In any communication situation, you are both the sender and the receiver, and when you’re communicating fairly, you expect certain things to happen as you play both roles. To help you communicate fairly, I’ve put together a list of my favorite communication rules to help you play—or communicate—fairly. Here they are:
2) Speak for comfort. If you use words that are too big for the topic, spew out too much information, talk too fast, or fail to articulate effectively, you will lose the attention of the listener. The best form of communication is crisp and clear.
For the past six years I've had to write directions that were intended to assist a diverse group of individuals as they completed an Excel template, saved it using a name that would enable me to identify the source and then return it by e-mail.
ReplyDeleteOut of 80 responses, 60 of them were wrong! The next year I varied my approach - rather than offering detailed instructions I offered only general direction.
The results were no better!
I suspect this only goes to show that e-mails are not the best way to communicate!
In my opinion, being crisp and clear and to the point doesn't necessarily work either. I also know that repeating yourself over and over is ridicules! In my job, I have to explain very simple steps to a variety of people, from every walk of life. I cannot assume that everyone understands what I have said. I find asking them questions about what I have just explained helps. My findings are that people are too busy to pay attention!
ReplyDeletee-mail has serious limitations as a communication method. The same applies to all forms of text-based communications.
ReplyDeleteOh, I just got it! That's why someone said, "A picture is worth a thousand words"!
Sometimes I include screen dumps with my directions. I think that helps, but some people STILL don't get it.
Poor communication isn't always the fault of the originator. Some people don't process information very well. I like Beth's approach. Asking them questions about the content you've just delivered forces them to process what their brain has just heard.