{"id":156,"date":"2019-12-04T16:55:43","date_gmt":"2019-12-04T22:55:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/knowyouraudience.net\/?p=156"},"modified":"2019-12-05T12:02:26","modified_gmt":"2019-12-05T18:02:26","slug":"first-rule-of-communication","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/knowyouraudience.net\/?p=156","title":{"rendered":"First Rule of Communication"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>My work with a network television station in Minnesota was telling and lasting.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There were 16-17 executives who participated in a multi-day\nretreat using the book, GOOD TO GREAT by Jim Collins.&nbsp; As we began, I asked the group to define the\nfirst rule of communication.&nbsp; Initially,\nthe executives thought of their employees and later included their TV audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The most common response was LISTENING.&nbsp; The responses were written on the white board:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Listening.<\/li><li>Body language<\/li><li>Eye to eye contact<\/li><li>Clarity of expression<\/li><li>Words expressed at the 7<sup>th<\/sup> grade level<\/li><li>Words demanding a response<\/li><li>Openness<\/li><li>Directness<\/li><li>Integration of words and purpose<\/li><li>Don\u2019t know; never thought about it<\/li><li>Humor<\/li><li>Knowledge of stated agenda<\/li><li>Cultural expectations<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Not one answered according to communication research which states\nthat the most effective communicators \u201cknow their audience.\u201d&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I asked, \u201cHow will the first rule of communication (know your audience)\nimpact or change the way you do business?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One general manager said, \u201cI confess that I do not know everyone\nwe employ.&nbsp; I cannot tell you how they\nwant to be treated since I have never asked.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A news director\u2019s candid reply raised eyebrows.&nbsp; <em>\u201cWe\nhave a rote system.&nbsp; Everything by the\nbook.&nbsp; Do your job.&nbsp; Don\u2019t ask questions.&nbsp; No sloppy work.&nbsp; Everyone wants to be respected.&nbsp; I respect those who do their best work.&nbsp; I ignore those who don\u2019t and fire some.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I jumped in with a question.&nbsp;\n\u201cPlease tell us how you define respect?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cRespect,\u201d he said, \u201cis admiring someone for his or her\nachievements.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s Webster\u2019s definition.&nbsp;\nIt doesn\u2019t fit with the Latin version of the word, respectus, which means\nto look back or look again.&nbsp; Getting\nbehind and beyond surface responses is a sign of genuine respect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I asked the director how he feels when others ask for\nclarification or probe beneath his initial comments or explanations?&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt feels terrific.&nbsp; I think\nthey really care about what I\u2019m saying.&nbsp;\nI think I\u2019m getting the point here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The station was in the last place among network channels before\nthe process began.&nbsp; Six months later they\nwere in second place feeling certain that within the next six months they would\nbe the areas number one channel.&nbsp; And\nthey were.&nbsp; Two years later they were\nawarded as the \u201cmost watched station in the state.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My work with a network television station in Minnesota was telling and lasting.\u00a0 There were 16-17 executives who participated in a multi-day retreat using the book, GOOD TO GREAT by Jim Collins.&nbsp; As we began, I asked the group to define the first rule of communication.&nbsp; Initially, the executives thought of their employees and later&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[34,16,35],"class_list":["post-156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-know_your_audience","tag-know-your-audience","tag-platinum-communications","tag-stories"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/knowyouraudience.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/knowyouraudience.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/knowyouraudience.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knowyouraudience.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knowyouraudience.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=156"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/knowyouraudience.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":168,"href":"https:\/\/knowyouraudience.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156\/revisions\/168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/knowyouraudience.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knowyouraudience.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knowyouraudience.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}