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Think about the people you work with. You’ll probably find that there are two types: big picture people and detail people. Big picture people like to hear little detail. Detail people don’t like discussing abstract concepts. Each type will only really take in what you say to them effectively if you communicate in the right-sized ‘chunk’ of detail.

The simplest way to think about this is that these two different types of thinkers process information in distinct ways. This is important to know and recognize if you want to influence other people with your communication.

Once you know the difference is there, look out for signs of how much detail or abstract information a person appears to be able to process, and respond flexibly in your communication.

 Big picture people. Another term for big picture people is ‘global thinkers’. If you are communicating information to a global thinker, stop giving lots of detailed information and focus on the big picture. If you focus too much on detail, they will rapidly become bored or overwhelmed, and fail to either understand what you are saying or be

one minute wonder Your flexibility in communication will make an enormous difference to your effectiveness. Do you know what level of detail you like to communicate most? If you know your habits, you can challenge yourself to become a more flexible communicator.

influenced by you. The best thing to say to a global thinker is: “Here’s the big picture…”. Stay abstract and don’t give too many details. If you need to give detailed information, then give the big picture first: “Here’s the big picture…now I am going to give you some details.”

 Detail people. Detail people, on the other hand, need to start with detail before they can become engaged with what you have to say about the wider idea. They can’t handle it if you start talking too conceptually. Say to them, “Here are the details.” Be specific and don’t use abstractions. If you need them to focus on the detail and keep an eye on the big picture, give them both in this way: “Here are the details…and here’s the big picture.”

Find out which members of your team and which of your clients like to communicate predominately in which way, and you will gain much more control over your communication.

Work out whether your team are big picture or detail communicators.