leadership

20 Questions to Ask Your Next Communication Candidate—Before You Hire

20 Questions to Ask Your Next Communication Candidate—Before You Hire

Looking to hire a new communication team leader?

Hiring for a communication position—and wishing you could dig a bit deeper than the standard interview questions? You know, the ones that ask about strengths and weakness, career plans, and why they are interested in this particular position.

Trust of CEOs Has Never Been Lower: Here Are 9 Tips on Communicating to Build Trust

Trust of CEOs Has Never Been Lower: Here Are 9 Tips on Communicating to Build Trust

Trust is the currency of leadership. It’s what inspires others to follow, support, and engage in a leader’s vision.

But there is troubling news on this front: this precious asset is in steady decline, with only 37% of the general population saying that CEOs are credible, according to the Edelman Trust Barometer, a global study with 33,000 respondents

This general mindset of distrust filters into the workforce of every organization—even into those with high trust factors. That’s why understanding how to use communication to build trust is such a timely skill to cultivate—and one that almost every leader can improve upon.

Why Good Ideas Aren't Enough: A Message To Leaders

Most leaders can see a vision for their company that will help it thrive. But the next step is the hard one—how to get these critical ideas adopted—and executed?
 
Here are some tips:

  1. Create a strategic communication plan that lists the key messages, how often and when they’ll be delivered, and who will be responsible for each.  It doesn’t have to be complicated—just clear and executable.
  2. Deliver the vision of the destination before you go into the how. Paint a picture of how life will look after the idea has taken hold.
  3. Use language employees understand. Corporate-speak adds weight that drags down a message, so if you struggle with this, have an outsider review it and point out places where this is occurring.
  4. Make it personal. How will it impact them? What exactly should they do differently now?  What is their role in success?
  5. Use the media they relate to. Is it a video on a mobile-friendly site? An e-letter? A forum? (And yes, you’ll need to use multiple ones.)
  6. Engage the senses. Today’s employee is saturated by visually rich messages—so an overworked text-heavy power point isn’t going to have the impact you need. Great visuals are now essential. And to kick it up a notch, use video to bring motion, music and sound and dramatically increase the impact of your message.
  7. Understand their world. Employees get too much information—but not enough inspiration. Connecting your ideas to their sense of purpose is the best way to inspire them.
  8. Keep it short. Employees like their information in short, snackable formats that they can ingest quickly.
  9. Repeat it. Yes, over and over and over. By the time you’re weary of saying it, it will just be gaining traction.
  10. Listen. Communication is a two-way street. Employees should have some way of submitting questions and ideas that get answered. 

These tried-and-true strategies will absolutely help your ideas spread. What other tools are helping you get your ideas heard?