Tip:
Whether in an email, voicemail or on conference call, when communicating with others remember:
Be Clear
Be Concise
Be Correct
Relevance:
After reading an email or being in a conference call, do you ever come away thinking “What did they mean?” When working on a team, the ability to communicate well has always been important. Today, it’s even more important when many of us aren’t working in a shared office environment where hallway or kitchen conversations can provide added clarity to our discussions. Prior to our working-from-home world, we could clarify discussions in casual conversations, dropping by someone’s desk to ask a question or stopping them in the hallway.
Lacking that in-person contact, it’s more important than ever that we are clear, concise and correct in our communication.
- Clear – Avoid ambiguity. Be clear about your key message and ideas. Anticipate any knowledge gaps in your audience. Avoid jargon. Use vocabulary that everyone will understand.
- Concise – Short, direct sentences are easier to follow than a long, rambling thought. Have a beginning, middle and end. Avoid filler words that clutter the message. In writing, use formatting (bullet points, paragraph breaks), but avoid exclamation marks or other intensifiers. Your words should do the work, not your punctuation.
- Correct – Check your facts before stating them. People count on you to be honest and truthful. If you don’t know, say you’ll find out. Avoid miscommunicating by preparing beforehand. You’ll be seen as a trustworthy source that others can rely on.
I’ll add a fourth C: Courtesy. Be courteous and kind when communicating. Your integrity and kindness will make you a person that others will want to listen to and engage with.
