During uncertain times at work, it’s important for leaders to prepare employees for fast-moving change. You may need to make strategic and rapid adjustments and need people to buy into your plan.
You’ll need to raise your communication game to get your desired change management. After all, you can’t believe that people will instinctively know what to do and embrace new ideas, with the right level of urgency.
Communication doesn’t come naturally for all leaders, so let’s talk about what you can do, in a way that’s easy to understand. Think about movie trailers as a way to get started in this process.
In 2021, the movie industry box office topped $21 billion. Much of that success is driven through promotion and Hollywood is really good at it.
Maybe you know someone who will drop everything, run online, just to watch the debut of the latest movie trailer. Would you like that same response from your team?
The next time you need to prepare employees for fast-moving change, remember these tips:
Tease Your Audience
A movie trailer is not a movie. They tend to run anywhere from 90 seconds to two and a half minutes. While it’s not a lot of time, the previews are designed to give people the basics of the plot of the movie, highlight the cast, and preview a memorable moment or two, like a breathtaking stunt.
In your world, an announcement of a change doesn’t have to be long and you want to make sure you don’t drown people in details.
Not sure how to start? As you prepare your remarks, begin with the popular movie trailer phrase, “In a world where…” and insert your current situation. Then you can start to outline how your change will hopefully improve upon a challenging situation.
Create Curiosity
If a movie trailer does its job, then people will want to know more about the film. In your business, make sure you create curiosity about your plans, especially urgent ones.
If your D-Day seems like an A, B, or C day, then why should you expect tremendous action? Curiosity leads to understanding and understanding can produce results.
Don’t Give It All Away
Anxiety over a new challenge may make you talk too much about it, try to explain everything, or lose clarity. In movie trailers, some plot twists or other surprises are not covered.
When you communicate to a large audience, keep your remarks short and focused. You can further explain specifics to the appropriate departments or team leaders.
For instance, let’s say your business needs to change health care providers. You’d want to share why the change is happening, the timeline, and what factors you’re considering, like cost.
You don’t need to tell your audience the minute by minute process your human resources department will use to screen potential providers. That’s more information than most people need to know. Just cover the big picture.
Can It Be Easily Shared?
After a movie trailer, filmmakers want people to easily describe the film to friends and family. Maybe it’s “Superhero returns for new battle against evil forces” or “Dog teaches child how to love.”
It’s short, to the point, and easily understood. For you, this summary might be something like, “We’re going to sell more to Millennials” or “Our customer service process must change.”
Imagine if someone missed your announcement and later asked a colleague what happened. Think about what you want the sentence to be.
You probably need to weave it several times into your remarks. Just saying or writing something once may not communicate urgency and give you the fast-moving change you need.
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