The 3 E's for Effective Communication

Entertain, Educate, and Engage

Entertain...Educate...and Engage. These are the three essential elements of the 3E formula for effective and efficient communications.

It doesn’t really matter what profession or career you’re in. The fact is, effective communications means commanding and keeping your audience’s attention. And one of the most effective ways to keep their attention is to entertain them. Now I’m not talking about doing some sort of juggling act, but if that’s what it takes to keep their attention, you may consider opening your presentation by tossing three wooden bowling pins in the air.

I remember having a history teacher in high school that would dress up in colonial garb when he was discussing the Revolutionary War. To help dramatize the unspeakable evils of the concentration camps of World War II, he actually wore a German uniform and spoke with a German accent.

Nearly every student did well in his class and it wasn’t because he was an easy grader. It was because he entertained us and kept our attention even when the subject matter was boring and not very interesting. He was an excellent educator who made the extra effort to make learning fun and exciting. Truth be told, I don’t even remember reading much of the required study material. but I didn’t have to. His classroom theatrics helped the lessons “come alive” in an incredibly entertaining and memorable way.

Today, most people’s attention spans are becoming shorter and shorter, so asking them to read or study a long document has become an arduous task.

Understanding the need to entertain in order to effectively educate, we are now relying on audio and video to enhance our presentations. The term most commonly used to describe this specific activity is infotainment. When an audience becomes educated, they become engaged and through this process a business relationship can become established.

Evidence to the effectiveness of the 3 E formula is the fact that video is utilized as the main presentation tactic now appearing on every major well respected Website and Blog.

I can’t take credit for originating the 3E’s since I’ve heard other marketing professionals referencing these same key words, although not in the same order.

The subject however, is so important that I felt a Blog specifically dedicated to this topic was definitely in order.

Entertain, Educate and Engage is the simple 3E formula to better, more effective and efficient communications.