Communication is my word of 2024, that is the effective transmission of a message (however ghastly) and the ability to hear what is coming back as a result.
Effective communication is ever more important.
In the US we saw Kamala Harris ineffectively communicate with the US electorate. Her messages were surely better than Donald Trump’s but her communication of them was appalling.
That made her appear deaf to what mattered to a huge swathe of US voters. And that alienated them and so they held their noses and voted Trump. He surely had worse messages, but he got them over so effectively that it was easy to ignore the unpalatable aspects of his campaign.
For a hilarious (and rude and sweary – you have been warned) satirical take on the US result watch this from Jonathan Pie (with thanks for DH!).
The US know what they are likely to get with Trump, with Harris they had no real idea. Communication.
Meanwhile, in the UK, our new Government has managed to seriously upset pensioners, most people living in the countryside, all employers, students, the armed forces and bus users.
And is that because these changes are not needed or justifiable? Who knows – they just happened and have been vaguely defended ever since. Their communication of them has been more than lacking, before and after their arrival.
At TCFP we have worked hard on team communication, what we say and how we say it – to you and each other.
If we can’t do it effectively everything else is for naught.