 |
|
|
Communication: Say
What You Mean,
Mean What You Say
by: Liz Pabon
There is no time like the present to
take a look at how you interact with
others at work. Whether you are an
employee or a supervisor, you are
responsible for your communication
success.
Ineffective communication often
leads to poor cooperation,
frustrated expectations, tension,
gossip and in general, lowers
productivity. Furthermore, it can
lead to absenteeism and increased
turnover, even in slow economies.
Here are a few things you can do to
improve your organizations internal
communication:
- Communicating involves two parties – a sender of information and a
receiver. Simply giving information
doesn’t mean there is understanding.
To confirm that the other person
understands what you need, ask
questions to clarify understanding.
- Don’t rely strictly on the phone,
email, or other written
communication to relay your message.
Much of your intended message can
get lost in the translation from
your thoughts to paper. Increase
your face-to-face communication,
especially if the message is a
sensitive one.
- Check-in with yourself to make sure
the message you wanted to send was
indeed the message you delivered. By
failing to be specific enough you
can accidentally set expectations
with the receiver, which you may
have no intention of fulfilling. If
you need a coworker/subordinate to
complete a project or other duty
before you can complete your task(s),
provide a detailed outline of what
you need him/her to do and the time
frame in which to turn-around the
task(s).
- When you are on the receiving end of
information, listen to the other
person. By asking questions, and
actively listening, you not only
show interest but also get
clarification.
© 2004 – Liz Pabon. All rights reserved.
About the author: Liz Pabon, “The
Branding Maven,” is inspiring,
motivating and empowering - but most
importantly, she’s effective. A
speaker and author on the topic of
personal branding, Liz delivers
insights and principles that are
proven to achieve WILD SUCCESS. Liz
publishes the weekly Keys 2 Wild
Success! ezine. If you're ready to
ATTRACT amazing clients, set
yourself APART from the pack, make a
lot more MONEY, and have a lot more
FUN in your small business, get
Liz’s FREE WEEKLY TIPS by going NOW
to www.thebrandingmaven.com!
NOTE: You’re welcome to “reprint”
this article online as long as it
remains complete and unaltered
(including the “about the author”
info at the end), and you send a
copy of your reprint to liz@thebrandingmaven.com
|
|
|
 |
