What Weve Got Here Is Failure to Communicate

By Don Douglas

Not only is this line from “Cool Hand Luke” one of my favorite movie quotes, it aptly describes a number of situations that severely limit people from reaching their goals.  While failure to communicate can adversely impact our relationships with family, friends and coworkers, it can also spell doom for entrepreneurs, company leaders and also make or break your presentation — especially if you are applying to be a presenter at the 2015 Channel Partners Conference & Expo.   

Over the past few years I have had the privilege of mentoring or observing the actions of a number of extremely bright individuals attempting to inspire others to take action, buy into their vision, obtain sponsors, recruit or raise funds. A subset of this group has fascinated me; while they may have a great idea or a unique perspective or way of seeing things, they are challenged by expressing it clearly and effectively. 

It’s hard to put a finger on exactly why this subset struggles with expressing something about which they are so passionate. Is it nerves? Lack of training? Is it a language barrier? Lack of preparation? Underestimation of what’s at stake? Shyness? Unfamiliarity of presentation? Never told a campfire story? Lack of reading? Missed out on bedtime stories? Missed out on class presentations? Not in their genetic make-up? You get the point, and it’s hard to pinpoint to make it addressable.

At a startup camp last year, I was coaching a young entrepreneur who was struggling with how to explain a good idea. I was shocked to learn that he’d been in debate for years and believed that expressing his thoughts was one of his strong suits. Yikes!

I have seen startups that are generating revenue and have a decent business model who botch a pitch so badly that they lose the confidence of everyone in the room. I have also seen a number of extremely bright and capable people struggle with landing jobs or investors due to a heavy accent which exacerbates poor communication, especially if the person speaks too quickly. I’ve witnessed this firsthand with a family friend who has consistently taken jobs beneath her ability due to the aforementioned issues. One notable investor has pointed specifically to thick accents and failures in communication as spelling doom for startups in their investment thesis.  

There are definitely exceptions to this rule, and some people may be willing to invest the time and effort to overcome it. But based on my observations, many will not. So what can be done?

Here are seven suggestions all of us can use regardless of whether we are pitching or presenting:

President and CEO of Liquid Networx, Don Douglas has worked in the technology field for more than 30 years. During his time at the helm of Liquid Networx, the company has grown dramatically, developed channels, brought many new products and services to the market, gained brand recognition and garnered numerous accolades from clients and partners. Douglas is a member of the 2013-14 Channel Partners Advisory Board.