Communication

peoples-court

I was channel surfing the other day and stumbled upon one of the reality court shows. Somehow it captured my attention. The plaintiff was a landlord attempting to explain why she was entitled to $1500 in back rent. The problem was, she was going on endlessly about points that were completely irrelevant to the issue. If that wasn’t bad enough she was talking in circles. The judge was getting frustrated and in the end awarded a fraction of what she probably deserved. Had the plaintiff’s communication been more articulate, she would have found herself in a better place financially. This makes for a good life lesson. Communication is an important skill. It begins with a choice to communicate and concludes with the message itself.

Let’s begin with the choice to communicate. A close family member took everyone by surprise when he told his wife he wanted a divorce. His wife never saw it coming. In an effort to avert conflict he would allow issues to fester instead of dealing with them as they occurred. In the end, neither had an opportunity to reconcile because the problems were too far gone. Had they chosen to communicate and deal with issues as they came up the outcome may have been different.

Years ago I had a boss that frequently wanted to travel with me. I didn’t like traveling with him because he would micromanage my day when he was with me. I dealt with it by avoiding him as much as possible. My logic was that if I didn’t call him, maybe he wouldn’t think about me. If he wasn’t thinking about me, maybe he wouldn’t attempt to travel with me. In the end it caused a great deal of animosity between us and he became a catalyst for me to leave the organization. Had I been more proactive in my communication, it may have strengthened the relationship and improved the situation.

Once the decision to communicate is made, the next question is how to do it effectively. Realize that wherever your skill level as a communicator lies, you can always improve. Let’s discuss where to begin.

Organize your thoughts before you speak. If you are speaking to a group or a critical stakeholder, and can prepare in advance, write down what you plan to say. I would suggest writing it as you would say it. This will force you to get the sequence of your discussion in place, eliminate redundancy, and provide you an opportunity to reflect on the quality of your content. As you go through this exercise, be sure to eliminate any excess verbiage that doesn’t serve your point.

Once you have your message written out, practice saying it out loud. The more critical your audience, the more rehearsal you should do. As you practice, create bullet points on the page. The practice will help you commit your content to memory so in the end, all you will need is a reminder for each area you plan to discuss.

Approach your communication with the end in mind. What do you want your listener(s) to do as a result of hearing what you have to say? Make this your final point. Everything you say prior should be building to this point.

Come prepared with solutions. There’s nothing worse than a complaint that goes nowhere. If your communication involves a situation that should be improved, be sure to include your ideas on how to do it. This is especially true in a work environment. Once your are known as someone that can both identify problems and find solutions to those problems, you become a trusted advisor and a more valued part of the organization. Greater value leads to additional responsibility. Additional responsibility translates to higher compensation.

Great communicators attract others. They are more interesting, and typically experience greater success than poor communicators. The next time you are asked in advance to speak at a meeting, or are expecting to have an important discussion, take the time to prepare your communication.