How to Communicate Effectively
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How to Communicate Effectively
13 Tactics to Master This Key Skill of Great Product Leaders
Communication is the most sought after skill in any product leader.
Yet it also tends to be the skill aspiring product leaders are awful at.
Why?
A lack of training?
Harder to get feedback to know whether you’re communicating effectively - or not?
Maybe because many product people come from a technical background, so tend to think of people as rational actors (rather than the irrational actors we tend to be)?
Or simply because people are complicated, and it’s hard to communicate full stop?
Whatever the reason, it doesn’t really matter.
What matters is how to improve your communication.
13 Tips to Improve Your Communication
Having coached 340+ Product Managers & Leaders since 2020, here are some high-impact, low-effort tips to transform your communication style:
1. Maintain eye contact (or camera eye contact, if remote)
Even if doing a presentation or reading off notes, place those notes as near to the camera as possible to give the appearance of eye contact
2. Use open hand gestures
Don’t forget that humans are still just apes. Body language still therefore places a big role in how we react to others. Open hand gestures = displaying you do not see the other person as a threat. That display makes people more relaxed around you, making you more likeable
3. Raise your eyebrows when making key points
Similar with the above, a raising of the arches of your eyebrows shows openness. That openness makes you more likeable
4. Avoid buzzwords
Use of buzzwords usually means you don’t have deep enough knowledge to explain a concept in simple terms. Furthermore, even if you think mentioning buzzwords like “MVP” is useful, beware the “illusion of alignment” i.e. we all think we are talking about the same thing, when we have completely different interpretations of that term. For you, for example, MVP might = “an experiment to answer key assumptions”. However, for the CEO, MVP might = “a crap first version of what we are going to build anyway”
5. Always explain a concept. Even if your team have heard it 100 times
People forget. They misinterpret. They fall back into old habits. Good communication is achieved when we repeat the same key points relentlessly until it is tattooed onto your audience’s brain!
6. Get the other person to define next steps
Rather than asking whether they understand, get your team/stakeholders to outline what they want to do next. This is the best way to see they are actually aligned with - and understood - what you were trying to communicate
7. Create a bridge between each point
Rather than listing separate points, verbally connect them so the audience understands the logic flow of your story or key points. Example: “First we did A. From those learnings, we then decided to do B…”
8. Be audience-centric.
Each stakeholder has their own priorities. They aren’t gonna care about 90% of what you want to talk about. Therefore, skip things they DON’T care about. Zoom in on things they DO care about.
9. Make statements confidently
A majority of PMs I coach add a questioning tone to the end of their statements. It undermines confidence in you. Why would they buy into a new initiative if it sounds like you aren’t fully bought in yourself? Instead, make statements confidently & clearly.
10. Use silence to reinforce your point
Silence is a secret weapon. It creates tension & grabs the audience’s attention. Use it after making an important point. And hold that silence for 2-3 seconds. Just past the point where it’s comfortable.
11. Start with a story, then make your point
Your audience is usually distracted, tired, or simply forgetful. Rather than going straight into the data and/or key points, start with a story to make those points memorable. Much easier to remember the challenges John faced trying to complete payment in a user test, rather than simply reading a list of stats to your audience
12. Make your point, then shut up
Key information gets lost when it’s surrounded by fluff. Make your point. Make it clearly. Then await a response.
13. Fewer words = better
As some books should really have been articles, most presentations can be a 2min video update, or even just a couple of bullet points sent over Slack