It happens. We write, create, live and breathe our communications but your employees just don’t get the message. “They’re avoiding us,” we cry as we lose sleep, time and motivation because it feels like our audience just doesn’t care.

So what causes this apparent lack of listening? Consider these 5 basic reasons:

• People learn differently.
• People don’t understand business babble.
• People are overwhelmed with info they can’t use.
• People think they don’t matter.
• People don’t see how they make a difference.

Here are 5 ways to fix it.

1) Messages Made Many Ways

Keep employees in the know by delivering messages in more formats – written, verbal and audiovisual. Including messages in meetings, digital signage, text or social channels boosts different learning styles.

2) Make it Clear and On Point

Speed your business up using clear language so employees can quickly find and use necessary information. Staying on point saves everyone time, and your business money.

3) Deliver When Needed

Improve employee focus by delivering messages only when employees need and can act on them. Use digital signs at entrance for daily goals and at exit for afterwork reminders.

4) Feature Feedback

Increase engagement by displaying helpful feedback on digital screens, in emails and in meetings. Encourage more feedback by calling for comments via phone, text or email as messages are presented.

5) Share Goal Milestones

Reach goals faster by showing daily or weekly progress on-screen. Work with digital providers like Kiosk & Display to connect data to your screens realtime. Feature star worker contributions and group efforts with progress updates.

It may feel overwhelming to apply all these fixes; don’t. Pick one to do each time you develop a message, then note your results. Not sure which to pick? Start with by making messages “…Clear and On Point”. Here is a checklist that can help.

Everything you do: to be clear, to target learning styles, to deliver when needed, to encourage feedback, and to reach goals—helps reach your audience.

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