[00:00:00] Mel: Hi, and welcome to Less Chatter, More Matter, a podcast about all things communication without the waffle. I'm your host, Mel Loy, and in this show, I will give you short, punchy, practical communication tips and insights. You can start using in your communication practices right away. I'm a former corporate communication executive who happily took a redundancy, started my own business, and never looked back.

[00:00:27] Mel: These days, I use my 20 plus years of experience to help guide organisations of all shapes and sizes in how to communicate more effectively. I'm wife to Michael, cat mum to Cookie, aunty to 12 nieces and nephews, a yoga teacher, and a group fitness fanatic. I promise these episodes will always be short, sharp, and helpful, so let's get amongst it.

[00:00:52] Mel: Hi friend, and thank you for tuning into another episode of Less Chatter, More Matter. It is great to have your ears tuning [00:01:00] in from wherever you are in the world today. I'm back behind the mic this week after traveling up to central Queensland coast last week to deliver a full day workshop on leadership communication skills.

[00:01:11] Mel: And one of the five core skills of leadership communication that we discussed in that workshop was being able to adapt and personalise communication for your team. And that's not just a core skill of leadership communication. It's also a core skill of communicators in general to be able to personalise your communication.

[00:01:31] Mel: Now, personalisation is really powerful in communication because A, it shows that you care. And as the great Maya Angelou once said, Nobody cares what you know until they know that you care. B, it's much more memorable because it's relevant and it's delivered in the way that works for your audience. And C, personslized communication enables your message to cut through the noise.

[00:01:56] Mel: Now, personalisation has been going on in marketing, especially eCommerce [00:02:00] for a really long time now. Think about things like having an email sent out that has your first name in the subject line, or those recommended for you sections on eCommerce websites that are based on your previous purchases or things you've looked at.

[00:02:14] Mel: Even special offers that are tailored to specific audience segments based on your data that they have. And that personalisation has proven to be really, really powerful. Numerous studies have found that personalisation of marketing increases the likelihood of purchasing as well as repeat purchases. But we don't often hear about personalisation from the internal communication perspective.

[00:02:38] Mel: So today's episode is going to delve into that world and look at some ways you can personalise and tailor your communication to make it more effective with your audiences in your teams. Now it's worth remembering that the average team member is bombarded with messaging every day. According to a report from Statista, there's an estimated 347. [00:03:00] 3 billion emails sent each day around the world.

[00:03:06] Mel: Now that translates to about 121 emails per day on average to each individual. And the average person is reported to have at least one to two email accounts each. I know I personally have three accounts and I monitor a couple of others as well. So when you think about the fact that we are receiving so many emails a day, then add on intranet content, internal social media content, chat apps like Teams and Slack, there is a lot of communication being delivered to employees every single day.

[00:03:39] Mel: Personalisation can help get people's attention and cut through that noise because it offers relevant content. It makes the communication more valuable, so it's more likely to resonate. So how do we do it? I'm going to share four methods for personalisation. You can use one, you can use them all or somewhere in between, but even just using [00:04:00] one of these methods will make a difference.

[00:04:01] Mel: I promise. Okay. The first method I'm going to talk about is. Repackaging your communication for different audience segments. Now this is particularly important for change related communication. So what this means is simply taking the same piece of content that you would normally share with the whole audience and instead sending it to different audience segments, changing one or two things to personalise it.

[00:04:26] Mel: So for example, let's say you're talking about a new printing system being implemented in your office. Now, rather than sending a message and user guide to the whole office, you know, all 800 people in the building, you could send that content to different teams with different greetings. So, for example, the subject line could be, what the HR team needs to know about our new printing system, rather than just, here's what you need to know about our new printing system.

[00:04:50] Mel: So already we've personalised it for that team. And then the salutation or the greeting in your email could be personalised too. So for example, it could say, Hello HR [00:05:00] Superstars, rather than just, Hello. Which again, boring, doesn't cut through, not personalised, doesn't get your attention. And then the actual materials could be personalised as well.

[00:05:10] Mel: So let's say you've got a training guide attached or a user guide. You could put a title on that that is specific for each team. So it could be our new printing system, a user guide for the HR team, even changing a few things within the guide, like a few screenshots, for example, can personalise those materials even further.

[00:05:27] Mel: So why does this work? Very simply, everyone wants to feel special, but also it draws on the audience's attention when they see that it's exclusive for them. It draws on what's known in the behavioral science world as the cocktail party effect. So that title comes from a study done by a researcher back in the 1950s who noticed that in a crowded, noisy cocktail party, he could distinctly hear someone say his name from the other side of the room, even if he didn't hear anything else.

[00:05:56] Mel: More recently, it's been termed things like selective attention, which I'm [00:06:00] sure we've seen with teenagers, but it means we are primed to detect words that are personally significant to us, like your name. So you might be able to think of a time, even now while you're listening to this, when you were in a noisy place and you could hear your name distinctly from the other side of the room.

