Impactful Communication: Author Bill Shander On 5 Essential Techniques for Becoming an Effective Communicator
An Interview With Athalia Monae
Tell stories. Humans crave story. We require story. We REMEMBER story. When ancient man went out on the hunt, and they got the buffalo, they came back to the village with data: how many arrows they carried, how many arrows they used, how many buffalo they saw, how many miles they ran, etc. But it wasn’t in a spreadsheet! It was in a story. And the epic tale about hunting success is what resonated with the young people. And this is how they learned to hunt and survive. Some people make a compelling case that storytelling was more important than opposable thumbs for the ongoing survival and advancement of the human species.
In an age dominated by digital communication, the power of articulate and effective verbal communication cannot be understated. Whether it’s delivering a keynote address, leading a team meeting, or engaging in a one-on-one conversation, impactful speaking can open doors, inspire change, and create lasting impressions. But what truly sets apart an effective communicator? What techniques and nuances elevate a speech from mundane to memorable? As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Bill Shander.
Bill Shander is an author, educator, and information designer, helping clients turn their data into compelling visual and often interactive experiences. He teaches data storytelling, information design and data visualization on LinkedIn Learning (2M+ learners reached!), and in workshops around the world. His new book, Stakeholder Whispering, is about the art of the conversation to understand the real needs driving stakeholder requests. Clients include household names across a spectrum of industries, including Starbucks, multiple U.S. Government agencies, Big Four firms, and many more. He is a keynote speaker and has lectured for graduate and undergraduate students at Harvard, Northeastern, UVM, and other universities across the United States.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion about communication, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?
I took a circuitous path to my career, and yet ended up doing what I was meant to be doing all along. I started my company many years ago doing web design and development. But I had clients from the very beginning who had data to share and explain. So, I was always creating data-driven experiences. And my background in journalism helped me specialize in making my clients’ data clear and relatable and understandable to their audiences. I realized about 10 years ago that this specialty, data storytelling and visualization, was unique and interesting and a lot of fun. That coincided with being approached by LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com at the time) to do courses for them. I love teaching and public speaking, which is now what I do most. And I recently wrote my first book, which was also an incredibly rewarding experience.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
I don’t have any fascinating, celebrity-filled, jump-out-of-an-airplane exciting stories to share. And yet, I think the story of my career is that it makes perfect sense in retrospect, even though I had zero plans to get here. I was an English major and got a masters in Journalism. I had one job as a journalist and started my company. I learned to program computers and design interfaces along the way and even started doing a lot of data work (not something journalists usually do). But then, somehow, I figured out that I was totally leveraging what I learned as a journalist every single day. I was communicating clearly and concisely with clients, I was helping them tell stories, I eventually started teaching those skills (which is communications) and finally ended up writing a book (something most journalists hope to do)… And yet I had zero strategic vision for any of it. As I always say, my career happened to me. I’m extremely lucky that I essentially stumbled my way into exactly the career I was meant to have! And it’s 100% centered around my communications skills. Everything else is secondary to that.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
This isn’t sexy, but it’s true. The most important trait that contributes to most people’s success is simply showing up, as famously said. I got so much business throughout the years simply by being the person who returned a phone call or showed up for a meeting. That simple act of discipline and care is surprisingly uncommon. Be the person who shows up! (And be diligent when you do, of course.)
Another important trait is to find the balance between being able to pay attention to the details without sacrificing the big picture view. Many people are good at one or the other of those two things, but the more rare person has a vision and understanding at a high level, yet can also manage the nitty gritty of a project. For many years, I was a one-person company. So, I had to have the vision for a project, and actually deliver it on-time, on-budget, etc. There was a constant challenge to envision something of value and deliver that value to paying clients.
Perhaps the last trait I would recommend people develop is being easy to work with. No matter what I’m doing, whether providing workshops for a client or speaking at an event or writing a book and working with a publisher, I think of ways to make their lives easier. First of all, and most importantly, I provide real value and deliver on-time and on-budget. That’s a given. But on top of that, I’m not the diva making impossible demands or the slacker making it harder for them to keep their process flowing, etc. I’ll do everything in my power to help my clients succeed. When you’re that person, you’re someone who gets invited back to the table. Unless you’re an absolute superstar with the reputation and platform to match, don’t be a diva!
