Leadership and Communication continue to be the issues that people ask me about. When I speak with individuals or organizations about their issues, leadership and communication complaints ALWAYS show up.
The biggest of the issues is communication. The complaints are:
- People do not know how to communicate
- They are not timely
- The clarity of the message is lost
- Information communicated is wrong, just plain wrong
- How the information communicated is rude; snappy; dumb; incoherent; factually incorrect
- Individuals do not know how to use communication to get the point across
- Too much communication, not enough communication
- Very little listening is taking place in order to communicate well
The list is really endless…communicating apparently is a skill few people have or use as well as they could. GRAMMARLY does not teach you how to communicate, it teaches you what to edit.
What if the issue is you do not know how to communicate with the people or persons you are needing to inform? Do you know how they want to be communicated with? What type of communication method works best for them? The time or day they need the information? What cultural norms guide them in how they receive information? The length of the request or the response you are composing?
Picky? Maybe.
In these last couple of years, long emails are out and short, to the point, white spaced paragraphs, no more than 3, are in for email communication. You know yourself when you receive a LONG email with no paragraph breaks you scan or save to read later.
If people use bullet points in the email communication, you love it. The same goes for PowerPoint slides, webinars and actual physical letters.
We want easy, brief, to the point, clear point or information. That is why in almost all of my blogs and writing, I have at least one section with bullet points.
So how are you communicating? Are you on time; clear; providing correct information; thinking through the information wanted or provided?
And for heaven’s sake, stop using abbreviations in email and formal correspondence. U r not texting.
So if I came into your life, team, organization or shop, how would people say you are communicating? On a scale of 1-10, 1 being the lowest, what would your score be?
It all starts with good listening so you get the information objective right from the first point of communication.
My listening test link is below. Take it. You just might be blown away with how you are listening…or not.
To Your Success,
P.S. Here is the NMA free listening test. Thousands of people have taken it and found out how their listening is working or not. Finding out how you listen is just good communication information to have.