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Help with Effective Communication

By Chuck Finney with Jan Shober

A phrase most of us had never heard before Spring 2020: Social Distancing. It means keeping a six-foot distance from others at all times. Elsewhere it means being in a different building, perhaps at home, to conduct business. Many radio and TV stations, ministries and workplaces are now engaged in this new practice for the safety of everyone. It’s new, it’s unplanned and it’s—an adjustment! Can great communication, effective communication occur? With teams, with individuals? We think the answer is yes.

When we wrote a book last year called Wisdom for Effective Communication: The Little Book of Big Ideas, we listed ten secrets to effective communication. Here’s something that may be a surprise. Not one of the secrets, not one, indicated that you had to be physically together for effective communication! Yes, it’s true that there can be extra challenges, but they can be managed.

In our now more digital world, one of the ten secrets especially comes to mind.

Here it is: Make it clear.

In this secret we acknowledge it is our responsibility to clearly communicate. It’s not the other person’s responsibility to try to interpret what we mean, or what a word we use means. It’s up to us to craft our statements in the clearest way possible so the audience—of one or 100—can clearly understand.

We use the words “living a holy life” instead of “sanctification”. Or, “difficult” instead of “onerous”. Or, if you’re going to use one of those big words, explain it.

Here’s an example. The conversation I’m telling you happened after I’d been a Jesus follower for about 20 years, after over 15 years in Christian radio and after six years as an elder at our Southern Baptist church. My wife Lynda and I were driving. I asked her what God had been teaching her. She said, “To abide in Him”. I thought about it a moment and realized I’d heard folks in church use the word “abide” a lot, but I never really knew what it meant. So I said, “Darlin’, help me here. What does “abide” mean. Lynda patiently explained that she thought it meant “connected to but in a life or death kind of way” like the way grapes are to a vine. Without the vine, the grapes shrivel and die. That’s an example of Lynda helping make it clear. Jesus employed this when He used a story about a shepherd, or a woman looking for a lost coin. These were familiar scenes with well understood descriptions, that everyone in His culture would clearly understand. It’s also true that He sometimes deliberately obscured his message—but that is the principle in reverse.

When we are on video chat, we think we can see the other person’s face and their expressions, which experts believe helps with communication. But, people can still cover up their misunderstanding. And, we don’t know for sure how much tech interference is mangling our words.

This principle is of maximum importance in the digital space. Make your meaning clear.

The video component of Zoom is a big improvement to the telephone as far as clarity, but every so often someone’s audio is glitchy. And, to be polite, they may not say anything. Encourage people to speak up about audio or video issues. Being well understood is often dependent on often fixable technical issues.This principle was illustrated for Jan some time ago, when on a satellite call to a new friend who was in language school in Central America, she thought she was told she should buy 500 Birds—a must read book. Odd, she thought, but there really are many birds in Central and South America. Only when she arrived herself in language school did she discover that the recommended book was 500 Verbs. A fast trip to the bookstore came next!

You will find more secrets to effective communication by reading WISDOM FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION: THE LITTLE BOOK OF BIG IDEAS. It’s a fast read, and available digitally on Kindle and in paperback, that will speed you on your way to better communication, even in our distanced circumstances.

What would you do differently in your program or ministry if you knew that your “Christian” listener didn’t actually know the Lord? That she thinks she’s fine with God, but not because of what Jesus did for her. Because she’s a good person. Would this change your message and strategy at all?

Dean Inserra, pastor of City Church in Tallahassee, Florida, prompts deep thought and reflection on this issue in his book, The Unsaved Christian. His premise? That there are huge numbers of people in America and even in the church who call themselves Christians but are not actually saved. He calls it “the most underrated mission field in America,” and argues that this population of “Cultural Christians” presents a huge witness opportunity for the church and other Christian ministries.

He explains that there are two basic groups of cultural Christians. One group consists of those who go to church on Christmas and Easter, take their kids to VBS every summer (some every week of the summer!), and believe in God and the authority of the Bible, but otherwise, their beliefs don’t play a big role in their everyday life. The other group contains those who are actively involved in the church on every level but simply do not have a clear understanding of the gospel. People from both groups claim Christianity as their religion and would be offended to be considered agnostic or atheist, but they don’t realize that God’s work of salvation at Calvary applies to them too.

