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HOW MUCH OF YOUR COMMUNICATION GETS LOST?

The QUESTION OF THE DAY

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If you transfer your message through 3 people, only 12,5% of your original content is received.

Looking at the graphic above - how much of your communication gets through?

While listening and learning, bear in mind that you lose 50 percent of the original context when you internalize information. When you convey it to someone else who was not part of the initial communication, they get only half of what you said. 

  • If you don't communicate directly through all the organization layers, you create an environment of natural confusion.   

    Try to calculate how much information is diluted when it comes to the final recipient. Here is the formula:

(Where L is the number of organization levels between the communicator and the final recipient) 

  • Communicate directly across all the layers. 

  • Write and talk in postcard-sized chunks: 100 spoken words = one postcard. People do not process more than what is on the postcard, so give them a chance to digest and react.

  • Practice skip-level engagements with your teams. 

  • Don’t rely solely on communication with your immediate reports—it might isolate you from the broader, more realistic picture.

    Minimizing organizational hierarchies helps to ensure efficient communication, alignment, and performance. Remember that you might lose up to 50 percent of your communications as they move across each organization level.

Our Solution reduces the loss of communication content by highlighting factual information, so it is kept intact through all layers and transfers. The recipient gets the core context no matter how many times the message was transferred.


Success is never solely down to creative ideas or unique products or services. The difference between success and failure is actually down to the fundamentals of how you operationalize your business. Check our guide to the best operational and transformation practices, that people love.