CHAPTER 1

Conducting a Communication Strategy Analysis

Happily experimenting with the problem–solution method to help develop business for our family wholesale distribution company, I was in the conference room of a regional supermarket chain making a presentation on the financial benefits of our services for selected product categories. The target audience, in my mind, was the Vice President (VP) of Purchasing, who, at my request, had invited his staff to participate in the presentation and discussion. But the Purchasing VP had also invited a manager from the accounting department. The accounting manager aggressively challenged some of the assumptions in my financial models as they applied to her organization and pretty well wrecked the presentation, embarrassing me in the process. I learned later that the power in the organization resided in the accounting function, and the purchasing department rarely made vendor decisions without this particular accounting manager’s involvement. I had failed to do my homework about my audience and how the decision-making process worked in this particular organization.

I learned my lesson the hard way. The first step in developing an effective problem–solution presentation is to slow down and think through some questions to help focus your persuasive strategy and tactics. Over the years, I’ve refined a series of questions designed for the problem–solution persuasive pattern. These questions “prime the pump” for thinking about how to strategically approach the presentation. Brainstorming and “white boarding” the answers with your team are always the first steps in presentation development.¹ Here are the eight primary questions for analysis:

Although the questions may appear linear in nature, developing a communication strategy is really an iterative process. As you work through a question, you may need to revisit and edit your answers to a previous question. I will share some thoughts about each question in the following sections, using our case study (presented in the introduction) to provide example applications. As a reminder, in the case situation, Carson Rodrequez, the Regional VP of Human Resources for Serv-Pro, is preparing a presentation to the corporate benefits committee, advocating the implementation of a tuition reimbursement plan.

What Is the Problem?

You must be clear on the problem you are trying to solve and understand how the problem affects the organization or group. The problem has to be costing the organization something of value, such as time, inconvenienced customers, reduced productivity, or excessive waste. You must show how the problem ultimately impacts one of more of the key concerns of decision makers: financial performance, customer satisfaction, employee morale and productivity, or the company’s strategic vision and mission. Business is about numbers, and you must seek to turn the problem into a dollars-and-cents issue.

In our case situation, the problem is excessive turnover of salaried employees. The region is losing 20% of its salaried employees per year, compared to the industry norm of 12%. Other regions are experiencing similar turnover rates. Turnover costs the company money and affects productivity. It is expensive to replace a knowledge worker, and Carson will need to quantify that cost.

In addition, losing knowledgeable employees makes it more difficult for the company to make the transition from being a traditional wholesaler to a more sophisticated supply chain/logistics firm. So, the issue also relates to the company’s new vision and mission.

What Is Your Purpose?

You must be specific in your purpose statement. What do you want your audience to do as a result of your presentation? I recommend you write your purpose as a full declarative sentence.

Here, for example, is the preliminary draft of Carson’s purpose statement based on our case study:

Note that the statement has a clear rhetorical purpose (to persuade), a specific target audience (members of the Benefits Committee), and a specific action (approval of a pilot TRP with an implementation date).

The use of the word “pilot” requires some explanation. My philosophy, when attempting to convince decision makers to approve a project that takes the company into uncharted territory, has some financial risk, or both, is to think incrementally. Carson has to make a strong case for the TRP, but he will have to make certain assumptions, based on research, which may be debatable, such as how many employees will use the benefit or how much the program can reduce turnover. By recommending a pilot or test in a limited area, Carson can lower the risk and position the project, in effect, as research, a test of a hypothesis that will generate some data specific for his organization. If he does a good job applying the elements of the Persuasion Triangle—logic, emotion, and credibility— most executives will be comfortable (and curious) enough to support the project so that they can see the outcome data. Such an approach also sets up the expectation of periodic progress reports, which means more “face time” with the committee, a career enhancer, assuming Carson manages the project well.

What Is Your Central Message?

The specific purpose of the presentation is what you hope to accomplish. The central message is the BIG IDEA you want people to remember. It is the answer to the question audience members often receive when they return to their office and coworkers ask “What was the takeaway from the meeting?”

Here is Carson’s draft statement of his central message to the Benefits Committee:

As this example demonstrates, the central message statement captures the main themes Carson will develop in the body of his presentation. After Carson completes his research, he can refine the statement to crystallize his message further.

