Communication Mistakes

With all of the tools that we have at our disposal – PDAs, e-mail, voice mail, corporate Intranets and so forth – wouldn’t you think that we would communicate in the workplace much more effectively that we did 20 years ago? In fact, the opposite may be true – we may communicate worse than we did 20 years ago. All of these electronic tools have taken the human aspect out of communication and created several traps, especially for managers.

Here are a few you need to avoid:

• Don’t use e-mail when discussing any issues that arouse your emotions. If you are upset, angry, or disappointed you should never discuss the “issues” by e-mail or voice mail. Why? There is no dialogue; you cannot clarify intent; and written words often do not convey your true feelings. However, the biggest problem may be that people often become very brave when communicating by e-mail and say things they would never say to someone face-to-face.

• Do not use e-mail or voice mail to communicate any information that is private, personal, or questionable. Every expert in this business will remind you that electronic communications last forever, particularly e-mail messages. Worse, they can be used in a court of law – in devastating fashion.
• Don’t forget that the most potent motivation tool at your disposal is recognition. A close second is encouragement. Both of these items require communication from you.

  BEST: in-person, personalized, sincere, meaningful to the individual.
  Next Best: a short, hand-written note or card with a specific message.
  Acceptable on occasion: an e-mail message.

• Do not try to multi-task with individuals who need to talk to you about something important to them. Put down your phone, ignore your Blackberry, and turn away from the computer. People associate personal value with the amount of attention you provide when they need to address something important. If you think you can do several things and carry on a meaningful conversation (especially an emotional one), you are sorely mistaken. You may THINK you can, but the individual you are speaking with will be offended, and rightly so.

Lack of effective communication kills companies, but it is a slow and agonizing death. When the rumor mill is the primary source of information in an organization, it is a clear sign that the organization is in serious trouble.