Beyond Talking: Mastering Communication for Professionals and Business Owners

According to Forbes, communication remains the costliest issue in the workplace. Poor, ineffective and inadequate communication is a drain on time and resources. Whether you work for someone else or own a business, effective communication can lead to successful career growth, retention, leadership and profit. Here are the 3 pillars of effective communication.

Pillar 1: Active Listening

The best communicators are active listeners. The people who are waiting for their turn to speak are not actively listening; they are busy formulating their answers in their head and actively waiting for their turn to speak. Active listening requires you to put aside all other distractions, and listen with intent. You should be able to give back what was said to the person talking - in fact, it’s a really good practice to do that so that they know you have heard and understood what they are saying. Active listening also requires understanding social cues, reading the room and reading body language.

Pillar 2: Clear and Concise Messaging

How many times have you sat in a meeting and listened to someone drone on incessantly? How quickly have you tuned this person out? In the professional world it is better to be courteous and direct. Use simple language and avoid jargon and ambiguity. Follow the 3 part rule when communicating: 

1) Get to the main point (The Ask/Action), 

2) Provide necessary context (The Why), and 

3) State the desired outcome (The Deadline/Goal)

For important written communications proofread all materials before sending or submitting.

Pillar 3: Effective Feedback and Constructive Criticism

Growth is impossible without honest, well-delivered feedback. Effective feedback is crucial for both professional development and business improvement. When giving feedback do not ask why, reframe the question and ask HOW and WHAT. Asking why causes people to get their backs up and makes them defensive. When you know the how and what of a situation it is easier to analyze and put in corrective measures. The HOW and WHAT will lead to answers of what could have been done differently to get the desired results. Also, look at the result or effect of the behaviour (the impact) - that redirects the focus from the person to the behaviour. So it takes the blame off the person and puts the responsibility on a set of actions that were done or not done. For any feedback or criticism given, use the “sandwich” approach, where you sandwich a criticism between 2 positive feedback. Or, simply be direct, kind, and solution-focused.

Implementing the 3 pillars, that is, actively listening, clear messaging and effective feedback is a step by step process. Start by taking on one of these communication strategies and work on improving and fine tuning it for the next 21 days. Effective communication in a professional setting is not a soft skill - it’s a high impact, measurable driver of both professional career advancement and business success.