“Can you throw my keys out of the window?” I shouted up to my wife from downstairs.

I was locked out of our new home. She refused my request, was confused, as she had no idea what on earth I was on about.

She had no context. And I had no keys. Lose/Lose.

Without context we create confusion, frustration and waste time and money.

Over the next three weeks I will be walking through how to plan efficient conversations with your team, exec or any audience you wish to influence. We will unpack the three factors of efficient conversations:

1. CONTEXT: Get everyone on the same page (this week)
2. INTENT: Get clear on your goal (next week)
3. CONTENT: Get others involved (the week after).

“Can you throw my keys out of the window?” is a strange request in isolation of any other information. But it seemed straightforward at the time. Had I started my request with “Hey I am locked out downstairs and need my keys….” I would have gotten back inside much quicker.

Same Page
The first and most important part of any conversation is getting everyone on the same page. Context can be more important than content when it comes to communicating. This is because context is the great leveller.

Example:
"What I would like to discuss today is X, Y and Z. The reason being is that I have to make a decision about A, B and C. And I have noticed that we have 1, 2 and 3 things going on".

When we start with context we get everyone on the same page. We can take people with us.

Context is the facts and circumstances surrounding the thing you are communicating. If you are about to ask your team to do something then it’s important that they know why.

Out the window.
Without context we create confusion, arguments or drama. There are gaps.

Think of context as the foundation for a an efficient conversation. The leveller that ensures the conversation doesn’t fall over. Build context at the start of your conversations, using these quick questions:

• what is the situation (I am locked out, I have lost my keys)
• why are we here (I want to get back inside)
• what is the point of this (I need some help).

I am sure we have all experienced a lack of context at home (sigh!) and at work (bigger sigh!!)