I was at a conference recently where the speaker kept repeating the phrase, “Everyone knows this” before sharing information I had never heard or read.
The first time the speaker used the phrase, I felt uncomfortable. The second time I worried that I was alone in not knowing, which made me self-conscious. By the sixth time the speaker used the phrase, I felt indignant. I felt like they were talking down to me, and I was annoyed.
Needless to say, I’d also stopped listening. No one likes to feel demeaned, uneducated, or talked down to.
How to Turn Off Your Audience
Compliance professionals frequently make mistakes when it comes to communication, especially during training. We often assume people are familiar with our topics, but frequently, that isn’t true.
When you assume knowledge, use acronyms, or work in compliance speak, your audience will tune out what you’re saying or pretend to understand when they don’t. The purpose of your training and communications is to educate. By avoiding these turnoff activities, you’ll be much likelier to achieve your goal.
Don’t Use Acronyms
Compliance officers love a good acronym. GDPR, CCPA, UKBA, OFAC, EUAI Act…the list goes on and on.
Imagine attending training and hearing how “OFAC maintains the SDN list ” or “FCPA enforcement is the reason we maintain a GT&E policy.” If you aren’t in the compliance world, you probably don’t know what any of that means.
Heck, I’ve even experienced this problem recently, and I’m a former law professor. I was reading an article about the DOJ’s focus on “cartels and TCOs.” I searched for the definition of TCO in the article but was unsuccessful. Google explained that TCO stands for Transnational Criminal Organization. It diminished my experience of the article to have to leave it to understand what it was talking about.
Be conscious of using acronyms. Better yet, don’t use them.
Don’t Use Compliance Speak
Every industry and team have a shared language. Within the compliance world, we use words like “tone from the top,” “enforcement,” “non-retaliation,” “speak up,” and “regulators.” We know what they mean. Others don’t.
We assume people understand what’s expected when we say “tone from the top.” But who exactly is the “top?” Is it just the CEO? Does it include the lower-level managers? And how exactly does one define the tone being created by those at the top? How are they supposed to exhibit this “tone?”
Be specific when describing the behaviors you are asking for from employees and leaders. Compliance speak doesn’t tell them what they need to know.
Obviously, it’s Not Obvious
Many people use the word “obviously” without considering its meaning. If you’re saying something is obvious, it better be, well, obvious. “Obviously” is an insidious variation on “everyone knows this,” so watch your use of this overused word.
Reinforcement is Key
We at Spark Compliance, a Diligent brand, frequently work with Compliance Officers on training. We’ll often hear, “oh, we don’t need to train on that, they already know it.” When I ask when the audience was last trained on the subject, they’ll say one or two years ago.
Do you really remember training you received one or two years ago? Do you remember the details? The nuance? Probably not.
To really learn something, reinforcement and repetition is required. Don’t assume the audience remembers everything from the training session multiple months or years ago. Reinforcement is your friend.
Good Communication Teaches
Good communication is important so that people’s behaviors are affected by our training and communication. But you don’t need me to tell you, because everybody knows that. Right?
OFAC = Office of Foreign Assets Control, SDN = Specially Designated Nationals, FCPA = Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, GT&E = Gifts, Travel, and Entertainment