Effective Business Communication

Effective Business Communication

August 26, 2013

Post #6

I had an interesting conversation at work last week about the art and skill of business communication. Despite our technological advances and the ability to send and receive information online instantaneously, some people still need to work on their basic business communication skills. This includes me as well since communications skills can always improve over time.

According to research, communication skills are still the top skills that employers seek in new hires. It is the art and craft of developing a readily understood message that makes a person stand out at work or during interviews. The only way to achieve this goal is by following a few simple tips at work.

Listen. Non-verbal skills such a listening help you identify the needs of your audience, shows respect and will help you craft an understandable message to share with your audience.  Listening involves the mind, body and heart which will allow you to internalize the message and respond accordingly.

Check your written work before you send it out. Remember when you were in college writing papers for class at the last minute hoping to garner a good grade based on your last minute witty repartee? Those days were fun weren't they? They are now over. When you develop and distribute poorly written messages, they not only reflect poorly on you they also reflect poorly on your organization. You can avoid this type of issue by checking your work before you share it with others. Your writing is like your business attire- people will recall how the message was crafted, relayed and subtly destroyed by minor mistakes. When you are under dressed for business functions, people tend to notice. It is the small stuff like spelling, grammar, and sentence structure that can reduce a good idea to a puzzle piece of words. Once you check your work, ask for a second opinion to ensure you obtain objective views about your message and its accuracy.

Don't haggle via e-mail. Can you recall a time you sent a message and you went back and forth with the receiver because a disagreement occurred based on what you sent out? The continual email haggling will not resolve your issue; it will only belabor the confusion. Instead of electronic wordplay, take a moment to talk with the person face to face or call them live to find out where the confusion lies. Then make a non-judgmental attempt to clarify your message with your colleague.

Respect. In the grand scheme of things, everyone wishes that every day will include a wealth of respect from their co-workers. However, respect in business includes taking the time to understand and accept that differences at work will happen. And, it’s okay for the differences as long as they are not illegal. People will disagree about the weather, payroll issues or who gets to speak first during an event. Yet, that is no excuse to disrespect others. If you feel a full on rush to verbally tear someone down whom wronged you or you perceived that they wronged you and step away. Cool off. Calm down. This process takes a lot of respect and internal locus of control.