Communication in business is essential for many reasons.
Your organisations planning and monitoring of business processes require you to convey the information required to facilitate getting the task completed . This can take many forms and may include modern electronic methods or a simple office circular .
What is important is that your message is comprehended by the recipient . Communication is based in encoding your message in a manner that people can decode it and still know the exact meaning of what you said.
The English language is crammed with ambivalent words that can have many interpretations subject to the circumstances they are used in. It’s a bit like the childrens game called Chinese whispers. A classic example is “Send reinforcements we’re going to advance” which is eventually transformed into “Send three and fourpence, we are going to a dance”.
This is fun in a childs game a business owner needs more than fun to survive .
So… What is a way that you can check that your message has got through so that you get the exact results you expect ?
It’s quite easy …
Simply ask !
By ascertaining that your instructions is clearly decoded in the way that you needed it to be simply ask the receiver of your email what they understood about your meaning and the reason for sending it .
You can also train your teams or other business associates to reflectively listen to what you have said or written .
eg : You have just sent out an email to all of your team telling them that sales are down and if the sales revenues aren’t increased then your quarterly income targets won’t be met .
Active communication is where the person who gets your communication will reflect back to you what they understood about what you said .
” So, John , what you are telling theteam is that we have to increase our sales this month or we will be out of business “
Your options are then to either make the message clearer , If it isn’t received correctly or you can state that Yes that’s correct . The advantage of active listening is that all parties are clear right from the start and this will reduce lost time, later when you have to rectify the mistakes created by bad communication .
There are so many ways that you can have more powerful business communication.
Assertive Communication
By · CommentsHow can you use assertive communication without being the bad guy?
Many people confuse being assertive with being selfish. Being assertive means nothing more than being clear on what you want and expressing it.
Sometimes, the recipient of your message will make an emotional judgment about what you’ve said that is based on their own needs. Because this judgement is an emotional one, it’s often the case that it’s not rational. Separating emotion from logic is one of the challenges that you will face when making an assertive communication.
It goes without saying, therefore, that before using assertive communication you will have stepped back and looked at all of the options objectively. Until you have done so, and you’re absolutely certain that what you’re about to say is in the best interests of all concerned, it may be better to hold your counsel.
By going through the process of stepping back you’ll be able to assess the situation from a detached and logical view point. Having this objectivity will assist you greatly in deciding whether or not it is prudent to use assertive communication.
In all communications between people the ultimate objective is to create a situation in which all parties win. Being assertive does not imply that you must win and they must lose. Nor should it imply that you must be right.
When approaching a situation where you feel you need to use assertive communication, it may be better to look at it from the view point of “what can I do or say that will make this situation better for me and for the other person?” If you also start your message to the other party by preframing it with a statement such as “I have thought this through and I believe that this may be the best course of action for us to take. I’m say this because I believe this is in both of our best interests. I’m not saying this because I want to, or need to, win. What I’m about to say is so that you can win and I can win.”
At this point, it would be better if you wait for the response from the other person and adjust your message to address their answer. By doing this, they will feel heard and understood, and they will be far more likely to cooperate with your request.
Once you’re both agreed that the conversation is about creating the best possible outcome for all parties, you can then proceed with your assertive communication.
Being assertive does not mean blaming, critising or putting the other person down in any way. You merely state what happens, the concrete affect that it has on you, and how you feel as a result of it. By doing it this way, if you stick to this formula, the other person will be unable to dispute what actually happens when they do whatever they do.
However…
There’s always the danger that the other party will disagree with whatever you say, including the things in the formula. At this point you’re then faced with a choice. You can either restate the things you said earlier or you can choose to terminate the conversation and reconsider other ways you can say what you want to say.
In some situations, other people are so entrenched in defending their way of thinking or being that nothing you say will change their perspective. If that is the case, you may have to reconsider whether or not you wish to continue with that relationship.
Communication Skill
By · CommentsCommunication skill….
What is it and how do you get it ? More importantly what do you do with it once you have it.