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Let’s begin with a basic definition so that we are all on the same page. How would you define an “Effective Communicator?” What are the characteristics of an effective communicator?
We communicate primarily to share information…to help educate or help people make decisions or enable some other action. To be effective implies that the information gets across and helps the people involved take those actions. So effective communication requires clarity, above all else. To be a clear communicator, you must understand what you’re communicating, in the first place. (You can’t communicate what you don’t understand!) You have to understand your audience, to a pretty great degree of detail. What do they need? What are they going to do with this information and why? Communications also requires brevity, or at least efficiency (some communications can be long and complex, but conciseness matters). Good communications may require persuasiveness, since sometimes you need to influence the listener to take a particular action. And these days, more than ever, good communications can benefit from being entertaining. Our expectation is to be entertained at all times, so if you can inject some humor, emotion, story into your communications, it is more likely to engage and stick!
How can one tailor their communication style to different audiences or situations?
First, the question makes clear the most important part of communication, which is understanding your audience. You have to know what they need from you and why. And yes, you need to know what communication preferences, style, tone will be most appealing and effective with them. For instance, when I give a talk or teach a workshop, I will always find out about the culture in the organization I’m working with. I gave a talk at a corporate event in Dubai recently and it’s a talk I’ve delivered many, many times. It has a somewhat edgy section where I use an abbreviation for an expletive. An abbreviation — not the actual expletive itself! But I made sure to ask ahead of time (as I always do) whether or not that would be acceptable in that environment. They were the first client to ever ask me to remove it. Of course I did. But beyond that, I knew to tone down all of the humor and edgier cultural references (and even a few of the visuals) so as not to offend. You are on that stage or leading that meeting or writing that report for them, not for you. A diva says, “I won’t change who I am for anyone!” An EFFECTIVE communicator figures out how to be most effective, which may include tweaking all sorts of things, including: specific words used, cultural references, humor, idiomatic phrases, industry jargon, and more.
How do you handle difficult or sensitive conversations while maintaining open and effective communication?
Come at every situation from the position of respect and empathy. The ability to see (and hopefully anticipate) what the other person involved might think and feel in any situation will help you approach the communications in a way that resonates the best way it can. For example, I have been doing technical projects for many years. One constant challenge is to tell clients early on that their hopes for a project might not be technically or financially doable. I know they’ll be disappointed. I also know that what they need from me isn’t just a “no”. They also need, “but here is what I recommend we do about it”. And this is one thing I excelled at in my career. So, it’s about having something else to offer, but it’s just as importantly about framing it all in a way that’s palatable. I’ve had failures in this realm too. For instance, I was once interviewing someone in the hopes of hiring him. And he explained how he had been fired by his previous company. His version of the story was less than flattering to his prior boss (they were stupid, it was all their fault, etc.) I gave him the benefit of the doubt and assumed that his story could be completely accurate. But I was curious if he had any empathy and understanding for their perspective. This was important to me for team culture. So, I asked him, very gently, to explain how he thought his boss might explain the situation. My tone was soft, and I thought I was clear that I wasn’t challenging him or accusing him of getting it wrong. But, either because of his lack of empathy or because I didn’t communicate that clearly enough, he was shocked and almost yelled at me, “Why would you ask me that?!?!?” It was a good learning experience for me. If that situation ever arises, I’d make it even more clear why I was asking, even though I suspect the issue was more about his lack of perspective. Oh, and no, I didn’t hire him. 🙂
In your experience, how does storytelling play a role in impactful speaking? Why do you think stories are effective in communication?
Humans evolved to tell stories and learn from each other via story. We know from research that we remember stories, but we don’t always remember facts or stats. You have to tell stories to communicate effectively. Full stop. Now, we can argue about what constitutes a “story”. And I have a very simple definition. A story is a linear experience that flows. You don’t have to have a protagonist, a plot, a story arc, or some of the other things I learned as an English major in college. This paragraph is a story because it lays out a logical argument and flows from one idea to the next. Now, on top of that simple definition, yes, we do know that stories with characters and drama are even more memorable. So, if your content can fit into a story like that or you have an example of a story like that that helps it stick, then by all means, use it. There was a study done years ago that found that people donated more to a fundraising campaign and remembered the details of the campaign better when they saw a brochure with stories about the donation recipients than when they saw a brochure with facts about the fundraising organization. Tell stories. This isn’t even debatable anymore!
