Get your message across when communicating async
The Art of Asynchronous Communication: Strategies for Clarity and Connection
CONTEXT
"Between what I think, what I want to say, what I believe I'm saying, what I say, what you want to hear, what you hear, what you believe, what you understand, what you want to understand, and what you actually understand, there are at least nine possibilities for misunderstanding… but let's try it anyways" – Bernard Werber
It's true. Communication is hard. A lot can go wrong when we try to get a message across. It gets much harder when people communicate remotely, often with different backgrounds, time zones, references, and experiences. This post will share some logic on thinking when you are communicating and some practical tips you can start using right away.
METHOD
Simplicity - True greatness is turning something complex into something simple. Let’s KISS - Keep It Short and Simple.
Attention - 10 Watts. That's the amount of energy our brain uses to perform daily tasks. That's the equivalent of a fridge lamp. Pretty small if you consider all that happens in a day, so your message can go unnoticed. Make sure you are grabbing attention.
Context - Each person has a unique background and will interpret things differently. Help with the interpretation. Lack of clarity is often filled with assumptions, and that's a big danger when we are trying to make a point.
Those three things can help improve communication, especially in remote work, when people often communicate asynchronously. With that in mind, here are some practical tips:
Try to make the life of whoever is reading it easier. Add the context. Link helpful references and resources. Make sure people have all the information they need. This avoids a lot of back and forth.
Prefer shorter sentences. Add spaces between paragraphs to make it easier to read.
Prefer a single message. Consolidate your ideas, and then share them in a single piece. Avoid sending multiple messages. "Hi, I hope you are well" can be in the same message as the other part of the text.
If you need a response, make a clear request with little ambiguity. Tag who needs to be involved.
If there is a deadline, add a concrete date/time. "Tomorrow" and "in two hours" can be ambiguous.
Videos are great attention grabbers and often make it easier to present something async. If you share a video, add its length so people can organize themselves to watch it.
Review it. Before hitting send, review the text and make sure it is coherent.
This is an example of how it may look like:
CLOSING THOUGHTS
I hope this is helpful, and remember:
"If I had more time, I would have written you a shorter letter." – Blaise Pascal
"Ideas are only as good as your ability to communicate them." – Adena Friedman
It may be difficult initially, but it becomes more natural with practice. What other tips would you add?
If you want to see more, Remote.com has a great async communication playbook. Check it out: https://remotecom.notion.site/Communication-8541f0e7ae004be7a7b949096c9f972c