This article should answer all of these questions for you so lets take them one at a time.
What is communication skill ?
Communication skill is the ability to convey your ideas, thoughts and passions with other people in such a way that they can hear and understand the meaning you’re trying to get across. Seems simple enough doesn’t it…?
The reality is that most of the problems in the world are due to peoples inability to carry out this apparently easy task.
So what are the things that get in the way ?
By the way if you’re one of the people that find communication difficult, it’s not your fault. You were never taught just how important communication skill is by your parents or at school and in most cases they didn’t know how to teach you, anyway.
I’ve been there too…
And until I sorted out my ability to get the message across I was a stuttering fool with a speech impedement and a gawky stance.
How do you get communication skill ?
There’s a couple of things that you can do. They all involve you having to actually do something. ( It’s tough I know…. but you’ll love your self once you’ve done it )
First off work out why you want to improve your communication skills. What is it about your current skill level that’s holding you back from getting what you want ? Is it that job, the girl or guy that you want to be with or maybe it’s as simple as being able to get on with your kids. These are all valid reasons.
You can look at these reasons in two ways. What you want..To be confident, the life and soul of the party, the guru or even the boss.
And you can look at what you don’t want. To feel shy, lonely and like a wilting wall flower waiting there for someone to come over and talk to you at a party. ….Maybe even just to get an invite to a party….
And here’s the bonus…
Once you have sharpened up your communication skills you get more confident about approaching people and talking with them. In fact you get more confident all round.
Period !
Next thing to do after you’ve worked out your reasons to improve communication for you, is to get clear on a plan. Now I’m not expecting you to know how to do that.
Let’s look at a few ideas that are easy for you to do and that cost you next to nothing.
1/ Go to a library and lay your hands on a stack of books on communication skill. THEN take them home with you and READ THEM !
Take all of the tips and tricks inside of those books and put them into practise. This is the secret of the richest and MOST successful people on the planet.
They actually do stuff !!
All those other folks don’t even take the cellophane off of the stuff that they buy on the net or in Borders. They do nothing so they change nothing.
I figure that if you’ve read this far
you’re not one of those people.
Whew..! I’d hate to think I was sitting here writing this if you’re not gonna read it ! Or worse still read this and then not take action. You don’t strike me as that type of person.
Back to improving your communication skill.
In the space of a weekend you can get through a stack of books or DVDs or tapes. In fact whatever works best for you is what’s best for you.
There’s one more thing that makes this work better> Two in fact but one thing at a time…
First thing.Make NOTES. That’s it. Simply by pulling out the bits that interest you and writing them down you will increase your memory of what you’ve read by somewhere around 27%. You’ll be ahead of the game in no time.
The next thing is….( and this is really really important ) is to practise what you learn. Do it every day. set your self up a schedule and stick to it
like GLUE.
The reason for this is that every champion who has ever been great practises every day. Without fail.
Here’s the thing
Nobody but you has to know that you’re doing all that practising. You probably have a bathroom or a bedroom or some other quiet place that you can use until you’re confident enough to let yourself loose on the world.
Now I hear you say that you don’t want to be a champion and you don’t hav eto be. NOPE!! It’s fine to do what you need to do until you get what you want. If you need to you can go back and re-read the first part of this article.
Another thing that you should do is to pat yourself on the back for taking action.
Unlike around 70% of the population you are getting off of your butt and doing something for you that will make incredible changes in your life…
Plese get back to me and let me know how you’re doing and remember to check back here regularly as I’m planning to set up a free resource page on this site that you’ll be able to access…
NOW -Go get ‘em !
PS Don’t beat your self up if you don’t get there straight away. In life there’s only two results you can get. Success or Feedback on what you can improve on
If there is one communication skill that will make your world a better, happier and more pleasant place to live that skill would be rapport.
Rapport skills are what politicians, counsellors, and leaders use to create trust and understanding with you. These skills are also used by sales people to get your trust, so that they have a better chance of making that sale.