[00:06:17] Mel: Or maybe an email caught your eye because it had your name in the subject line. And this works for team names as well, not just your personal name, but team names like, Oh, it's a corporate affairs team. Or this email is for the risk and compliance team, for example. So even small adaptations like these to personalise your comms can really grab someone's attention and result in more cut through with your communication.

[00:06:39] Mel: So that's method number one. Method number two is personalising digital content. And you do this through audience segmentation. All that really means is making sure people only see what's relevant and useful for them via channels like your intranet, eNewsletters, even employee apps, if you use those. Now think about any [00:07:00] intranet or website you've ever visited most of the time, it's very generic content that is designed to appeal to most, but will never appeal to all, especially internal comms channels.

[00:07:11] Mel: If there's not highly relevant or useful content, then it's unlikely you'll visit that site again, or at least not very often. And if you are forced to view it, so for example, the intranet is your company's homepage when you log in. Because you haven't seen anything relevant on there in the past, it just becomes white noise that you quickly navigate away from.

[00:07:31] Mel: So if we want people to not just engage with content, but at the very least use the channels we've invested so much time in, then we need to make them relevant and useful. So the first step in this process is making sure you have a really good employee database. So everyone's roles are up to date along with their team, their business unit or division, even their location.

[00:07:53] Mel: If that data isn't accurate, you're not going to be able to effectively personalise your communication through [00:08:00] segmentation. Now there's lots of ways you can cut the data. Those things like, uh, their role, title, and location, etc. They're just the most common ones I've listed. But once you've done the work in establishing an accurate database, and hopefully that database automatically updates as people move around, then you can apply that to your digital channels and content.

[00:08:19] Mel: So, for example, if you're a team leader based in Brisbane, you might see messages specifically for you on your internet homepage or your employee app, and they'll be different to messages that team leaders in Sydney or Melbourne, for example, might be receiving. There could be messages that are relevant for the whole of the finance and customer service divisions, but they're not relevant for marketing and HR.

[00:08:41] Mel: So those folks just won't see them. There might be content that's just for team members based in Melbourne who need to know about changes to a system in their offices, for example. So this content can also be personalised using employees, names, locations and team names in the content itself. So dear Jane, you're receiving this message [00:09:00] because.

[00:09:00] Mel: You come to our Melbourne office, for example, now this is great personalisation because not only does it drive use of channels because you're offering this tailored and personalised experience, but in times of emergency, it's also going to be much easier to reach only the people who are impacted really quickly so you don't have to spread panic everywhere.

[00:09:21] Mel: So that's the second tip. The third tip is making content relevant, but. In a way that is probably the most effective way, but it also requires the most effort, and that is having leaders tailor the content for their teams. Now this is one of the core skills of leadership communication, in my opinion. The ability to take group wide messaging and not only convey how it is useful for your team and relevant for your team using really specific ideas, but also to be able to put that message in your own words and authentically without misinterpreting the intent.

[00:09:57] Mel: So why does this work? Well, again, [00:10:00] research consistently shows that when it comes to sources of information, we are more likely to listen to and trust our direct leaders than any other person in the organisation. So the further up the chain that the sender of the message is, like, you know, we're going up from my leader to my division leader to my C suite leader to the CEO, the less likely you are to actually take in their message or even care about it.

[00:10:24] Mel: And that's because we'd like to get information from people we trust. We see this a lot on social media. This is how misinformation gets spread so easily because, hey, I trust my friend who shared a tidbit of information, so I'm not going to fact check it. Maybe I trust that friend more than a reliable news source, for example.

[00:10:42] Mel: So the problem is, though, that this Type of personalisation does take time and practice to master. And sometimes leaders aren't even aware that it's part of their role, right? So they just simply pass on the messages handed to them from on high without changing anything, providing any context or [00:11:00] making them meaningful to their teams.

[00:11:02] Mel: So as a leader, your voice is influential and you have a real opportunity to help drive effective communication, which of course is a big driver of employee engagement. And when that happens, we get greater alignment to the organization and the strategy, which has all sorts of benefits from employee morale right through to the customer experience.

[00:11:23] Mel: So if you are a leader, next time you get a message to pass on, take the time to work out why and how it's relevant to your team, and then put it into your own words. So it is a genuine piece of communication that will be much more effective. And if you're listening to this as a comms pro who delivers these messages to leaders to pass on, encourage them to personalise it by giving them some really clear instructions, maybe even some examples, and provide some spaces in templates, for example, where they can fill in their own messaging.

[00:11:52] Mel: Okay, tip number four, the last one for today is personalising your communication to get more effective [00:12:00] communication by understanding the needs of your audiences. Now, I've talked about this at length in some of my previous episodes, and I do go through this more in much more detail in my book that will be out soon.

[00:12:13] Mel: But in short, this is about understanding that everyone has different preferences for how they give and receive information. And those preferences are based on and influenced by a few factors. I call them like three big buckets of personalisation. Now, the first bucket is your communication personality type, and I've talked about this before.

[00:12:33] Mel: So this is about whether you are more of a detailed or strategic thinker, more introverted or extroverted, and more of a visual or more of an auditory learner. And you can take a quiz, a really cheap, a free quiz, very quick, on my website. I'll put the link in the email to find out what kind of personality type you have based on those three factors.