What are your “5 Essential Techniques for Becoming an Effective Communicator”?
1 . Understand and prioritize your audience(s) well. I did a project years ago that was an interactive display of data about the Boston Public School system. The tool was going to be seen and used by parents, school administrators, the media, and many other different audiences. One of the interesting findings in the data was that BPS had WAY too many high schools. They should have shut a bunch of them down and consolidated them. But there was a huge political problem because the parents and some administrators, if this was the message, would have completely freaked out! We needed to think about how to share this data in a way that would communicate this long-term issue without sparking panic. We had to know our audience well to even realize this was an issue. And we had to understand what our audience NEEDED from this tool. The goal wasn’t to focus on some of the larger political issues at play. It was intended to help frame a conversation around school closures and new buildings and maintenance that would be conducted as part of a master plan. So, it was informative but not persuasive. And it was focused on nearer-term goals, not longer-term needs.
2 . Understand and prioritize your information. This is about clarity and conciseness. You may know a million things, but that doesn’t mean you need to share all of it. I just wrote a book called Stakeholder Whispering, which is about how to conduct conversations with stakeholders to figure out what they really need before jumping in and executing on the tasks they request of you. I could have told a million stories and included reams of research examples to back up my arguments. It’s a book, after all! It could easily have been 500 pages! But it comes in at a lean 220 pages or so. Each chapter is a few pages with a tight anecdote or two, some research to back up the arguments, and hopefully some fun and entertaining tidbits along the way. Nothing is more important than editing. And to edit, you need to know what you REALLY want to say and why.
3 . Tell stories. Humans crave story. We require story. We REMEMBER story. When ancient man went out on the hunt, and they got the buffalo, they came back to the village with data: how many arrows they carried, how many arrows they used, how many buffalo they saw, how many miles they ran, etc. But it wasn’t in a spreadsheet! It was in a story. And the epic tale about hunting success is what resonated with the young people. And this is how they learned to hunt and survive. Some people make a compelling case that storytelling was more important than opposable thumbs for the ongoing survival and advancement of the human species.
4 . Be entertaining. Have you ever sat through a presentation when the presenter faced the screen and simply read their 47 slides full of bullet points AT you, rather than explaining the meaning on the slides TO you? Of course you have. We all have! That is the opposite of good communication. When you’re communicating, you’re performing. This isn’t just when you’re presenting a speech at a conference, by the way. Even when you’re speaking one-on-one in a meeting, you’re performing. Tell stories, and be entertaining. Maybe this means incorporating humor into your conversation. Or maybe it’s having great anecdotes. It could simply be including a nice metaphor. For instance, my wife and I spend part of our time outside of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. And she describes it to people as “part Bob Marley, part Mad Max”, which causes everyone to pause and think, and usually laugh, as they try to imagine what that means. We stare at our phones all day long, scanning, scanning, scanning, clicking one of a thousand links that scroll by. It’s hard to capture someone’s attention. Entertain to engage!
5 . Know your stuff and practice. Some people advise not to practice too much because you’ll erase the spontaneity and authenticity out of your communications. I say, “HOGWASH”! Nothing could be further from the truth. The most important thing you can do to be an effective communicator, when you can, is to PRACTICE! Why? Because it’s hard to communicate clearly and concisely and factor in all the things I’m talking about without really knowing your stuff. And you can’t know your stuff just by reading your own document or slides or whatever. I teach this stuff, and the most important lesson I teach is this: practice your presentation out loud. The reason is that you’ll literally hear, with your ears, the parts of your story that don’t work. You’ll be listening for logical flowing ideas that go from one to the next to the next, which is like a beautiful lullaby to your ear. OR you’ll hear the dissonant glass shattering sound of random facts thrown together. By practicing and listening, you’ll be able to make adjustments that you just can’t make when looking at slides. You need to teach yourself how to connect all those ideas together, and in doing so, you’ll remember how to do it. I’m not suggesting you memorize a presentation or conversation before you go into it. But you should definitely practice it. Improvise, but do it again and again. You may never say it exactly the same way twice, but you WILL remember the key points, you will connect each idea to the next, in order, and you’ll also probably remember the key jokes and fun moments to emphasize in that special way, along the way.
