“Many Communicate, Few Connect” is a takeoff from the title of a John Maxwell book.  It is a reminder to every leader that your job is not just to communicate; it is to make sure you connect.

There are two important dynamics to remember.  The first is based on the work of Paul Ricoeur.  In every communication event, there is:

The Communicator -> the Perceived Communicator -> The Perceived or Intended Receiver -> the Receiver. 

The communicator is who you really are.  The perceived communicator is who people perceive you to be.  As a preacher, I must remember every time I get up to speak, people have assumptions about who I am.  People with a limited church background often assume I will be hostile and angry because that is their perception of preachers. 

The perceived or intended receiver is the communicator’s assumption about his audience.  The preacher might assume that everyone in the congregation wants to know the meaning of the Greek.  The real receiver of the message might simply want the pastor or leader to get to the bottom line.

This first dynamic is real to me because communication is part of my role as the Lead Pastor of a church.  But every leader has to deal with this.  A CEO who perceives the employees of the company are eager to view a 15-minute video each week might be surprised that the real employees stop listening after 3 minutes. 

The second dynamic has been known since Aristotle.  Communication involves the head (information), the heart (emotion), and the feet (action).  Many leaders assume the communication problem in their organization is a lack of information.  In fact, people are drowning in information.  We notice that after two announcements in a worship service, people check out.  Information conveyed that is not received is not communication.  Andy Stanley provides a helpful guideline: Go for clarity, not comprehensiveness. 

Communication needs to touch the heart.  A few people are gifted to do this with magisterial language that is half prose and half poetry.  Winston Churchill and John F. Kennedy were masters of this form.  Churchill: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat…;” JFK: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

The best way to touch the heart is through stories.  Ronald Reagan was perhaps the best presidential communicator after JFK.  He told stories that touched the heart.

One of our staff members regularly challenges me to make sure my sermons have a clear action item: “What are you asking them to do?  Pray? Give? Get involved? Ponder? Repent?”  I’ve sat through sermons that were Biblically sound, inspiring, but lacked a clear call to do something.

The best leaders communicate in a way to touch the head, the heart, and call people to action.  One CEO wrote a weekly email that had three bullet points of information (head), an inspirational story (heart), and a specific call to excellent customer service, such as “Make someone’s day today – smile (feet).”  It was widely read, as opposed to the CEO who wrote five prose paragraphs giving information.   That email often was not opened.

Remember, every leader communicates, but not every leader connects.  Be the leader that connects.