People have different preferences about how they communicate. Some people would rather talk than write. Others would rather write than talk. Yet others have very high response rate to texts. No surprises there!
Communication Best Practices
Help … I Suck at Communicating
A prospect recently reached out looking for help. He said he sucked at communicating at work and desperately wanted to change that. So, here’s a summary of our conversation and Action Plan strategy that might help if you think you also suck at workplace communication.
Connect with Class
Have you ever gotten an email like this? ‘Hi Phil, Tony Grosso suggested I contact you. I’d like to meet with you to network and discuss my job search. Let me know some good times to get together. Regards … Chuck Upton.’
While harmless enough, concise and clear, Chuck could have been much more effective, efficient and engaging. He could have indicated:
Embrace the Platinum Rule
Many business professionals diligently attempt to practice the ‘Golden Rule’ at work that we all learned as youngsters. A workplace communication version of that philosophy would be ‘Communicate with other people the way you want them to communicate with you.’ While a nice warm and fuzzy concept, a quick reality check indicates two serious flaws in the logic: the ‘Golden Rule’ assumes ‘everyone is the same and that ‘everyone is the same as you.’
While the ‘Golden Rule’ doesn’t work at a certain level of specific application, the ‘Platinum Rule’ does. Rather than communicating with other people the way you want them to communicate with you, it stresses communicating with other people they way they want you to communicate with them. I first learned about this strategy from Dr. Tony Alessandra in the 90s. It is 10 times harder to do well, but 100 times better than the ‘Golden Rule’. So, you do the math and see how much value you see using it.
Communicate with Style
(A reader recently commented that her written style and verbal style are often different. My reply … )
Lots of people feel that way and communicate accordingly. However, that doesn’t need to be the case in the contemporary and more casual business culture many of us work in. If you view workplace writing as ‘people talking to people on paper’, then you value and use a more conversational style.
My Employees Stink at Communicating!
Looks like we hit a nerve last month with the first piece in this limited series. We had fun sticking it to bosses who are poor workplace communicators. At least, I had fun.
Over-communicating
Glad to see that readers are enjoying my ‘Faves’. Here’s one you might have heard in one of my workshops or presentations on communication best practices. Err on the side of over-communicating important messages to increase your probability of success. Because once is never enough! Phil Stella, 21st Century workplace communication consultant, executive presentation coach … Read more