The problem with communication is the illusion that it has occurred. George Bernard Shaw
I'm sure this has happened to you: a colleague has just done the exact opposite of what you wanted him to do. How can that be, you ask yourself. I told him exactly what I wanted. Yes, maybe you told him but did you check that he was listening, that he understood, that he agreed and that he would carry out the required action? Obviously not. The first principle of effective communication is to get appropriate feedback.
The second principle of effective communications is to really connect with your audience. It is a fallacy that the mere sending out of information is a communicative act. It isn't, especially in the current climate where everybody is drowning in information that overwhelms on us all fronts. To connect with your audience you need to address their different needs as partners because communication is a two-way process. You have to decide what you want the outcome of your communication to be: are you trying to inform, persuade, shock, praise, criticize, shame, please, inspire? Whatever your aim you need to plan your message, and the medium for the message, to trigger the emotional and cognitive responses that will ensure you engage your audience. And how do you know you've done that? By getting the appropriate feedback of course.
I learnt this the hard way. As part of the induction for new staff, I used to produce a manual containing all the operational information they needed. As time was always short, I would go through the headings with them and tell them to study it at their leisure. But nobody ever did. I was constantly bombarded with simple questions that were addressed in the manual. But it was my own fault. I should have set up a properly interactive session and followed that up with subsequent opportunities to study and discuss the information.
The third principle of effective communications is to listen and understand first. Don't send out a message until you know what your audience needs. If you are concerned about the quality of somebody's work, for example, don't jump in and issue an official warning. First find out what the employee's perception is. Use active listening skills to really probe the situation. Reformulate the employee's words, for example, echo the last words of their sentences, invite them to say a little more if they are hesitant. That way, if you discover the family has a seriously sick child or a big financial problem, you will start to understand what is behind the poor performance. You can then decide on the appropriate action.
The fourth principle is to understand that communication is more than the surface meaning of words. You need to be able to interpret other people's messages. This is just another form of feedback. Let's say you make an announcement and your group is discussing the information with you. They may feel inhibited about disagreeing openly, but read the signs because you don't have to be openly aggressive to show disagreement: note the body language, the kinds of words they use, the tone of voice. Somebody who is receptive will give you eye contact, will lean forward and will participate by asking questions, or offering to assist in some way. Those who are not in favour will look elsewhere, maybe fold their arms, use vague language instead of precise terms.
The fifth principle is respect. I don't want to go over the top here because you may well ask who is she to question the behaviour of the world's leaders? But it seems to me that many of the international political problems we experience are the result of lack of respect for the other party. Sure, it would be great if other nations didn't want to develop nuclear weapons, if they had democratic governments, if they weren't religious fanatics. But we don't produce good outcomes by taking the view that western leaders know best. To communicate with those we want to persuade, we need to respect them. Just because they don't agree with us, doesn't make them inferior or wrong. They have cultural backgrounds and histories that have led them to a particular course of action. Only by respecting that hinterland can we expect to make progress towards cooperation. To translate that to the workplace, you will only gain the cooperation of employees if they know you respect them. If you base your communications on lies, if you try to mislead people, if you ignore their needs and rights, they will see that you don't respect them and they will lose respect for you.
So where does all this lead us? Simply to the point that if you are having communications problems, you can now start analyzing where you are going wrong. What sort of feedback do you allow for? Do you understand how to appeal to people's emotions, their reasoning powers? Do you understand what makes your audience tick? Have you tried to find out about their real lives and what is important to them? And are you showing lack of respect by trying to hoodwink them? By addressing these questions as fully as possible you will go a long way towards improving the outcomes of your communications.
Brenda Townsend Hall is a writer and communications trainer and an associate member of the ITAP International Alliance (http://www.itapintl.com). She will shortly launching a website with a partner: http://www.euroconsulting.co.uk
There's one simple secret to effective meetings: set an agenda... Read More
When you have to deal with one of your team... Read More
It's been a pretty good weekend around the place -... Read More
In today's article, we'll be looking at the income statement,... Read More
It is 9:00 am on a Monday morning. Do you... Read More
Do you have piles of paper on your desk. Many... Read More
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More
"The best Leader is one who knows how to pick... Read More
There's a common phrase used by Organizational Development and Human... Read More
It used to be that only the largest multi-nationals needed... Read More
Leslie was the new manager of the group. She was... Read More
Take some bold steps and help your employees and business... Read More
STEPS TOWARDS GIVING A GOOD APPRAISAL INTERVIEW: Give specific feedback.... Read More
Transitioning from Vertical Hierarchies to Decentralized / Flatter OrganizationsThe need... Read More
Introducing new products or services, bringing new people on board,... Read More
If you're not satfied with the results of your management... Read More
IBM, which registered 3248 patents last year, has decided that... Read More
One of the keys to success is to have successful... Read More
"When you hire the best, the rest is easy!" We... Read More
Eventually, your business is going to need to have some... Read More
A man drives down the highway each day on his... Read More
Service Level Agreements, or "SLA's" are tricky but useful mechanisms... Read More
Business owners and managers are busier than ever. As their... Read More
CATEGORIES OF OFFENSES: Most organizations have two categories of offenses... Read More
Recruiting and hiring are often done in haste, leaving the... Read More
GET TO KNOW YOUR ORGANIZATION: If you don't understand an... Read More
Have you ever tried to drive somewhere without proper directions?... Read More
Your people are invaluable to you. They are the lifeblood... Read More
Customer relationship management (CRM) is one of the most effective... Read More
I've always been fascinated by situations where art imitates real... Read More
Virtually any type of organizational change involves role transitions of... Read More
Every Manager has experienced the frustration of not understanding why... Read More
OK. So you have decided that your organization has to... Read More
There are 12 essential elements of a successful internal communications... Read More
Cost cutting has become a necessary and important reality in... Read More
1) Where is the agenda? A meeting without an agenda... Read More
Total Quality ManagementTotal Quality Management, or TQM, has become one... Read More
Do you ever need to find some good ideas, or... Read More
Positive radical movement is the holy grail of nearly every... Read More
It was 2.30 am. It was cold and dark and... Read More
It's all very well having a flashy (and expensive) advertising... Read More
Everyday a business owner, CEO, or manager somewhere is complaining... Read More
SIX "HONEST BUSINESS FRIENDS" - THEY GUIDE ME IN ALL... Read More
The meeting started like a hundred others before. There were... Read More
I have always said that if I were to write... Read More
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More
The retention of highly skilled knowledge workers is one of... Read More
I suspect all of you out there have someone that... Read More
When trying to get something accomplished, assertive behavior is the... Read More
I read a report in the Toronto Star stated that... Read More
People buy from you, offer help, and grant rewards based... Read More
A few weeks ago, a couple of colleagues and I... Read More
Teamwork is a process that can be experienced outdoors and... Read More
The annual performance review.Stating this phrase guarantees some reaction for... Read More
Everyone knows that an agenda is the key to an... Read More
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More
Before Gertrude Ederle began her historic swim off of Cape... Read More
IntroductionThe role of the Human Resource Manager is evolving with... Read More
In my book "You're In Charge?What Now?" I use a... Read More
How do you get everyone on board the change train... Read More
This article, Job Security in Today's Workplace, was part of... Read More
The practice of outsourcing business processes has long been subject... Read More
A curious thing happens to entrepreneurs in the spring of... Read More
If it's so simple, why don't managers all over the... Read More
The failures we have seen in the quality and integrity... Read More
Look for sponsors and solution owners rather than problem owners.Everyone... Read More
Business Management |