[00:12:53] Mel: The second bucket is your context and experiences. So whether that's the environment you work in, who you work with. [00:13:00] The subject matter of your work, how you've experienced change in the past, how you've had leadership experiences, et cetera, et cetera. All of that stuff plays a part in now how you communicate and how you prefer to receive communication.

[00:13:14] Mel: And the third factor is all about diversity, inclusion and accessibility. So, for example, the communication norms of your culture could be influenced by whether you live and work in a high context or a low context culture. So high context or low context, these were terms that were coined by the researcher Erin Meyer, and I really encourage you to read her book, The Culture Map, if you're interested in finding out more.

[00:13:37] Mel: It's a great book. But communication in high context cultures, like those in Japan or China or Saudi Arabia, tends to be more nuanced, layered, very sophisticated. Understanding a message in these cultures usually relies on sort of reading between the lines. And a lot of the meaning is derived from context and relationships between the communication, [00:14:00] the people engaged in the communication.

[00:14:03] Mel: Now, communication in low context cultures, like those in Australia, where I am, for example, Germany, Canada, that tends to be much more clear and simple and much more direct. It's very much understood at face value. So this kind of idea matters in what you say and how you say it. So for example, in a low context culture like Australia, we value people being straightforward and it's very okay to send an email after a meeting reiterating key points.

[00:14:30] Mel: You know, it's basically expected, but in a high context culture that could come across as really rude and patronising. So it's just something to be aware of as you're communicating to bigger groups in particular. Now this bucket of the personalisation model also includes tailoring your content for those who live with a disability, those who speak with different languages, uh, people who identify with particular subgroups or cultures.

[00:14:55] Mel: Now, from a team leader perspective, you would have a good idea of how people on your [00:15:00] team prefer to communicate. So, for example, do you like to talk it out while others like to take time to think and come with questions? You should be able to tailor your comms for your different team members. But when we're talking about much larger groups, like the whole organisation, you obviously can't tailor the approach for every individual.

[00:15:19] Mel: I'm not asking you to do that. It's okay. But I do recommend repackaging your comms in at least three different ways. So for example, have an animation, an internet article, and a team meeting all about the same thing, just the same message delivered in different ways. And again, tailoring and personalising your communication like this is going to get you much better cut through because it's designed to meet the audience's preferences, but it also shows that you care because you've taken the time to personalise in the first place.

[00:15:51] Mel: And that sense of care, it grows loyalty, but it also gets your audience's attention. And at the end of the day, that's what we want.

[00:15:59] Mel: Alrighty, [00:16:00] then it is time for your episode recap. So if you wandered off to that nice, quiet place in your mind for a second, come on back to me Today I shared why personalising internal comms is so powerful and four ways you can do this yourself.

[00:16:13] Mel: Now, again, you don't have to do all these methods, but even making one change will make a big difference. So the first method was repackaging for different audience segments. So for example, here's a video on this training for the HR team. This video is for the risk and compliance team. Exactly the same video.

[00:16:33] Mel: It's just given a bit of personalisation by changing the name, making it relevant for that team. Now, this may seem like a small, maybe even a little bit tedious act, but it makes a big difference in getting people's attention and it makes them feel special in the process. And that means more cut through win win.

[00:16:52] Mel: The second tip was personalising digital content. So, for example, your intranets, your eNewsletters and your employee apps. And [00:17:00] again, this relies on really good data that you can segment for your audience, but it will drive channel use and engagement because you're only delivering content that is relevant and useful to that audience.

[00:17:12] Mel: The third method was making your content relevant via the person's leader. So a core leadership communication skill is being able to take group wide strategic messages and make them meaningful and relevant for your team in your own voice. Your direct leader is your most influential voice, so we want to make sure they're using that power to help drive effective communication.

[00:17:36] Mel: And the final method was to tailor your comms to meet those different communication personality types. So this is about knowing that every individual has different personality types in terms of their communication, different preferences in how they like to send and receive information, and knowing that is critical to getting cut through.

[00:17:55] Mel: So if you're a team leader, be prepared to say the same thing in a number of different ways to [00:18:00] different people. And if you work at the group wide comms level, like an internal comms role, make sure you repackage your comms in at least three different ways. Okay, folks, that's all for today. Don't forget that if you want to learn more about this stuff, or you know someone who is interested in getting into corporate communication, I have my online on demand corporate communication career fundamentals course.

[00:18:22] Mel: It's available 24/7; it covers off the key skills you need to hit the ground running in a corporate communication world. So I'll pop a link to that in the show notes. Also, I'm working on a new online course again, an on demand one for leadership communication skills, which I hope to have available in the next couple of months.

[00:18:38] Mel: And that will cover the five core skills of leadership communication, which includes how to have challenging conversations, how to have coaching conversations. So keep a lookout for that. In the meantime, I hope you have an incredible rest of the week. Keep smiling, keep doing amazing things and bye for now.