The EMPATHY Method is my proven system at the heart of helping leaders and future leaders communicate better.
It’s an easy-to-understand process that anyone can follow whatever your level, experience or skills.
This seven-step system will become something you turn to again and again to really take your communication to another level.
And, when you create the right way to communicate well it makes it more meaningful, memorable and longer lasting for broader development.
But #1…considering we all communicate hundreds or even thousands of times a day, why do you need a system to communicate better?
But #2…if good communication is all about people, doesn’t having a system make it cold and impersonal?
Why you need a system
Most of us communicate many times a day. But that doesn’t mean we do it well.
We are unfocussed, rushed, impersonal, reliant on technology, lacking clarity, not strategic and many more things…
We are using energy and creating motion without making any progress.
How then will The EMPATHY Method help you to be a better communicator:
1. You get your fundamentals right
Instead of scrabbling around for hacks, the elusive 1% marginal gains or going back to square one every time you prepare for a panel discussion, presentation or media interview, having a performance system in place gives you the fundamentals to build on.
By having your personal fundamentals in place, you can accurately assess your current level of performance, then focus efforts on what you need to do to get better.
2. You create a new and higher level of consistency
A system focussed on supporting you in your unique situation builds a repeatable process that can be followed, tweaked and improved.
If you are prone to nerves this will give you reassurance.
If you have clearly defined ambitions this creates a path to rapid improvement.
Or you may need a better way to ensure higher and sustained performance by building retrieval and deliberate practice into your routines.
3. You evaluate how you communicate
I’ve worked with lots of leaders in the European start-up community, many refer to the flywheel effect and the research of Jim Collins.
The EMPATHY Method can become your very own flywheel measuring progress and helping you move forward to your short-term goals and longer-term ambitions.
It works like this: measuring progress gives you proof that something is working.
This, in turn, gives you conviction to dig deeper, try harder and aim for a higher level than perhaps you ever thought possible.
This then gives you belief.
And repeat.
4.You build awareness that elevates you above the crowd
It is good to be positive but sometimes to move forward we need to acknowledge and solve problems.
This means noticing patterns in behaviours, actions and events so you separate cause from effect.
Without self-awareness and awareness of external factors that impact how we communicate then you will not be able to progress.
These problems can be barriers to reaching higher performance and often mean that we have reached a plateau.
Having a new perspective will help you understand what matters most in making you a better communicator.
5.You create something sustainable
The highest performers I’ve worked with, the ones who make the greatest impact for the longest time, are those other people point to and say, “I wish I could communicate like that”.
The thing is: you can!
All of them have taken a longer-term view to improving how they communicate as part of their broader development and career.
Do you prepare for a presentation without thinking through when and how you have delivered great presentations in the past?
Or have you failed in a big Communication Moment but not asked yourself why?
If you consistently evaluate and iterate how you communicate then you move beyond fixing problems to creating the right environment for exceptional performance.
Good communication should be the thread that sows all you do together, helping you to inform, influence and inspire.
But this is only possible if you follow a process that helps you work smarter so you invest time into improving the areas that will contribute to better sustainable performance.