The difficulty of reaching Cultural Christians, Inserra says, is that they don’t think they need to be saved. Often, they are very moral people and upstanding citizens. They may have happy marriages, great social standing, good work ethic, and no addictions, making some Christians look like heathens by comparison. They think they’re good people—and it may be hard to argue the point. Which is why they don’t think they need Jesus. Ultimately, they don’t understand the seriousness of sin and God’s standard of perfection—they believe that if their good works outweigh their bad ones, they’ll be all right on Judgment Day.

Inserra spends a good portion of the book diving into more specific segments of Cultural Christianity (such as Bible Belt Christians and Catholics) and discussing some special strategies for reaching them. But first, he suggests a general strategy: Get Cultural Christians to understand that they are sinful and in need of a Savior. Since most people in this group believe the Bible is authoritative, he encourages readers to use this common ground to show the Cultural Christian that God is holy, that He has laid out the standards of perfection, and that we have failed to attain them. Cultural Christians tend to believe that “sinning is for the really bad people, who are probably in prison.” So, the goal is getting them to understand that we “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 NASB). The best way to do this, Inserra suggests, is by asking pointed questions. First, make sure you have a good grasp of the individual’s specific beliefs and understanding. Then ask questions like, “What is the standard for good?” to encourage thought about whether or not eternal security can really be attained by good works.

One caveat Inserra gives: Conversations like these are bound to be uncomfortable. Few people, if any, enjoy having their beliefs questioned. But, this discomfort is certainly worth it if it brings about a true saving faith in the Lord Jesus.

Another key takeaway comes from this comment: “. . . gospel clarity is the antidote to the rampant confusion.” (p.9) So true! Speaking clearly, using simple understandable language and clear phrasing is a critical part of the solution.

Inserra muddies the water a few times when he focuses on actions that tend to accompany true salvation, since he starts off admitting that, on the outside, Cultural Christians may look a lot like true believers. In a concluding chapter that discusses how to know if you’re truly saved, he gives a checklist of items that one would reasonably expect to see in a mature believer’s life. However, this list will not be helpful for newer or immature believers looking for assurance of their salvation. These people may very well be saved but still need “spiritual milk” (1 Peter 2:2) to get them to a better understanding of the new life and blessings they’ve received through Christ before they start showing these signs of maturity. Since the defining difference between a Cultural Christian and a true believer is belief in the saving work of the cross for the forgiveness of sins, the reader may be surprised to find that Romans 10:9 never makes it into the book: “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Inserra also tends to re-use descriptive phrases at times and repeats one personal anecdote, but overall, the book is easy to read, informative, and thought-provoking. We recommend every believer with a heart for the lost to read this book to better understand this mission field and get equipped to reach those in it. It may mean the difference of spiritual life and death for your family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors, or listeners.

It’s Easter. A time of special church services with extra-special music, fancy new clothes and big family dinners. Whoa. Not this year! People listening or viewing will be missing those things—and may be unusually open to the important things of the Gospel. A few thoughts for how to plan for your programming as we head into this very different Easter week.
First, some summary strategic thoughts, then some practical ideas on programming:

1. Our positive attitude and tone are key. In two weeks, we celebrate our reason for believing! He is risen! If there was ever a time for you to be projecting God’s hope, God’s provision, God’s promise to give peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7), it’s right now. That means more content with hopeful Scripture, peaceful prayer, calming words.
2. It’s a disturbing, confusing time. More of your listeners now know a family member, a friend, or a co-worker who is sick. More of your listeners have either lost a job or know someone who has. The forced togetherness is giving us the opportunity to make new choices, deal with new challenges and work through new conflict. The world continues to shout negative, “shocking” headlines. This whole situation has become more real for everyone. It’s time for you to be the channel that focuses on God’s perspective in this. He’s bigger than the forced togetherness. And, the economy. And, the virus. It’s time now for on-air words of peace, calm and comfort.
3. This may mean more people will celebrate. More people, new people, believer with non-believer, will likely be celebrating the Resurrection. Just not in church buildings.
We believe our role, if a broadcast ministry, is not to be a substitute to the churches in your area; they all have plans to reach people via digital ways. We believe our role is to support, promote, perhaps simulcast what they are doing.
Some practical tips as you approach Easter Week as a broadcasting ministry:

Ask your church partners now how you might help best get the word out about their services. It’s very possible that together you’ll reach people like we never have before.
Consider some form of Easter sunrise programming, music or music with Spoken Word that will be especially focused on celebrating His resurrection while we are in these special circumstances. Start as early as midnight Saturday night. Some folks are having trouble sleeping right now, and you might have the right message or song at the right time . . . at 3AM.
Even if your world is crazy busy right now and your Easter Sunday morning is just Scripture and worship music, your role is to better prepare your listener to worship that morning.

