Communicating Across Time Horizons
By Robert F. Abbott, Sat Dec 10th
There was a time in my life when I sold life insurance. Well, tobe frank, I tried to sell life insurance. With little success.
And while I didn't sell any insurance, I did learn a thing ortwo, and I'd like to explore one of them with you today - timehorizons.
Some of the prospective policyholders I met could visualizethemselves well into the future, say 20 or 30 years into thefuture. They were obviously good prospects for life insurance.Others focused more on the coming year or few years. To them,something that might or might not happen 20 years ahead was apure abstraction with little relevance.
Now, let's put these perspectives into a communication context:When you send or receive messages, do you factor in the timehorizon of the person who sent you a message or gets one fromyou?
Let's consider an example that's similar to my experience. Sayyou're trying to sell mutual funds to a new investor. Youenthusiastically point out the possibility of getting rich bysaving every month for perhaps 25 years. But the person acrossthe desk looks at you with a blank face. Perhaps he's thinkingto himself that the money could be used to pay down the loan onhis truck in three years instead of five, and then he could buya new one much sooner.
Or, consider the time horizons
that involve communicationbetween managers and the people who report to them. Generallyspeaking, the higher you are in a hierarchy, the further aheadyou're expected to look and anticipate.So, how do you handle messages to people who have different timehorizons than you? First, be aware of the possibility that theymay exist. Ask a few probing questions that help you finddifferences.
Second, use visualizations that help others imagine the future,and how they'll fit into that picture. For example, companiesthat sell retirement packages spend a lot of money trying to getus to imagine ourselves basking in luxury on a tropical beach.
Third, don't just talk about that future time in an abstractway. Personalize it by explaining how it will affect the personyou're addressing. Give that person a stake in the future youforesee.
Fourth, get to that future time in steps, not in one big jump.Don't ask a 25 year old to visualize where she'll be at age 65.Instead, talk to her about the typical life styles at ages 35,45, 55, and 65.
Finally, put the processes into reverse if someone else asks youto visualize a time horizon that's unfamiliar. Ask yourself whatkind of assumptions and visions he brings to his scenario, andadjust accordingly.
In summary, different time horizons can be a barrier to goodcommunication. To overcome these potential barriers you start byfirst recognizing the possibility of their existence. If they doexist you can use visualization, personalization, and a seriesof time steps rather than one big jump.
About the author:Robert F. Abbott writes and publishes Abbott's CommunicationLetter. Learn how you can use communication to help achieve yourgoals, by reading articles or subscribing to this ad-supportednewsletter. An excellent resource for leaders and managers, at:http://www.communication-newsletter.com
