How communicators can avoid the ‘telephone game’ effect

Corporate communication often devolves into a frustrating—and costly—rendition of the “telephone game.”

Executives communicate a message to upper management, who share their interpretation of the message with middle management, who then communicate with frontline supervisors. By the time employees get wind of what’s happening, the message has often morphed into something entirely different from what the execs initially conveyed—or at least meant to convey. Sound familiar?

“Telephone” is a great icebreaker for kids, but this sort of “pass it on” miscommunication can cause dire dysfunction for organizations.

Based on a recent case study of a government contractor suffering from “telephone game syndrome,” try following these suggestions to get a clearer, more consistent cascade of information flowing through your workplace:

1. Internal audiences must be researched, understood and segmented.