Why oh why?
Anyone that has children or is used to being in the company of toddlers, will be familiar with the constant ‘why’ questioning. As young brains develop and they’re piecing things together, you’ll find yourself constantly being asked ‘why. It’s tempting to reply with ‘just because’. I’d be lying if I said after a particularly intense and exasperating interrogation from my 4-year-old, that I’d never resorted to that response!
But wanting to know ‘why’, is something we never grow out of and especially during times of change, understanding ‘why’ is so critical.
When I’m working on change and transformation projects for clients, the key things I always ask almost immediately:
Why are we embarking on this change?
What’s the benefit to the audience (customer/employee/organisation/stakeholders etc)?
Let’s be clear on the objective and the outcomes we want before we start communicating. And of course, consistency in the messaging is key.
Anchoring the ‘why’ in change communication is so important. It’s the foundation that helps take people on the journey. We all know change can be tricky. My view is that as humans, we can accept change more easily if we understand the rationale.
So, if you’re thinking about communicating change to any audience, that’s a great place to start.
Put yourself in the shoes of your audience and ask yourself why this is happening, does this make sense to me and can I see the wider benefit? My experience tells me that even if some people may not like the change, they’ll be more accepting of it if they understand why it must happen.