When Communicating: Be As Clear As Possible.

How would you solve a jig-saw puzzle if you were provided with only the pieces and not the picture that you were supposed to arrive at? This is a very similar situation to what happens when communication falls apart. In spite of having the required information, you can't seem to arrive at a useful end result.

In this day and age when everybody is working so much that they have almost no personal time for themselves, brief and clear communication is absolutely essential for discovering the real benefits which can come from anonymity.

Take a moment to consider what it would feel like if you no longer had to repeat the same statements over and over again every day! Imagine if all of your employees got what you said at the drop of a hat! Yes, that's the power of management training and effective communication. The words themselves - when selected with skill, can turn your company around more quickly than you can possibly imagine. Listening and giving attention to non-verbal cues constitutes a significant part of interpersonal communication, but why not also strive to speak with precision - mixed with charisma and a bit of magic, so that everyone who is listening can only follow your words to the letter, and do exactly as you suggest.

Be as clear in what you say as possible, and don't leave any guess work for the listener. Any unclear aspects of your conversation stand equal chances of being understood or misunderstood entirely, so even if it's a supplier you've been dealing with for ages, don't rely on what you think should be "obvious". The least of what can be done in these situations is to prepare a document that states all of the "understood" parts, which you can then get the other party to agree to - and if possible, sign it as well. Any new clause that you intend to introduce into the existing agreement should be taken to your partner as soon as possible for their own personal consideration, and if there is mutual agreement, include a written statement of the place and time when the new clause comes into effect.

Dealing with internal and external customers also follows a similar plan. Most business coaching experts agree that the employees (internal customers) should be given an exact position which they're to strive to reach. This should be stated in both qualitative and quantitative terms. Besides this, a career plan for each of them should be clearly charted out and broken down into an unmistakable time-line. Supplement this process with technological solutions to save time when transferring information. Motivate and train your employees to communicate effectively while preparing the reporting hierarchy (i.e. who is to report to whom). This will help them to acquire a broader picture of the organisation and pave the way for long term benefits for your company.

Last - but never the least, always "Keep Your Word".

Alan Gillies is the Managing Director of the L2L Group, specialising in supplying Executive Coaching, Training and Consultancy Services to Businesses around the World. Want to find out more about these comprehensive business building success strategies? Get Alan's phenomenal FREE Business Pack right now!