It’s likely that virtually any manager who has tried to make a message or a goal stick in the minds of his or her employees has struggled to achieve that seemingly simple task.
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But the fact is, most people are busy at work, and most managers don’t spend requisite time enforcing and reinforcing a message. While we may wish that those who work with us can hear instructions or messages once and effectively absorb them, this is rarely the case.
Top Trick for Driving Home a Message
Instead of diving into revolutionary and unproven “strategies” and “tricks,” some leaders have found a very simple and elementary way to drive home certain basic messages: repetition. While it sounds painfully elementary, there may be something to it.
Founder of Let’s Grow Leaders Karin Hurt discusses her experience at a leadership retreat, where simple repetition made the difference between a message sticking and not sticking.
“It’s so easy to assume your team will get it the first time,” she says. “After all, they’re smart. They care. And if you do say so yourself (it’s okay, it’s probably true), you’ve crafted a really careful and powerful leadership message. But the truth is, they’re just catching up.”
Take Extra Steps to Reinforce Messages
What Hurt recommends is going to lengths to reinforce messages. Ask the person you’re talking to to repeat back what you’ve just said. Ask him or her to say it in his or her own words. Ask the person’s coworker in the same room to reiterate the point. Ask either of them to explain the concept, ideal, or principal to others in the group.
Repetition can be an effective, albeit simple, way for people to learn. At first glance, such a simple strategy might seem basic, elementary, or even patronizing. But that’s not the case, and it’s not the message or the goal. The idea is for the manager to be able to convey and reinforce his or her message as efficiently and effectively as possible.
It’s likely that all of us, at one time or another, have been frustrated when one of our key messages failed to resonate or reach an employee or other audience. The key takeaway: Repeat yourself!