Meeting people where they are

We all have a natural way of communicating, and most of us assume it works. Yet often, it doesn't, and we wonder why? 

You probably know what I mean. The person who needs the detail, the one who wants (just) the headline, the person who wants you to tell it how it is and the one who wants you to ask about their family first and so on. 

They all want you to approach communication in a way that they appreciate and therefore to hear a slightly different version of the message.

Adapting to them isn't a betrayal of who you are, in fact, as I reinforce in my workshops, it's the opposite. It's the small act of noticing that practical empathy, that is, focusing on the person in front of you rather than the script in your head, is a more effective way of communicating.

You don't have to become someone else. You just have to remember that other people aren't you and you may have to tailor your message in different ways to ensure that it lands.

In short, say the same thing. Just say it in ways that they can hear and understand it.