Communication Basics

Screw the Water Cooler…

Business Communication is something that anyone who has ever held a job has done.

Sending an e-mail at work? Business communication.

Talking to your co-worker about your next project? Business communication.

Destroying company property? Hilarious business communication.

Wearing your company shirt while beating up strippers? Career-ending business communication.

Everything you say, do, or impress upon people in a professional setting is business communication.  More and more, companies are losing control over their own image.  The Internet and simple tools like GetSatisfaction.com, Twitter, Facebook and other social media outlets have made it impossible to silence the masses like TV used to.  Also gaining in popularity is the Employee Blogger.  In a very short time, the Marketing Director became the least important voice in the company, giving way to the Employee Blogger as the most important.

Employee Bloggers speak from their hearts – honestly, transparently, and they like to share.  Marketing Directors like to try and hold on to the control they once had, watching their straw kingdom burn to the ground around them as they desperately attempt to “Stick To The Message”.

Something as benign as the picture on your computer desktop at work can be considered business communication – even a tweet on your Twitter account, if found by the right people at the right time, can benefit or damage your company in ways you had never even imagined.  And yes, you will be held accountable for all of it.

It’s your responsibility to make sure that whatever rapacious crap you spit out is justified, or at least fair.

There are three key points you need to remember in any business communication.

1. Transparency - be as honest as possible at all times.
2. Conciseness - be as clear as possible in as few words as possible.
3. Humanity - be as true to yourself in your communication as possible.

Kommunication. Ur doin’ it wrong.

We usually think of communication as talking. This is only one type of interaction. When strictly speaking about interactions, you can have:

• Face-to-Face
• Phone
• Internet
• Psychic/ESP
  

In addition to all this, you also have to worry about:

• Body Language
• Non-Verbal Noise
• Silence
• Phrasing/Word Choice
• Appearance
• Perceptions

Confused yet? Well, it helps to think of communication as a series and combination of interactions with the goal of mutual understanding. Not only is what you say important, how you say it is also important – as any kid trying to ask their parents for money will know. Equally important are body language, the non-verbal cues you are sending (for example – if you have an iPod hanging off your hip and your $150 Nike sweatshop-made shoes on while asking for money), word choice (loan vs give me), and the silence in the communication (just how long of a pause your parents give before laughing at your ridiculous request for money).

Dumb and Dumber

There’s a lot of theory and blah blah-ology out there, as I like to call it.  So why don’t we just keep it as simple as possible?

Theory says: You (the sender) are trying to convey a message (your point/information/Russian Bride order, whatever) to the person you are talking to (the receiver).  In between you, your message, and the receiver, is noise and interference.

I say: Whatever you say will automatically be screwed up from the start – so be willing to say it again and change the way you’re saying it depending on who you’re talking to and how stupid they are.

Staying Transparent keeps you honest.  Staying Concise shortens the message for easier transmission.  Staying Human makes it a lot easier to understand than buzz-words.

The act of communicating is affected by psychology more than anything else… and there are some things you might want to keep in mind:

1. Universal Constant: Smile. Everybody smiles to express happiness.  In some form or another, you should be happy to be talking to another human being.  I mean, after all, you could end up like that guy in the Twilight Zone.  So… smile.
2. On The Air. Every emotion you feel is being subconsciously (and in most cases) audibly transmitted to the person or people you are interacting with.  Don’t believe it?  Just watch the show “Lie To Me” on FOX and you’ll be paranoid as hell to talk to anyone again.  How you feel as you are talking (whether you are thinking about mom’s cookies or that report you have to give tomorrow) is the emotion that you will broadcast no matter what subject you are talking about.
3. He Never Weeps. You and the person you are talking to are constantly subconsciously scanning for cues.  You can more or less say that someone is probably angry if they are scowling… ignoring all other complexities.  But that’s not entirely fair, so… it comes to asking questions about the cues you have received.  It’s not enough to say if someone is crying that they are sad.  Perhaps the tears are tears of joy… whatever the hell that means.
4. Misinterpretation is a basic fact of life.

Dumber-er…

Not simple enough for you?  How about this:

The Golden Rule + 1.  Treat others how you would wish to be treated.  Speak honestly, say what you mean as easily as possible, and be honest about your feelings.  Transparency, conciseness, and staying human. Always assume – but never act like – the other person is much stupider than you give them credit for.

Like it or not, you must act like everyone is incredibly smart.  Even idiots know when someone is talking down to them.

Ladies.  Please adopt this rule at once in all of your personal relationships.  Women are notorious for not saying what they mean.  When you’re younger, it’s a charming personality quirk.  When you’re older – it’s a one-way ticket to cat-lady ville when all the men in your life die of exhaustion before figuring out what the hell you really mean.

Gentlemen. Men are also horrid communicators.  Instead of saying what you really mean, you just… don’t say anything at all.  Usually because you don’t know how to put into words what you are feeling.

Overcome these obstacles by being consistently aware of what you are projecting: be honest with yourself and others about how you feel, what you mean, and always ask for (and offer when asked) clarification to reduce miscommunication.  Be as specific as possible to reduce confusion, and ask good questions to make sure you’ve understood.  Other than being aware of yourself while you’re communicating with someone else, there’s one other thing you can do – Manage Perceptions.