Effective Communication

Communication is core to any business.  In an organisation you will have:

• CEO’s who need to communicate business strategy, performance and change to name a few.

• Sales teams that need to communicate with existing and potential customers about products and services, the benefits they deliver and the problems they solve.

• Purchasing teams who need to communicate with suppliers on materials, services and equipment required by the business.

• Accountants who need to communicate financial information to managers, the public, analysts and auditors.

• Risk managers who need to communicate on health and safety issues.

Given that communication is such an important part of business, how can managers become more effective in this area?

1.                  Preparation

Good preparation is key to effective communication.  Any time you need to communicate prepare.  This is even more important when making significant announcements such as public companies communicating financial results to analysts.  In preparing think about what you will communicate and your desired outcome.  You also need to consider objections that might be raised, misunderstandings that might arise and questions that might arise from the communication.

2.                  Clear Message

Keeping it simple is often the best strategy.  I am sure that we all have seen situations where someone has got lost in the detail or started to use a lot of jargon.  This is often a particular challenge for technical professionals in areas like accounting or IT.

3.                  Research Audience

Before communicating anything, you need to consider what is going to be important for the receiver of the communication.  In a sales situation the recipient is likely to what to know about the benefits.  If on the other hand it is about health and safety, the recipient is likely to be about the risks and hazards and what to do to minimise them.

4.                  Training

Many managers have had training in presentation skills.  Today managers can find themselves having to talk to the media on radio or TV.  It is likely that fewer managers will have training in this area and this might be an area for your development plan.

5.                  Confidence

When someone speaks with authority, chances are that you will be much more receptive to receiving their message and acting on it.  Nerves are natural and if you can learn to control them your communication effectiveness will greatly increase.

Communication will continue to be a major challenge.  Taking some simple steps can make all the difference between a successful and unsuccessful outcome.