Connie StClair | Operations Readiness

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” — George Bernard Shaw

As you read this, consider how often you’ve been on the receiving end of that assumption. A direction was shared. A meeting was held. An email was sent. And somewhere between the sending and the receiving, the meaning got lost — and no one realized it until much later.

This is not a people problem. It’s a communication design problem.

Attaining the results you’re after hinges on more than having a clear vision. It requires communicating that vision in a way that creates genuine shared understanding — not just the appearance of it. Without that, even the most well-constructed plan struggles to execute.

Information versus Communication

Sydney J. Harris drew a distinction worth remembering: information is giving out; communication is getting through. We tend to invest heavily in the first and underestimate the second. We prepare our presentation, deliver our message, and move on — assuming understanding followed. It often hasn’t.

Effective communication is a two-way process. It’s not complete until meaning has been received and understood the same way by the people who need to act on it.

The Role of Questions

One of the most reliable signals that communication has actually taken place is active questioning. Not silence — silence is often a sign that people didn’t feel safe enough to ask, or didn’t yet know what they didn’t understand.

Management team members should be asking: How much growth are we targeting? What is the purpose behind this change? What does success look like in practice? General staff will be asking: Why is this changing? How does this affect my work? Who trains me and when?

These questions are not resistance. They are the mechanism through which shared understanding is built. Encourage them.

A Few Things Worth Considering

When communicating something as important as a new direction or a strategic plan:

Paint a picture, not just a plan. Words that help people see what you’re describing travel further than words that simply inform.

Distinguish between giving out and getting through. Sending the message is the beginning, not the end.

Tailor your approach to your audience. What a manager needs to hear is different from what the front line needs to hear — and both matter.

Allow time for the message to be absorbed. Especially when working with a management team to build a plan, rushed communication creates gaps that show up later as confusion or misalignment.

In the early stages of sharing something new, face-to-face is almost always the right method. It lets you see who understands and who is still working through it — before the plan is already in motion.

The illusion that communication has taken place is easy to create and hard to detect. The antidote is intentional — designing communication, not just delivering it.

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If any of these resonates with challenges you’re navigating, I’d welcome a conversation.

Connie StClair | Operations Readiness Partner conniestclair.com