Sam Carpenter, author and speaker, is President and CEO of Centratel, one of the nation’s handful of elite telephone answering services. In addition, he is the author of Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Working Less and Making More. A free download of “6 steps to working less and making more” is also available at www.workthesystem.com.
Tools to Rev Up Your Business and Personal Communication
If you are a manager in your organization, there’s most likely a reason for that – people trust you, think you do quality work, and respect you as a leader. But if you’re not an effective communicator, you’ll lose that reverence and you won’t retain employees.
A study in 2001 involving some 20,000 exit interviews found that the number one reason people leave jobs is “poor supervisory behavior.” In other words, bad bosses.
And one of the biggest factors cited in the findings was poor communication skills. Discussing communication mechanics can be a monstrous proposition, so let’s boil things down. Utilize the following basic communication tips, applicable to both business and personal life, and watch your network of friends, colleagues, and valued employees expand.
1) If there’s a problem with someone, have a meeting NOW. Talk things out one-on-one. If silence ensues, do something to promote dialogue. But be careful; if emotions are running high, put point-of-sale aside and wait for things to calm down.
2) Be accessible. Give people an opportunity to leave a message if you are not available. Can those people who are important to you reach you readily, or are there mechanical and bureaucratic barriers?
3) Make communication tools available to your staff — cell phones, digital recorders, voice mail, e-mail, and various meeting places for one-on-one, in-person dialog. Scheduled group meetings are prime tools that provide everyone a forum for communicating. Keep meetings brief (training classes excepted).
4) Can your staff, clients, and potential clients find out more about you through a Web site, hard copy, or other medium, or do you remain a mystery? Do you talk about your world to the people around you or do you keep to yourself? Mysterious people typically don’t do well in business or friendship.
5) Yes, it’s important to keep lines of communication open, but are you going back and forth with a person who consistently works against you? This could be in a personal relationship or with an employee or client. If the other side’s intentions are consistently malevolent, it’s irrational to continue to communicate. End the relationship. You are not in the business of being coerced. Do you have a close family member who is on the attack? If so, I sympathize. That’s a tough one.
6) Be concise. Get to the point. Unless you are at a barbecue on a Saturday afternoon, do yourself and those around you a favor by getting on with things.
7) Be cordial and friendly, but don’t overdo it.
8) Never bash others behind their backs. It’s low-class and any employee, client, or relative who has any degree of personal sophistication will devalue you.
9) Talk up to people if that is the context. Your client — who is paying you — wants the bottom line and your personal friendship is not part of his or her expectation. Likewise, with your boss. These people expect you to listen to them and not to give orders, although they want you to provide them advice. Again, while you take direction and provide information, be cordial, but not too cordial.
10) Speak authoritatively to the people you direct. They want respect, concise direction, and they expect their paychecks to be on time.
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