Keys to Successful Communication
Keys to Successful Communication
The foundation of effective communication is personal responsibility. It is up to you to ensure that the other person has understood what you are telling them. It is important to make the "whys" crystal clear as the more we understand the reason why, the more we can understand the communication.
Ensure a person truly understands what you are trying to communicate by asking them to confirm their understanding. See it from the other persons eyes, we all have different views of the world and the only way to ensure someone has understood and taken on board what we are communicating is to make it real to them.
Avoiding Assumptions
"They don't need to hear the full story" - Sometimes we just pass on the part of the information we feel someone needs to know but don't get be into the "why" they need to do it or the background behind it! By leaving out this information, this can sometimes leave them unclear on exactly what they need to do and perhaps less motivated to do it.
"They've been told before" Just because someone has been told before does not necessarily mean they will remember what they were told and they may still have questions to ask.
"I know what you need to know better than you do" Do you? The key to communication is ensuring that the receiver is clear on the information you want to give them. They are the expert on knowing what they need to be told and to understand it.
"I understand what i'm saying perfectly, so you should too" What might be perfectly clear to you, may mean nothing to someone else. Are you speaking their language, using loads of jargon or talking about something you've dealt with for years? Look at what you need to communicate and ask yourself "would your receiver understand?"
Adapt your communication style/approach based on the person. A one size fits all approach doesn't always work for communication and you may need to communicate differently to different people.
Think about communication methods. Do you have a notice board that you use? Do any of your team read it or has it just become a decorative item on the wall that no-one even sees anymore? Don't be afraid to try different things and see how they work and change things to get attention.
