Want to listen to an episode?

1. You can download an app, subscribe to “Linking Our Libraries” and all episodes will appear on your phone – it’s so easy!
   • Apps we like include Pocket Casts, iTunes, and Stitcher.
   • Download any of these, search for “Linking Our Libraries” and hit Subscribe.
   • If it is not readily available, just enter this RSS feed: http://libraries.blubrry.com/feed/podcast/.
2. Or, you can stream an episode right now on your computer by going to our streaming page, by clicking here.

Whatever tool you use, we hope you enjoy it! Thanks for listening, and sharing ideas on libraries!

Want to talk with us about this topic? Do you, your staff, or your organization need training in this topic? Want to write a policy, or develop a program? We are here for you!
Click here to get started!

This week we are looking at strategies for communication! It’s a surprisingly tough skill, but we have some strategies.

Joining us is Guest Host Jami Trenam, from Great River Library System and the Minnesota Library Association Legislative Committee.

Communication is one of those leadership skills that seems like it should be so easy to do. However, everyone discovers that communicating with colleagues, patrons, Boards, funders, and community members is wildly complicated. It is so easy to issue directions, or to send out a policy, or to post news to your social media account. Just saying things is easy, and if that were the extent of true communication, it would be easy too.

Instead, you need to think of communication as a larger process, each step filled with the possibility of failure.

• In the first stage, you think of an idea inside your mind. Something is created there, and the goal is to get it pretty much intact into the mind of the person with whom you are communicating.
• Now, while holding onto that idea, you also need to think of a transmission system to get that idea across to the receiver. It may be audible speech, texting, video, gestures, written words or pictures, or other systems. You choose the one that you think will best get your idea intact over to the other person.
• The final step is receiving the information; it has to land in the brain of a recipient, and to be understood by that person, to be able to say communication was effective.
• Add in the possibility of noise, and it becomes even more amazing that anyone ever communicates anything to anyone! Noise happens when there is some sort of interruption in any stage of this process.

There are a few things you want to see in all of your communication, to help it to be the best darn information sharing process it can be:

• Accurate. This one should be obvious, but you only want to share information that you know is accurate. So, no passing on rumors. Definitely avoid lying directly about things. Not only do inaccuracies diminish the chances of effective communication, but they take away from your reputation as a leader – and that in itself can create noise in the communication process as people filter your message through the lens of “might be lying now.”
• Complete. When you are discussing the upcoming budget, it might be accurate to say you do not know what will happen. But it would be incomplete to leave out that you do know that every single other department is getting a 20% budget cut, and you are pretty sure your library will also get this news. Give the whole message.
• Clear. Avoid ambiguity in your message. Think through what you really want the other person to know, and say it in a way that is understandable for them. Don’t bother with using a lot of big, impressive words; getting across your message is more important.
• Meaningful. This is a big one for managers to think about as we communicate. We have a lot of information that we need to sift through, sort, understand, repackage, and distribute every day. But consider how much your 12-hour a week shelver is going to care about the intricate negotiations you are holding with the database vendors. Not much, usually. So pick your communication partners, and focus your message to ideas that person (or group) cares about – or needs to care about.
• Connection. If your cataloger tells you she’s nearly out of materials, and then you say it rained last night, you might both technically be communicating your ideas – but the lack of connection means this was still a communication flop. Respond to the message from your staffer first, and say “Okay, what do you need?” Then you can switch over to the fascinating topic of the weather.
• Confirmation. This one is pretty easy to do. Say things like “Does that make sense? Does that agree with your plan? What can you add here? Do you have questions?” Think about the final stage in our communication model above: the information has to be understood in the brain of the recipient.