Communication can be the key factor in both business and personal relationships that leads to success. When you can communicate efficiently, you can get a lot more accomplished. On the other hand, poor communication leads to mistakes, assumptions and frustration. From a business standpoint, prioritizing excellent communication seems like a no-brainer. Here are some tips for improving communication, whether it’s face-to-face, over the phone, or (our favorite) in writing online!
5. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Completing a project is easiest when you have all of the details you need. Identifying your process ahead of time can help you think of the right questions to ask. For example, it’s difficult to predict the shipping cost of something if you don’t know how much the package will weigh. Do your homework and get all your answers before you get hung up on minor details.
4. Avoid using pronouns whenever possible. Deciphering sentences full of vague pronouns can be confusing, especially for people who work on many different projects at once. “Did she call about that stuff yet?” is nowhere near as helpful as “Did Susie from ClientCorp call about her mug order yet?” Whether you’re speaking to your superiors or to people you manage, providing all possible details is most likely going to result in efficient teamwork and successful completion of the project.
3. Use physical descriptions rather than situational descriptions. Imagine you’re looking for a specific folder that you just had in your hands. Do you think it would be more helpful for you to ask “Has anyone seen the folder I just had?” or to ask “Has anyone seen the green folder labelled ‘client archive’? I just had it a second ago.”?
2. Less is more. A simple bulleted list can be significantly more helpful than a block of text describing the same items.
- Easy to read and draws the eye
- Succinct
- Doesn’t blend all the information together
Be careful though; if your bullet points are too long, you may want to split your message into several parts and deliver it piece by piece. Otherwise you risk overwhelming the recipient.
1. Think before you speak (or press enter). The entire world is at your fingertips today. Think about that for a second. That’s crazy! We are living in a time period unlike any before. With just one mistweet, less than 140 characters of text, you can bring your entire brand crashing down around you. It is more important than ever before to communicate properly and get your true message across.
Here at inConcert Web Solutions, communication is one of our specialties. We offer a wide range of services to help you communicate professionally, including but not limited to content writing and graphic design. If you need a little less conversation and a little more action please, let us help you out! Contact us today.