I highly recommend this series of eight episodes on Radio 4 – Communicating with Ros Atkins
Each of the guests on this series of conversations highlights key principles that are important to them in their work as communicators in their own field of expertise.
What binds them together is the commonality in their principles, which are the same principles underpinning the Amelesia Training programme:
- engaging people in conversations with direct and essential language
- clear and direct language
- listening and modifying
- giving time for people to think and respond
‘How we communicate can influence what happens next’ says Ros Atkins.
‘Great communication makes a difference’
Over 8 episodes he interviews key figures from different areas of life to find out what strategies they use, and why, in order to ensure that their ‘message’, as it were, is understood as it is intended.
EPISODE 1 – with comedian ROB BRYDON
Question: how do comedians communicate and why?
Rob Brydon emphasises what he calls ‘economy of phrase’, that is, in a dialogue where the message is very important, he would use ‘only words that are really important’ to put that message across. In his case, the message is the joke: it is even more important that he slow down so that people have the time ‘to get the joke’.
EPISODE 2 – with magazine editor and journalist TINA BROWN
Ms Brown highlights two essential strategies of the interviewer: ‘being direct’ and ‘listening’ in order to obtain the clarity of messaging that is key in reporting.
EPISODE 3 – with doctor ROB ELIAS
To Mr Elias communication is ‘shared endeavour’ between himself as a clinician and the patient. Key to this shared experience is ‘empathy’.
EPISODE 4 – with Olympic champion /sprinter MICHAEL JOHNSON
Like Dr Elias in episode 3, Mr Johnson sees conversation as a series of exchanges between two interlocutors, going backwards and forwards to describe an event – a race on track, for example – or the feelings experienced by the athlete before, during and after an event. ‘Clarity of explanation’ is the key ingredient in these types of exchanges, especially if more than two individuals are engaged in a conversation.
EPISODE 5 – with chef and food writer SABRINA GHAYOOR
When it comes to talking and writing about food, it is essential to engage the reader or listener into an emotional event that will entice them into wanting to cook and eat these foods. In order to achieve her aim Ms Ghayoor focuses on:
- good, clear food writing: making something that is unknown into something that is familiar
- being realistic: keep people interested
- conveying normality and humanity, reassuring people that they too can be good cooks like her
- anticipating the questions people will ask and the comments they might make on her cooking.
EPISODE 6 – with ISABELLA GREENAN – teacher to Maths and English to students who have moved from mainstream education to alternative provision because they were not coping with mainstream education. In this context the traditional approach to teaching and learning does not work. Ms Greenan is very sensitive to these students’ learning needs: they need to develop functional skills, not abstract academic concepts. She therefore pays very keen attention to their participations and listens very carefully to what they say.
Central to her approach are modification of her input if her students ‘haven’t got it’, speak clearly, be genuine, review and adapt.
EPISODE 7 – with personal finance journalist and broadcaster MARTIN LEWIS
Mr Lewis is very well known for giving very clear messages to his audience. How does he do it? He has three simple criteria, he says:
- help people understand what I am saying
- decide on desired outcome
- listen to responses and adapt language
He achieves this by:
- using simple language
- breaking it up
- bullet-point style
- repeating … repeating … ‘ tell them, tell them and tell them again’
EPISODE 8 – with SARADA PERI – Obama’s speech writer
Ms Peri’s guiding principles in writing speeches for key figures are quite simple:
• what do you want to say and how do you want to say it?
• focus on one message at a time
• ‘what do you want people to think … to feel… by the end of the speech?’
• personal … unique
• accessible and friendly language: simple everyday language: ALL people must understand every word that you say in your speech.