosting your credibility.
5. *Use framing before facts*
Fact is just a tool, only the user's ability can make the difference. Statistics says we are the second biggest economy in Africa but that won't convince an average man on the street that Nigeria's economy is worse.
As a communicator we must learn to frame messages in such a way that the facts we presented can make meaning to our audience.
6. *Their message not yours*
If you want your message to make a meaningful impact then you must realize that you are talking to the most sophisticated computer (the human brain) which will not just take in message hook line and sinker. It will decipher your message and gives it its own interpretation if your wasn't clear and concise enough.
Please share your thoughts with me by clicking the post a comment box below
For more insightful information and resources about effective communication visit http://bit.ly/2bcctfR
Ishola Ayodele is a Public Relations practitioner and a member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations.
He offers the following services to Large Corporations, SMEs and Individuals.
Result Oriented Communication,
Effective Crisis Communication,
Effectual Political Communication,
Reputation and Image management,
And Impactful Presentation Coaching.
He can be reached on
BBM 58ED6030,
twitter @ishopr and via
Email impactfulcommunications@gmail.com
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