Be a better communicator at work. Leverage communication skills for business success.
I thought I would start 2017 by focusing on one of the most vital business skills – communication. We can never know enough about effective ways to communicate. Remember that if you aren’t thinking about the who, what, when, where, and what tool to use, you will not have as great an impact. Your goal should be to create win-win situations by altering your communications based on variables such as generational differences.
Establishing rapport is critical to attaining successful business and personal relationships. While everyone must competently use today’s information technology tools, too many of us are ignoring the proven importance and effectiveness of interpersonal communication skills. We must understand the impact of the various mediums available to us. As important as knowing which tools to use, is knowing how various generations like to be communicated to and how to tactfully voice your opinions.
This is going to be a three-part series. I am using information and strategies that I teach in my live World Class Assistant™ Certification course. These are strategies everyone can benefit from!
This week let’s focus on choosing the right medium for greater impact. In other words should you email, text or pick up the telephone? The majority of society communicates through email, texts and IM. But that doesn’t mean they are being impactful, getting more of what they want and being productive. In fact emails that go back and forth can bog down your day and waste a lot of time. Emails can seem cold or the writer might “sound” abrupt when in fact they are just a short and to-the-point communicator (something else I teach in my World Class Assistant™ live course).
So, how can you have maximum impact, be more persuasive and get more of what you need while building powerful relationships?
Goal/Motive
Be a better communicator at work, start with the end in mind by asking yourself these questions:
- What is my purpose for communicating with this person?
- What information am I sending?
- What do I need from the other person?
- What do I hope will happen as a result of communicating with this person?
Once you determine your goal in communicating, try to answer the following questions.
Are you . . .
- Trying to build rapport or gain trust?
- Introducing yourself?
- Relaying a message?
- Expressing an idea or thought?
- Informing co-workers of important news?
- Providing data?
- Disclosing confidential information?
- Enlightening others to a new idea?
Relationship
Then think about your relationship to the recipient.
- How long have you known him/her?
- Staff member?
- Co-worker?
- Vendor?
- High-level executive?
- Mentor?
- Business associate?
- Civic figure?
After you have considered the above, then . . .
Select the Media
- Face-to-face
- Telephone
- Instant messaging
- Text
- Other
Give this a try at least for two weeks and I’m sure you will notice a difference. Report your results back here, we’d love to hear from you. Best of luck!
Joan Burge
If you want to learn more about our World Class Assistant Certification and Professional Designation Program, please sign up for our Free Q&A Webinar.
