My big theme this year is ‘Sustainability conversations’, and one thing that sets ‘conversation’ apart from ‘communication’ is you’ve got to listen as well as talk.

If you actively listen to those you are trying to communicate with, you will find the following benefits:

1. Your audience will trust what you are trying to say if you show that you care about what they think;

2. You will be able to respond to your audience’s hopes, fears and uncertainties and the audience will get a deeper understanding as a result;

3. If the audience feels it is ‘in the loop’, individuals are more likely to embrace new ways of working;

4. You will learn how to adjust your language, tone and imagery to appeal to your wider audience (I don’t guess what the culture is like when I’m using Green Jujitsu, I tend to ask them);

5. You will discover the barriers your audience see to more sustainable behaviour and be able to remove them.

The last one is not to be underestimated – some of my biggest ‘wins’ with clients have come from listening to what frontline employees say. Fixing such problems is often at low or no cost and tilts the playing field permanently towards more sustainable behaviour for all.

As the old saying goes, you’ve got two ears and one mouth and you should use them proportionately!