Training on Communication

1. Bridging Gaps: Effective
Communication &
Collaboration
Interactive Workshop
Facilitator: Sampath Samudrala

2. Agenda
● Context Setting
● Case Study: Digital Marketing Disconnect
● Communication Frameworks: SCQA & Minto’s Pyramid
● Break & Reflection
● Handling Client Communication & Escalations (ABC Model)
● Cross-Functional Collaboration & Feedback (SBI & DESC)
● Action Plan & Key Takeaways

3. The Digital Marketing Disconnect

4. Discussion
● Where did miscommunication occur?
● How could the teams have prevented failure?
● What steps ensure smooth execution?

5. Key Challenges in Communication
🔹 Assumptions replaced structured communication.
🔹 No scheduled check-ins led to misalignment.
🔹 India-based teams executed tasks without real-time feedback.
🔹 US clients felt out of the loop, leading to last-minute escalations.

6. SCQA & Minto’s Pyramid - Structuring Communication
🔹 SCQA Model (Situation, Complication, Question, Answer) For structured
→
updates.
🔹 Minto’s Pyramid Start with the conclusion, followed by key insights.
→

7. SCQA (Situation-Complication-Question-Answer) Model
These models will help improve clarity, structure, persuasion, and effectiveness in their
communication.
 Situation: Provide background context.
 Complication: Highlight the challenge or issue.
 Question: What needs to be addressed?
 Answer: Provide a structured solution.
Example,
Explaining a Drop in ROAS
 Situation: Your campaign’s ROAS declined by 8% last week.
 Complication: This was due to increased competition and CPC rising by 15%.
 Question: How can we optimize ad spend to maintain efficiency?
 Answer: We are shifting 20% of budget to high-performing keywords and launching retargeting campaigns for better conversions.

8. Minto’s Pyramid Principle (Top-Down Communication)
Start with the Conclusion (Main takeaway first).
Support with Key Insights (3 supporting arguments).
Provide Details if Needed (Only if asked).
Example
Presentation Slide – Campaign Performance Review
1. Conclusion: "We recommend reallocating 30% of the paid search budget to long-tail keywords to improve ROAS."
2. Supporting Insights:
 CPC increased by 15%, impacting efficiency.
 Our competitor shifted budget to long-tail keywords and improved ROAS by 20%.
 A/B tests show long-tail keywords drive higher conversions.

9. Why SCQA , Minto’s Pyramid Principle ?
SCQA Provides a logical flow that aligns with data-driven communication style.
Minto’s Pyramid provides Ensures structured, concise communication for senior
stakeholders.
Activity: Rewrite a client update using these frameworks.

10. Handling Client Communication
Assertive Communication Model (ABC Model)
🔹 Acknowledge: Recognize client concerns.
🔹 Balance: Provide factual insights.
🔹 Clarify: Offer a structured solution.
Handling a Client Concern About Budget Overages
Acknowledge: "I understand that the ad spend exceeded the allocated budget last week."
Balance: "The increase was due to unexpected competition, but our ROAS remains strong
at 4.5X."
Clarify Next Steps: "We are setting up bid automation to prevent future overages and will
send weekly budget updates."

11. Activity
Client Role-Play – Managing a Client Concern About Ad Performance"
 Scenario: A client is upset that their ROAS has dropped. Managers use the ABC
framework to respond effectively.

12. Handling Cross-Functional Communication
Conflict Handling – DESC Model
Conflict resolution between teams or managing performance issues
D – Describe the issue
E – Express why it matters
S – Suggest solutions
C – Confirm understanding
Example :
Managing a Conflict Between SEO & PPC Teams
Describe: I noticed there’s misalignment on keyword targeting between SEO and PPC teams.
Express: This affects campaign efficiency because PPC is bidding on keywords that SEO is already ranking for organically.
Suggest: Let’s set a shared keyword strategy to balance organic and paid efforts.
Confirm: Does this approach work for both teams?.

13. Peer or Team Feedback
SBI (Situation-Behavior-Impact) Feedback Model
 Situation: Describe the context.
 Behavior: Explain what the person did.
 Impact: Show the result of their action.
Example
Feedback to a Digital Marketing Analyst:
 Situation: "Yesterday’s client report contained incomplete ad performance data."
 Behavior: "The ROAS metric was missing, and the report lacked insights on CPC trends."
 Impact: "This made it difficult for the client to make budget decisions. Let’s ensure all key KPIs
are included next time."

14. Activity: "Peer Feedback Challenge"
Scenario: Giving feedback to a team member who made a targeting error in a campaign.
Discuss using SBI & receive peer feedback.
Feedback should be specific, action-oriented, and focused on improvement.

15. Key Takeaways:
- Structured communication prevents project failures.
- Proactive updates & feedback foster team alignment.
- Clear client communication strengthens trust.
One-Week Challenge: Apply one framework in your daily workflow.