You also use these same skills with your friends and family. They are the basis for all bonds of respect. You already use this communication skill and probably without being aware of it. Rapport is hard wired in your brain and is one reason that we are so successful as a species.
What rapport does is it creates the feeling of understanding with the other person. Understanding creates trust which in turn creates a sense of openess.
So what is this thing called rapport and how do you create it.
Rapport is a state where you feel good usually, though there are negative forms of rapport as well. As we are here to leave you in a positive state of mind we will only deal with the first type.
Rapport Communication Skill Diagram
The diagram above shows the main ways that you create rapport.
Because you receive data or information from your world or environment in different ways ( Modalities ) there are several pieces to the rapport puzzle.
The first is auditory, which is to do with sounds and speech. By matching the speed of the other persons speech: their volume, tone, speed of speaking and the types of words that you use they will feel understood.
The next modality is visual. If you match the other persons body position and their gestures you will create even more trust and understanding. Who else wants to feel trusted and understood ?
The third and final part of the rapport skills you can use is to match the breathing rate and depth of the other person.
Obviously this is just a brief overview of what is involved in creating rapport. There is so much more to learning this communication skill.
However, even just practising the three areas above will make a real improvement in your relationships.
Take them out into your world and give then a try…
Getting what you really want…That’s what communication skills are for.
Whether it’s making a million bucks; having a family that loves each other; creating the business of your dreams or planning a vacation.
The one skill that is common to all of these things and just about everything else, is having great communication skills.
Go to the link below to discover more about all the ways rhat you can get those skills.
Communication Skills
By · Comments
The most important skill in life is learning how to deal with people. This is a leverage skill that will make you more successful in your personal and work life. Secret Impact teaches individuals and businesses the best kept secret in life, the core of interpersonal skills. Our system takes a 2 dimensional approach teaching people to understand themselves first, then how to apply this when dealing with others to make you a better communicator. Our system identifies core strengths and weakness of an individual’s, how to improve one’s self communication style, how to communicate better with others based on human behavior patterns, and reduce conflict.
Duration : 0:6:43
explain why is communication essential in the workplace?
By · Comments
Silence would not work.
My wife is suffering from depression and can be extremely abusive toward me. I am not a passive person in fact I can be very assertive and stubborn.
I have hung in so long because of my children and have been improving some communication with my wife. I still feel like I cannot open myself up to her.
Any toughts here? I feel like I am driving blind in this relationship and trying to find some contentment.
We have currently been in intense counseling for over two years and off and on before that for ten years.
This is truly wearing on me and the children.
Also, when we have time alone she is putting me or the children down.
Now is the time to pray. Really pray. As you see counseling isn’t helping. The only one who is able to heal her is God.
I was depressed most of my life. When I started going to church and praying, God took away the depression and gave me
peace. A peace of mind. I know what depression does. It will
drive you crazy and it takes a toll on the family. Take your wife to a church and let them pray for her. God is going to bless you for being a good and faithful husband. I
applaud you for your work and devotion. There are not many men who would do that for their wife. If God delivered me from it then He can do the same for her. I’m a living witness. I’m a survivor.
I see so much division here on the internet, on TV, and just in the nation as a whole.
I believe that a major reason for the lack of progress on the problems that plague our nation today is that communication is too accessible. It used to be that someone with a good idea had to hold a rally, and if that idea caught on, more would listen and eventually they would be heard by millions. Now all they have to do is blog. No one has to earn the right to be heard anymore.
As a result we, as citizens, are submitted to a deluge of uninformed and childish assaults rather than an intelligent debate from those who have earned the right to speak. Power no longer goes to those with the best ideas, but those with the best marketing team. What’s your opinion on this and do you think there is anything that can be done about it?
Yeah_but…: No, I don’t want to live in the dark ages with no communication. That is a slippery slope fallacy. However, I wouldn’t mind less ability to be heard if it meant that those who ARE heard have something valuable to say.