The #1 place listeners normally hear the radio? In a car.

The #2 place listeners normally hear the radio? At work.

And one of the biggest reasons people listen to the radio? For sports.

All three of these are disrupted/stopped right now.

In normal times, at home radio listening has morphed over the years into use of digital at home. In fact, a lot of homes either don’t have a radio or it’s something like a clock radio that hasn’t been used in awhile.

Right now, use of at-home digital is significantly focused on getting the news and connecting with loved ones.

While everyone is together at home and many are developing new habits, Christian media has the opportunity to be the hope harbor in the storm. But since use of an AM/FM radio is less dominant in the home, it’s time to re-think things.

If there were ever a time to plug your app and online offerings, it’s right now. Your listener is much more likely to hear you online while they’re staying put. This likely means sending emails or text messages, notes in social media, reminding listeners they can hear you digitally.

And, we recommend you include more plugs on-air for the ways to hear your station, your ministry, your digital offerings specific to this special time. If you have other promotional ways to communicate—flyers or postcards, now would be a good time to get out the word.

In sum, now is the time to act, while this new ministry opportunity is young.

“Be ready always to give an answer when someone asks you about your hope…” (I Peter 3:15)

Chuck here. About five years ago, I had lunch with a fellow who does viewer research and consultation for secular news organizations. He researches the kinds of stories they do and what would most likely grow their viewership. He’s a guy who recommends to local news stations to do more stories during the ratings “sweeps” about eating healthier and fewer stories about murders and fatal car wrecks.

Before he knew that I work in Christian media, we got talking about what he was seeing. He said it would surprise me the no. 1 thing news viewers wanted from news. I said, “Try me” . He said, “Hope, that’s the no. 1 thing viewers want from TV news.”

“But, he added, we’re having a challenge convincing the News Director that it shouldn’t be ‘if it bleeds, it leads’.”

Sobering, especially in our current world of anxiety, uncertainty and yes, fear.

My guess is that sentiment from news viewers has likely increased.

Let me give you that headline again: The no. 1 thing secular news viewers want is hope.

We see this even more so with Christian media consumers – the top things they want from us (and believe we do a good job delivering) – according to our Finney Media Why Listen? nationwide research are:

help in growing spiritually.
help with worshipping God throughout the day.
worshipful Christian songs.
help in understanding the Bible better.
and they want to be encouraged.

In short, they want Biblical spiritual encouragement. Said another way . . . the hope and peace of the Good News.

If you wondered this week if it was time to re-assess, ramp up, focus on, become laser-beamed about your on-air content, make it this: More peace, More hope. Biblically focused. The world needs and wants to hear it and see it.

Read our latest Finney’s Fast Five “Top Five Things to be Saying to Your Listeners right Now“.

In our surveys, Christian radio listeners choose what they prefer to listen to from a set of potential reasons. We have spoken about the top four reasons—but the fifth reason matters! From the nationwide Finney Media Why Listen? Survey, the top four reasons for listening are (ranked by percentage who indicated that’s a main reason):

1.	It helps me worship God through the day	87%
2.	It helps me grow spiritually	81%
3.	I like the worshipful Christian music	77%
4.	I want to be encouraged	76%

Right after these spiritual encouragement reasons, we then find this major reason:

I want to get away from negativity on other stations

55%

Get this: Over half of the Christian radio listeners we surveyed nationwide said that getting away from negativity on other stations was a major reason they listen.

Shocking images. Coarse language. And, worse. All coming at them and their families, often without them choosing it.

