BusinessForward

There is a classic stand-up comedy bit from Steve Martin that goes something like this:

“I was told that there is a convention of plumbers in town this week – I understand about 30 of them came down to the show – so I worked-up a joke especially for them.

“This lawn supervisor was out on a maintenance job and he started working on a Findlay sprinkler head with a Langstrom 7″ gangly wrench. Just then, this little apprentice leaned over and said, ‘You can’t work on a Findlay sprinkler head with a Langstrom 7″ wrench.’ Well this infuriated the supervisor, so he went and got Volume 14 of the Kinsley manual, and he reads to him and says, ‘The Langstrom 7″ wrench can be used with the Findlay sprocket.’ The little apprentice leaned over and said, ‘It says socket not sprocket!’”

The audience is dead silent…

After a pause, Martin says, “Were these plumbers supposed to be here this show…?”

In the real world, wasting this much time sending the wrong message to your audience, is no joke.

Communicating the value of your organization to other leaders in the business is critical. That goes without saying. But are you saying the right thing to the right audience? For example, if you are an IT leader, you must be able to convey value to your peers in HR, sales, finance and operations in universal terms.

Messaging

Each of these functional areas has their own language, just like you. The tendency to fall into jargon-speak is common. Just like a teenager drops acronyms and slang like breadcrumbs, you too may be speaking with clues rather than clarity to lead your audience to your point.

Before you make that next presentation about your IT initiative, take this short quiz to ensure your message is aligned with your listeners.

1. Is my presentation free of technical terminology?
2. Does this audience understand what my role is in our business?
3. Do I understand the functional roles of my audience?
4. Does my presentation relay how my initiative will directly benefit other organizations?

If you answer “no” to any of these questions, go back to your power point. Go back to your meeting invite. Make sure you understand who is attending and develop a message that resonates with them. After all, you don’t want the joke to be on you.