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Do You Land Your Message in the Touchdown Zone?

Trigger Question #169

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When we are called upon to speak up, many of us go roaming. We waffle, we duck and dive, we pussyfoot, we beat around the bush, we tiptoe. We do almost anything except get to the point.

Obviously, it is in our nature. Why else would the English language have so many synonyms to describe how we tiptoe around an issue?

But here’s the thing. Some information, like bad news, is best delivered.... Let’s ask experienced pilots how to do it.

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The airport runway has a touchdown zone for a reason. If you land the plane beyond the touchdown zone, then you might have to brake like crazy not to run out of runway. Running out of runway is called an overrun. So your aim must be to land in the touchdown zone.

But you so badly want to make a smooth landing to impress your passengers. So you float down gently... and end up beyond the touchdown zone. Now you slam on the brakes to avoid an overrun as the runway shrinks under you.

What should you do instead? Preferably not a hard landing, slamming the plane down. Passengers don’t like it and neither does the plane. Now maintenance engineers must inspect the plane for damage.

Experience pilots land firmly. In the touchdown zone.

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Okay, so how should you deliver a message, particularly bad news? Firmly. In the attention zone.

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If you aim to be gentle, you will run out of time and attention. Now you must brake sharply to avoid an overrun. You will leave your audience bewildered, but you won't have time to make amends.

If your delivery is hard and blunt, you will rattle your audience. The focus will shift to calming them down, instead of on what to do about the message.

What if you are unsure, because you know your firm delivery often bleeds into soft? Do what pilots do. Go for a harder landing, right in the zone. People, like modern planes, can absorb more shocks than we give them credit for. But neither planes nor people cope well with overruns.

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Let me summarize it this way. For a commercial pilot, a successful soft landing is the luxury of having a very long runway. For you, at work, landing a problematic message ever so gently is the luxury of having unlimited time and absolute attention.

Luxuries are scarce, which is why, like pilots, you should be firm, right in the moment.

Welcome to my side of the nonsense divide.

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Quote of the Moment: “I could have been a public speaker, but I had nothing to say.” The Chief Nonsense Officer.

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