Don Henley of the Eagles sang about this whole exploitative, sensational, shocking, “if-it-bleeds-it-leads”, media culture in his 1980 hit “Dirty Laundry”:

Dirty little secrets

Dirty little lies

We got our dirty little fingers in everybody’s pie

We love to cut you down to size

We love dirty laundry

Kick ’em when they’re up

Kick ’em when they’re down

Kick ’em when they’re up

Kick ’em when they’re down

That was 40 years ago! Your listeners believe the world . . . and other media . . . are unloving, hopeless, hurried, impatient, unkind, bad, unfaithful, harsh and out of control.

Knowing that your listeners are choosing your Christian media to get away from all of this negativity is a reason to re-check your show, your blog, your station. Are they the opposite – loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled (Galatians 5, The Fruits of the Spirit)?

Something to consider daily.

Note: We’ve mentioned The Lean Startup often, especially reflecting on the concept of “failing fast”. But there’s more to explore. That’s why we’re discussing the book’s concepts in our blog. Please read on.

As business owners, managers, and content creators, you have a delicate balance to maintain: create a recognizable brand so people know what to expect when they come to you, while also innovating when needed. It’s a challenging task, and not everyone succeeds at it. So, how do you do it?

A favorite business thought leader is Eric Ries and his popular book “The Lean Startup”. A many-time entrepreneur who questioned the “usual” way things were done in business, he presents a roadmap for innovators on the path from new idea to successful business. He applies techniques that manufacturers have long used. And, these concepts are not just for two-person ventures based out of a garage.

Ries paints a broad definition of both entrepreneur and startup, so his principles can ultimately be used by anyone in any level of a business wanting to test out new ideas.

Ries states that your ideal aim and goal should be to “learn what customers really want.” So, how does one go about doing that? By using empirical data that measures actual customer response.

Measurable data is essential for a business. “The Lean Startup” shows you how to apply scientific methods to business management and get feedback from your customers often in a process Ries calls the Build-Measure-Learn feedback loop. You start by stating your idea as a business hypothesis. Next you’ll build a “minimum viable product”. He emphasizes not wasting much time on a product that customers may or may not want and introduce the product or offering to the most forgiving segment of your potential customer base.

You use your metrics to measure your customers’ response and start making small changes to your product methodically and as quickly as possible, watching your metrics with each change to determine whether or not your hypothesis was correct.

This kind of research is critical for gaining traction on an idea, and it gives you the information you need when it’s time to decide whether to persevere with the idea (is it a viable business venture?) or make a “pivot”—that is, decide to use the information you’ve gathered to test an entirely new business hypothesis. This may involve using a different technology, or targeting a different customer segment or customer need, among other things. Sometimes you’ll make several pivots before you come up with something that customers want.

Addressing the need to stay efficient as your business grows, Ries suggests a concept called “The Five Whys.” Essentially, for every problem that arises, you ask “why?” five times in order to get to the true root cause of the issue. It sounds simple but can easily devolve into blame-shifting. He gives examples of how to execute this concept, but Mr. Ries misses some specifics that would give would-be users of the concept a better grasp on how to manage it. For example, is five times the magic number? If you get to the root of the problem after asking “why?” three times, should you be concerned? Or, what if it takes ten times? Additionally, Ries explains that you should make preventative changes at each level of the issue—each answer to “why?” constitutes one level—but is it more efficient in a meeting to come up with a solution to each level as it’s addressed, or to wait until you know the root problem and then backtrack?

This must-read is ideal for anyone in business who wants to learn how to innovate effectively, be more efficient, and find out if their ideas really solve the problems they’re supposed to. As to testing, we’d love to discuss how research can help you innovate. Read about ways we RESEARCH, and then CONTACT us.

In writing and publishing, there is the idea of “readability”. The “Flesch Readability Grade Level” calculation scores the level of readability of a piece of writing based on grade level.

From Paul Smith’s Lead with a Story: “Long, complex sentences with bigger words result in a higher ‘grade level.’ But unlike a school exam, a high score here isn’t better. The score doesn’t reflect the intelligence of the ideas, just the complexity of the writing style. So a high score doesn’t mean you’re smart. It means you’re a bad writer.”

He continues “. . . articles in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times typically score between grade level 8 and 10 on this scale. That’s about right for impactful, decisive business communication. Even popular fiction writers like John Grisham and Tom Clancy write around a 7 or 8 on this scale, which is one reason their books are such good reads . . . Unfortunately, many businesspeople write at a 12 to 15 on this scale, which is much too complex . . . It shouldn’t be a chore. Save their brainpower to think about the meaning and impact of your idea.”

