Don’t Be a Cannabis Mush Mouth: 7 Strategies for Better Communications

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” – George Bernard Shaw

Many gurus stress the importance of effective communications in running a successful business.  This axiom is no less important in the cannabis space, based on my 7 years of experience working with MSOs & LPs, investors and suppliers. 

Ineffective communications – bad spoken or written messages delivered poorly  – is at the core of many business problems. 

Here are a sample of activities and situations I have seen go south:

> Poor sales pitches – Being verbose, self centred and sophomoric;

> Ineffective branding efforts – Communicating vanilla, confusing or uninteresting messages;

> Slipshod management conversations – Filibustering, being trite and dismissive;

> Failed Investor presentations – Ignoring your differentiation, providing no evidence and acting evasive; 

Too often, communication failure is shrugged off as bad luck, a learning opportunity, or the fault of the receiver.  Leaders should not be so cavalier. Too many firms are on thin financial ice.  They can ill afford to botch key communications that could make or break their companies.

How do you enhance your communication skills?   

1. Understand your audience

Persuasive communications is about seducing the listener and focusing on what matters to them in a story or construct that fits their short attention span;

2. Put in the effort

“The first draft of anything is shit”  says Ernest Hemingway.  He’s right.  Ongoing refinement and practice make perfect;  

3. Use the right messenger in presentations

If your CEO is not the best “pitcher” as defined by public speaking ability or credibility, use someone else in the firm;

4. Avoid jargon and pretention

You need the gravitas to write or speak a certain way. Otherwise, you will come off as an inauthentic douche;

5. Pay attention to your non verbal cues

Experts say at least 80%  of spoken communication is non verbal. Many see more than they hear.  While your content is important so is your level of eye contact and body language;

6. Recognize what you are not communicating

According to management expert Peter Drucker  “The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said.” Many readers and listeners pay attention to what you leave out;

7. Use professionals when it really matters

Park your ego and spend a few bucks. Agencies & consultants can elevate your external communications by fine-tuning your messages and creating visually compelling presentations.

 #communications #investorrelations #branding #messaging #selling