Communication Timing

Scenario 1:  Driving down the interstate on a recent evening, I notice a car in front of me with a right turn signal on. I assume the driver will be taking the next exit. We pass one exit, then another. Since the vehicle is in the right lane, I assume the driver has inadvertently left the signal on, perhaps after changing lanes. After several miles, the vehicle turns on the third exit as the signal is extinguished. It's almost a surprise to see the vehicle take the exit.

Scenario 2:  A new information system is being rolled out across an enterprise. In January the project team launches a robust communication strategy that touches all employees, sharing the benefits of the new system and what to expect. During the last week of the first quarter, a small group of key stakeholders receive a brief email stating a new go-live date in the third quarter. The communications to all employees continue with the same focus on the benefits of the new system and what to expect. In the fourth quarter the system goes live. Adoption of the new information system is abysmal. The project team discovers that several groups in the business have created their own siloed solutions, and there is no appetite to convert to the new system.

Both scenarios share a lesson about communications: timing is everything.


Components of the basic model of communication are:

• Encoding: selection of the “language”


• Message: the information being shared


• Medium: the channel through which the information is shared


• Decoding: interpretation of what's being shared


• Noise: what gets in the way of understanding

In the first scenario, the encoder is the driver of the vehicle, and the language selected is the lingua franca for all lane changes and ramp exits – the turn signal control mounted on the steering column. The message is: “Hey! The vehicle will turn right!” The medium is the light emitted by the turn signal and received by my eyes. The decoding happens when I see the light and think: “Hey! The vehicle will turn right...soon!”

In the second scenario, the encoder is the project team. The message is: “The information system is coming!” The medium includes several communication channels. The decoding happens as employees across the firm understand: “Hey, the information system is coming...soon!"

Whenever something is not included in a communication, the receiver must infer from past experience or group norms to fill in the missing information.  In these two cases, the missing information is timing.

When a turn signal is seen on a vehicle, the assumption is that the vehicle will be steered in the communicated direction within a few seconds. When the benefits and outline of a new information system is communicated in January, the expectation is that the system will roll out in the next several weeks.Different inferences can lead to different conclusions. With timing, these different conclusions may cause amplified risk to relationships and outcomes related to the communication. Communications often surface pain points or create expectations that did not exist before. The receivers of the message are primed for action to occur. If action doesn't occur in the expected time frame, there is a high risk of the receivers escalating the issue (e.g., calling the police because the car's driver has not realized the turn signal is on) or taking action to resolve the issue in isolation (e.g., creating an IS solution for a single group instead of the entire organization). In either case, the reputation of the sender is negatively impacted, and future messages from the sender may not be considered trustworthy, accurate, or relevant.Communication is a rich topic around which an entire discipline has been built.  Want to know more?

• Wikipedia has a nice article on communication here.


• If you like academic pieces (and I do!), then check out Communication, Timing, and Common Learning by Jakub Steiner (Northwestern University) and Colin Stewart (University of Toronto).


• Daniel Yates at Seton Hall University as posted a presentation called “Communication.” Wonderful overview of the communication model.

Best,

Bryan