I would love to add a 6th technique! Visualize it! Making (or sourcing) great visuals for your communications is incredibly powerful. Whether conceptual illustrations or data visualizations or even just designed displays of text, the human brain is wired for visual experiences, so feed that! Literally 30–50% of your brain is devoted to processing visuals. And this processing occurs very quickly (sub-consciously). So, you will be a more effective communicator if you strategically use visuals to support your most important ideas. Not for EVERY idea, just the key ones…this way they’ll stick!
How do you integrate non-verbal cues into your communication? Can you provide an example of its importance?
Communication is not simply words. Your body, your facial expressions, your tone of voice, all of it are part of the message, whether you know it or plan it or not. I am working on a new keynote speech right now to explain the ideas in my book. The first central idea is that people jump to conclusions, make assumptions, act too quickly in automated ways all the time. So, when your boss demands something from you, that request may simply be based on the “usual” way of doing things. It may not be what they actually need. So, I open the talk by lying down on the floor. I also tell a very unexpected childhood story that really grabs everyone’s attention. Why? Because you don’t expect someone speaking at a conference to lie down on the floor OR to start telling a story that sounds like it should be happening on a therapist’s couch! Next, I explain that I did it to help them pause making assumptions (like what a conference presentation looks and sounds like) for the next 45 minutes. That experience wouldn’t be as memorable or effective if I weren’t lying down.
How has digital communication changed the way you convey your messages? Are there any specific challenges or advantages you’ve encountered?
We know very well that the written word (email, text, Slack, etc.) isn’t as effective at conveying tone and meaning as the spoken word. That’s why so many of us include so many exclamation points in our writing these days–to be sure our excitement and positive tone are accurately perceived! A study came out recently that found this is especially important for younger audiences. Younger people are much more likely to perceive a text message ending with a period as being hostile than one with an explanation point (or one without any punctuation)! So we need to be very thoughtful about written digital communications. Of course, Zoom and Teams can help with this, but they pose their own issues. I work very hard to look at the camera when speaking on those platforms so people perceive me as looking them in the eye. Of course, I’m not seeing them at the same time, which is a disadvantage. But at least they get the warm fuzzies of eye contact while I’m speaking. Digital communications beat messages sent by carrier pigeon, but they do have their limitations, which we need to accommodate.
Public speaking is a common fear. What techniques or strategies do you recommend to manage and overcome stage fright?
This aligns perfectly with point 5 above. If you practice your speech, your fear melts away. When you really know your content well, you don’t feel like you’re presenting, you feel like you’re just explaining something like an expert. Because guess what, you are an expert! You really know your stuff! Again, don’t memorize the presentation, but practice it in an improvisational way. This way you learn again and again, many different ways, to say each key idea in your presentation. You’ll never say it the same way twice, and yet different audiences will get functionally the same presentation. On top of this, I know for some there is genuine stage fright, which goes beyond confidence in your topic. The only way I’ve found to get around this is by doing it. Practice by presenting to one person, or three, or seven. Practice getting up on a stage in front of larger groups. As you ease into the setting (stage, lights, audience), the fear often diminishes. For some, it never goes completely away, but it becomes manageable.
What additional resources do you recommend for individuals looking to improve communication skills?
LinkedIn Learning is a fantastic resource for all kinds of information about communications from every perspective. I have a bunch of courses about data storytelling, data visualization, concept visualization, and related skills. And there are dozens (hundreds?) of other courses on a huge range of business and interpersonal communications skills.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I recently posted this on LinkedIn, and I think it’s something that could change the world in every which way:
Have you ever considered that you might be wrong? Maybe frequently?
I recommend taking a moment. Think about what’s bothering you most right now about what someone else is thinking or doing. Whether it’s in your personal life, your work life, politics, whatever realm. And ask, “what if I’m wrong?”
Just try to live in that space for a bit. Argue the other side for a minute. Try to gain some empathy for and understanding of that position. See if you can articulate their argument clearly. And ask what you can learn from that experience.
If everyone did this, the world would be a better place.
How can our readers further follow you online?
People can follow my on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/billshander and my website is billshander.com.
Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
Impactful Communication: Author Bill Shander On 5 Essential Techniques for Becoming an Effective… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.