Frustrating conversations. Anyone working in the corporate sustainability industry will have been part of at least one, probably more. These are often the result of people using the same words to mean very different things. Despite how far the field has come and how often we now talk about corporate responsibility, the reality that confronts conversations about responsible business is often one of ambiguity – leading to circular conversations, lack of consensus, and ultimately lack of decisions and actions.
This is partly due to that fact that this field is worse than most for jargon. To begin with I’ve already used corporate responsibility and sustainability interchangeably. I could very easily add in several other overlapping amorphous umbrella terms. Furthermore, we have become very used to our way of thinking and speaking in this industry. It is easy to assume people understand what we mean.
But, there is hope. We can break out of this mould of miscommunication and misunderstanding. Others have done it and we can learn from them. Most notably big companies are learning how to connect and engage with their stakeholders on sustainability issues. Communicating with stakeholders in a language that they will understand and in a way which makes them care about it is the direction leaders are heading in (For example see innocent drinks’ “chain of good” advert).
My rant isn’t about corporate communications, but I do believe we can use the principles that companies have started to adopt in our everyday conversations. You don’t need to be a “leader” or “CEO” to have to think about effective communications. It is essential for everyone working in this industry, whether it’s giving a PowerPoint presentation on the circular economy or trying to explain to your flatmate why they need to use less water.
There are several books on how to be a great communicator. I haven’t read many, I would recommend even fewer. Here are my three principles that I think people working in this industry would do well to remember:
- Less is more. Unless you are talking to another CR/sustainability professional, chances are they aren’t as excited about it as you. The value of getting your idea across simply cannot be underestimated. Be ruthless here, even more so with the things you are passionate about.
- Play to your audience’s interests. The same five slides will not work in any situation. Focusing on your audiences interests and not your own will more likely engage and create change, if that’s your goal.
- Listen! By this I don’t mean just hear. Communication is a two way process. Listen. Understand other perspectives, even when they sound mind-numbingly idiotic. It doesn’t matter how great what you are saying is. Understanding where the other parties are coming from and how they interpreting what you are saying, or you’ll never get your point across. If you become a better listener, you will be more open to other points of view or at least to respecting them. Let’s leave polarisation to politics and physical science classrooms.