Presenting effectively is a matter of ruthless focus. As you know from your own experience, listening to a presentation is hard work, and people do not retain much of what they hear. Help your audience by being very clear about the BIG IDEA. Keep it simple. Keep it focused.

Who Is Your Target Audience?

The purpose statement identifies the target audience, but you need to dig below the surface and think about who is going to be in the conference room, in particular, the key decision makers and thought leaders. Effective presenters are audience-centered, connecting in meaningful ways with the audience’s goals, values, and interests. Every person in the room arrives with two questions on their mind: Why is this important and how does this affect me? Carson has to answer those questions.

There are many ways to analyze the audience. Table 1.1 provides some examples that appear frequently in books and articles on presentation skills, all with cautions about stereotyping and overgeneralizing.²

Table 1.1. Example Ways to Analyze an Audience

These particular methods are useful when dealing with a small, relatively homogeneous group or when you are selling in a one-on-one situation. However, for most audiences, the demographics will be diverse, and the audience will represent multiple decision styles, personality types, and learning styles. So what can you do?

Based on my experience, given a business presentation context, I want to know what business functions will be present in the conference room. Beyond the demographic variables, I have found (and research supports) that functional responsibility provides some pretty good indicators of decision style, personality types, and learning preferences.³ Accounting/finance people think differently than marketing/sales people. Human resource professionals have a different view of the world compared to information technology people. If I’m presenting to a room full of accounting/finance people, I’m going to hit the numbers hard, and the details better be right. For marketing/sales, the emphasis will be on relationships and kinesthetic activities. For human resources folks, the focus will be about the decision’s impact on their people. I will talk flow charts with the information technology group, and process improvement with the production managers. For the senior operations executives, I will go to the bottom line (quickly).

For most persuasive situations that require commitment of resources and involvement across functions, you can expect a good representation of the various business functions in the room, as is the situation for the corporate benefits committee in our case study. Therefore, you have to be inclusive in your approach, designing a presentation that speaks to the needs and interests, as well as the personalities, of the different functions. That said, I still want to learn all I can about who is going to be in the room, especially the decision makers and thought leaders. If possible, I want to meet with each individually. I am interested in their individual knowledge about the topic and their disposition (pro or con) toward my idea. I want to know the issues uppermost on their mind and about any “hot buttons” they are bringing into the room. I need to understand how they like to make decisions. In some cases, for larger audiences, I might even design a research or data collection questionnaire.⁴

Kitty Locker, author of Business and Administrative Communication, calls this approach “you-attitude,” when you put yourself in the audience’s shoes, look at issues from an audience’s point of view, emphasize what the audience wants to know, and respect the audience’s experience and intelligence.⁵

In a persuasive situation, I cannot overemphasize the importance of conducting pre-presentation interviews with representative members of the audience. In addition to building rapport and uncovering potential objections, you can sometimes gain pre-meeting buy-in on the assumptions and numbers underlying your position, enhancing the participants’ “ownership” in the success of your presentation.

Returning to our case situation, Carson discussed the issues with his boss and talked with some peers who had presented to the committee. He then decided to conduct face-to-face interviews with the functional heads in his region to get a sense of how each function viewed the idea of TRPs. Figure 1.1 provides an edited synopsis of quotes from Carson’s interviews plus a clip of the chief executive officer’s (CEO’s) comments from a magazine interview.

Figure 1.1. Quotes from interviews with Serv-Pro regional executives about TRP.

Abbreviations: TRP, Tuition Reimbursement Plan; VP, Vice President.

After reading the comments, you can see the power of the information gleaned from the respondents, both positive and negative. Their thoughts will help Carson shape the answers to the remaining communication strategy analysis questions.

What Are the Contextual Factors?

Contextual factors have to do with what is going on in the environment that may affect how the audience receives and responds to your message. The context includes the physical setting where you are presenting, circumstances in the organization, and even external events, such as news about the economy.

Concerning the physical setting, which of the following would you prefer?