I do agree with you.
I’ve heard people in my everyday life say the world is "over-signed". Meaning, there are too many distractions that keep people further apart than in past decades. We’re pulled in too many different directions.
I think we’re also unintentionally rude as well- many of us don’t even know who our neighbors are!
I like the idea of blogs though… in the sense that they don’t have to always be about the writer. Or, not directly. Very few bloggers are going to notate their daily schedule and tell you what they had for breakfast each day.
They’ll turn you on to a new band though, or a new TV show. The internet is an incredible learning tool, regardless of if you’re learning about a subject for a report, or just about life.
But some bloggers do just want to sit and spout off what they feel is wrong with the world. They have nothing positive to say except, "Well at least it’s better than this other alternative". Unfortunately when people speak like that, it gives their speech a black-or-white, with-me-or-against-me stance to the listener, and the listener or reader will spout off their contradictory replies… and it will escalate from there.
It is incredibly difficult to read people’s views as to what "tone" they are in… which I think also helps with the miscommunication. People jot down their thoughts and run off to another blog or question and do it again.
I think with this upcoming election, we need to really look at the issues instead of the person. People change, after all. They’re not always feeling the same about the issues through their entire lives (what the opposing party would refer to as "flip-flopping"). And it is incredibly stupid to shoot someone down because of their looks, or their weight, or their colour, or their gender.
This is a very important decision… why can’t people see this?
How can I make money? – Seeking opportunities?
By · Comments-I am a 23 y/o male
-have design/programming, business & communications skills
-low tolerance for risk
-80,000 CAD of savings
-Many contacts in the business
I am not set on using my skills or education and am open to all kinds of opportunities!
*Please be specific, provide links, and a series of steps to success!
THIS IS THE BEST AND ONE OF THE HOTTEST HOME BUSINESSES OUT THERE. THIS BUSINESS HAS HUGE PAYOUTS AND IS CUT AND DRY EASY TO DO. NO MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE, STATE LOTTERIES ARE DOING BIG BUSINESS. THIS HOME BUSINESS LETS YOU CAPITALIZE ON THE FLORIDA LOTTERY PLUS DRAMATICALLY INCREASES YOUR CHANCE TO WIN THE JACKPOT OR ANY OTHER PRIZE. YOU RECIEVE CHECKS EVERY MONTH EITHER FROM LOTTERY WINNINGS OR FROM BRINGING IN NEW MEMBERS. YOU MUST BE A TEAM CAPTAIN IN ORDER TO EARN COMMISSIONS. THIS IS EASY TO SELL BECAUSE EVERYONE WANTS TO WIN MILLIONS FROM A LOTTERY AND THIS GIVES THEM AND YOU THE BEST CHANCE TO DO SO. THIS CAN BE DONE NO MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE. YOU GET PAID WHETHER YOU WIN OR NOT. MEMBERSHIP IS FREE FOR LIFE AFTER YOU BRING IN 2 NEW MEMBERS AS A TEAM CAPTAIN. MORE INFO BELOW.
http://flalottomagic.net/?=p0615
Never pay for another lottery ticket ever again. Plus you get paid $25(monthly) And 10% of the winnings on any Lotto prizes won by every member you refer. Thats in addition to the 10% winnings of the pool you will be placed in. This system betters your chances to win the florida lotto (which already has the best odds to win) by 300%. This is a NO BRAINER and a WIN WIN situation for all that get involved. You get paid to Play the Lottery and even if you never Win(which is rare due to better odds for winning a prize) you still make TONS of MONEY with this System because you Earn the $25 commission from every member you have refered every month for as long as they are a member. This is a Phenominal Opportunity that gives you a Great home business Plus Dramatically increases Your Chances of becoming a Jackpot Lotto Winner. THIS SYSTEM WORKS NO MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE. JOIN AS A TEAM CAPTAIN NOW!
CLICK 2 Join the Greatest Lottery Pool Ever!
http://flalottomagic.net/?=p0615