Summary
In our fast-paced, attention-diverting world, swirling buzzwords compete for our time and our focus. We hypothesize that true productivity - creating outcomes and experiences that align with our mission, values, and goals - is about quality over quantity. And the way to achieve genuine quality is to prioritize humanity, especially in how we communicate. In our session, we challenge conventional wisdom by asserting that bringing the human side to communication is essential for achieving meaningful and sustainable success. We will take the audience through our tried and true best practices to craft effective Slack communications that lead to increased knowledge, improved application, and stronger team connections - with a dose of heart.
Key Insights
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Asynchronous communication lacks the nonverbal cues—tone, body language—that comprise over 70% of effective human communication.
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Meaningful human connection in messages supports individual and team resilience by signaling social safety.
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The brain can hold only 3 to 5 chunks of information at a time, so concise, scannable messages are essential.
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Clear identification of message audience, purpose, and explicit next steps reduces uncertainty and increases engagement.
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Matching the messenger's authority level to the message impact increases trust and clarity in organizational communication.
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Limiting main calls to action to three per message helps prevent overwhelming recipients.
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Using Slack features like emojis, polls, short videos, and message activity analytics enhances connection and feedback.
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Heart-based communications with no required action nourish workplace culture and human connection.
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Regularly revisiting communication codes of conduct supports respectful and culturally sensitive dialogue in global teams.
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AI can aid drafting messages but requires human editing to preserve intended tone, purpose, and voice.
Notable Quotes
"The simple hi with no follow up feels off because it's like someone walking up to your desk saying hello and then staring at you waiting for your response."
"You can have the greatest idea in the world, but if you can't connect with other people, nothing will come of it."
"Meaningful communication is not just sustenance, it's nourishment for you and your teams."
"Most of what makes up meaningful human communication is harder for us to access screen to screen."
"People like to know what they need to do to be successful and tend not to love uncertainty."
"The bigger the impact, the higher the title the message should come from."
"Our working memories can only hold three to five item chunks at a time despite the data downpour."
"Video messages can help bring back lost nonverbal cues like tone and body language."
"Heart-based communication makes better trust, better communities, better connection."
"AI is a wonderful opportunity to ideate and draft but always requires a human final edit to keep your voice."
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