Obviously, you would prefer the second option. The point is that the adverse conditions in the first scenario could impair the audience’s willingness to listen to you or accept your ideas. In most cases, the elements of the physical setting will be beyond your control, but if you can know in advance about difficulties with the physical setting, you can often make some adjustments in your presentation design, such as the type of visual support you select or the nature of activities that you plan to insure audience engagement. We’ll talk more about the physical setting in the chapter on preparation.

As for the organizational context, you want to be aware of circumstances that may influence the disposition of the audience. Is the company prosperous or going through hard times? Will the implementation timetable you have in mind conflict with the organization’s peak business season? Is there a morale problem in the organization? Is there political infighting among the functions in the room? Where is the power in the organization?

We can see some examples of contextual factors in the Serv-Pro case. The company’s margins are under pressure due to competitive price-cutting, and larger retailers are pressuring manufacturers to ship direct. The CEO has publicly stated that “getting unnecessary costs out of the system so we can live with lower margins is what keeps me up at night.” And here’s Carson, proposing to implement a new program that will obligate the company to pay tuition for employee schooling!

On the other hand, the company is implementing a new strategy, making the transition from being a traditional wholesaler to a logistics firm supplying services that are more sophisticated. Attention to human capital has to be part of the equation.

Given these contextual factors, it’s clear that Carson’s persuasive approach has to be premised on how a TRP could actually save the company money by helping “get unnecessary costs out of the system” caused by excessive turnover (quoting the CEO may be a useful tactic). Carson is also going to have to demonstrate how his ideas support the company’s strategic direction.

Finally, you have to think about the external environment. What is going on in the news related to the economy, interest rates, the regulatory climate, and trends such as globalization? Do any of these factors affect the company or the people that will be in the room? To answer this question, draw on your experience and common sense. Read business periodicals such as The Wall Street Journal and Fortune. Tune in to the company’s website and social media. Talk to people in the know. Then think about how can you adapt what you say or how you say it to accommodate what is on people’s minds.

What Information Do You Need to Include?

What information do you need to include in your presentation to accomplish your purpose? What information does your audience need to make a decision or take action? Think about the three or four key points that will form the body of your presentation.

Returning to our case study, after some thought, Carson boiled his presentation down to the following narrative:

This exercise provides a blueprint for the research that Carson will need to conduct to fill in the supporting details. For example, Carson will find that an Internet search on the “cost of employee turnover” provides a number of formulas for calculating turnover cost in a credible way. He will need to identify similar companies who have TRPs and interview them about their experience, including impact on retention. In addition, a database search through Carson’s trade association, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), may uncover some empirical research on the benefits of TRPs. He can review the company’s recent Employee Attitude Survey, which included a section on benefit options, to document employee interest in TRPs.

What Are the Benefits to Your Audience?

You must learn to think about what your audience wants, not just what you want. All of us listen to the same radio station: WIIFM (What’s in it for me?). To get people to adopt your ideas, you have to think about your audience’s answer to that question.

Therefore, it is helpful to think about the benefits to your audience if they take the action you recommend and highlight those benefits at the appropriate points in your presentation, especially in your closing.

Presenters often confuse benefits with features and advantages. Table 1.2 provides a brief “sales training” tutorial on what is called the Features-Advantages-Benefits, or FAB, model. The tutorial uses one of Serv-Pro’s services for the retailer as an example.

Table 1.2. The Difference Between Features, Advantages, and Benefits

WIIFM
“what’s in it for me?”

Given the example, what does the retailer really desire? Not piece-quantity shipments but satisfied shoppers (higher sales) and a better return on investment. Those are the benefits in the eyes of the customer. Everything else is just a means to that end.

So, what are the members of the Serv-Pro Benefits Committee buying? How does a TRP meet their needs and desires? What is in it for them? Here are Carson’s preliminary thoughts:

What Are the Potential Objections?

Finally, you need to think about potential objections you will have to address or minimize. Table 1.3 shows a recap of Carson’s initial thoughts on potential objections gleaned from his interviews.

Table 1.3. Identification of Potential Objections and Responses

Having “primed his pump” with the eight questions, Carson is now ready to begin the design of the presentation to the Serv-Pro Benefits Committee. Remember, this is an iterative process. Carson will return to the questions periodically as he conducts his research and designs his presentation. He will begin by constructing the opening.