What’s on your comms menu?
Sometimes when working with a client or key stakeholder, there can be a difference in expectations – not so much about deliverables, but the timeframe within which to deliver.
That’s because a good comms person will make it look easy! It’s not.
When discussing timelines, most people understand that working within a short timeframe will impact the quantity of the work delivered.
It will also impact the quality of the work.
Again, a good comms person will put in the energy and effort to make it happen with great accuracy and attention to detail.
Admittedly, there are some tasks that don’t need a lot of time and consideration, you can just get the job done quickly.
But, at other times, a project may experience undue stress and pressure due to high expectations and tight deadlines. Worst still, when jobs get rushed, mistakes can be made.
A handy tip is to equate “requests for service” to “ordering from a menu.” As crazy as this analogy sounds, it can be a way of expressing that, like a good diet, variety in comms is important.
Here’s a guide to your next comms order:
Fast-food: whether it’s the colonel or the clown or something else, it’s quick and convenient. But it may not be fully satisfying. There also may be limited opportunity for variations to the menu for dietary requirements.
Home-cooker: working with your in-house team can deliver a great result. Levels of expertise and skill may vary, most likely you will get a solid outcome with the benefit of insider understanding. This is a reliable service.
A la Carte: who wants to wash the dishes every night? Sometimes, it’s fun to outsource. Let someone else serve you and make sure the details are just right. It’s likely you will be able to discover innovative ways of doing things.
Degustation: one of the most exciting meals to order. When you have plenty of time, and really want to savior the experience. This is a luxury! Costly to enjoy every day but for special occasions, it is worthwhile to dedicate time, effort and energy.
It really does help to chat about all facets of a project before you start – including the amount of time, effort and energy that is required. It’s about understanding expectations. To exhaust the analogy one last time, it is disappointing to serve a cordon bleu recipe when a cheese sandwich was all that was required.
How do you manage expectations? Do you have a useful analogy or framework for the conversation? Let us know.