What would happen if we in Christian media adopted the same idea on the understandability of spiritual communication? Imagine a system where we keep the “intelligence of the ideas” but we work toward clarity of understanding with our words, images, ideas. And we use grade levels to do it. Deep meaning delivered with clarity.

To paraphrase Paul Smith: “Long, complex sentences with narrowly understood words result in a higher ‘grade level.’ The score doesn’t reflect the profoundness of the ideas, just the complexity of the writing style. So a high score doesn’t mean you’re smart. It means you’re a bad Christian communicator . . . Unfortunately, many Christian communicators write at a 12 to 15 on this scale, which is much too complex. It shouldn’t be a chore. Save their brainpower to think about the meaning and impact of your idea.”

At Finney Media, we help with this. We believe in profound spiritual meaning delivered with widely understood, heart-connective words and ideas. We’ve done research to better understand what is widely understood so that it’s not a chore and that we save their brainpower to think about the meaning and impact of your idea . . . and that they hopefully take a step in the direction of Jesus!

Whenever people ask me why they should put the time and expense into listener research, the following story comes to mind:

This one radio station’s morning host just wasn’t getting it. Every morning he was doing the show he wanted to do, but listeners just weren’t connecting or coming back. So, management scheduled focus groups, the kind where you put listeners around a table to talk about a topic. And, then you have folks from the organization behind the glass to watch and take notes. They invited the morning host to come hear what the listeners had to say about his show.

Predictably, the listeners trashed the show. After listening to the abuse for some time, the beleaguered morning host leaned over to his Program Director and griped, “What do they know? They’re just listeners.” And, he was serious.

His stint with the station didn’t last much longer.

We laugh (and maybe cry) at that story. And yet, sometimes, I do that! We all do that! We think we know better than our listeners regarding what they want. What they’ll come for. What they’ll stay for. What they’ll come back for.

And, so often we miss the mark. Because we are not our listeners. That’s why it’s so important that we ask them. It’s hard for us to understand without asking what they want to hear.

The whole point of listener research is to help us to see through our listener’s perspective. Because we’re daily a part of the endeavor, we actually think about what we’re creating and airing. Which means we’re just too close to it. Way too close to it. If what we want is more people listening or reading or watching, we need to understand better what they perceive, what they are familiar with, and what they like and don’t like. We need to understand what they expect.

So, why put the time and expense into listener research? Because the more we step out of our own perspectives and into theirs, the more likely they are to give us a listen, read our blogs, and watch our videos. And that right there is our goal. So unless you’re a mind-reader, you can’t afford not to!

As we talk with Christian radio listeners, a desire from media for a more uplifting, gentle and innocent tone keeps coming up. It’s almost as if it’s the equal and opposite reaction to our coarser, angrier world. So, it appears that the Christian radio listener’s desire for uplifting, spiritual, gentle and innocent goes up as the world gets more obnoxious.

We see this in the Christmas TV show and movies preferred by Christian radio listeners. Tied for number 1 were Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer and Elf. Uplifting innocence onscreen.

Read our latest Finney Fast Five article “Top Five TV shows and Movies” preferred by Christian radio listeners.

What we didn’t see was much interest in more “serious” Christmas classics like Little Drummer Boy or The Nativity Story or A Christmas Carol. Or, more recent “classics” with contentious themes like The Santa Clause or Christmas With The Kranks.

It looks like our listeners/viewers/readers don’t want “cranky” mixed with “Christmas”.

And, supporting this, finishing strongly just outside our Top 5 TV shows and movies was something that isn’t just one TV show or movie – it’s a collection of them. The Hallmark All-Christmas Marathon. Many folks mentioned it even though it’s not a specific movie. The whole idea of a “blanket” of Christmas movies resonates.

All of this should inform us just how we Christmas this year. Make it about the Christ child. Put Luke 2 at the center of your sound (and, yes, playing Linus’s reading of it is still the best with our listeners).

Here’s our core advice: When you have the choice, lean proactively in the direction of what you are doing; being uplifting, gentle, and innocent.

Great Communication IS Possible with Social Distancing

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