Tips for effective communication
Communication
is a really inefficient activity and that's because it takes a lot of effort to
do it well. This can also be
exacerbated when in an environment with mixed cultures where participants may
find the "listening" part of communicating a greater burden. Additionally, there are environmental
modifiers that can affect the likelihood of having good communication such as:
noisy environment, people who are tired or irritated, unsuitable venue,
unsuitable timing, etc. Here's some
tips that I have for increasing the likelihood of having a successful session of
communication&
Find
a neutral venue to carry out your discussions. Don't invite people into an area where
there are likely to be distractions while communicating. I see this a lot with programmers who
are supposed to be showing a peer how a piece of code is written and are
constantly disrupted by Instant Messenger, Email or Telephone calls. If that scenario arises then I would
strongly advise the developer to consider pulling the network cable from the
back of their machine until they have finished communicating.
Before
you begin your communications, clearly identify your objectives and take the
time to summarize them to all other parties involved in the session. This is easily done by adding a
bullet-point listing of objectives to a Meeting Request when sending it out -
one of my pet peeves is receiving Meeting Requests which have an ambiguous
subject line and no details outlining what it is that we are meeting for. At the end of the communication session
- and, optionally at regular intervals during it - have a way to confirm that
all parties have the same understanding.
After
the communication session, have some way of checking back at regular intervals
to ensure that what you have communicated is progressing as expected and, if
not, take the time to re-communicate to ensure a good outcome.
Remember
that the most important part of communication is listening. I read in a book last week that, if you
want to be thought of as a great communicator then, all you have to do is to be
good at listening!
.