O
ne of the factors that sets human
beings apart from the rest of
Creation – that has, in fact, helped
make us the dominant species on this
planet – is our ability to communicate in
great detail, with a minimum of confusion
and unproductive “noise.” That said, it’s
amazing how easy it is to fail to commu-
nicate properly. The annals of history are
replete with episodes of poor communica-
tion (or a complete lack thereof ) that led
to widespread misery and pain. On a lesser
scale, individuals and businesses have to
deal with miscommunication issues every
single day, and in the workplace, such
issues can have a severe impact not just on
individual productivity, but on the overall
bottom line.
Even when the lines of communica-
tion are wide open, you can fail to commu-
nicate if you use the wrong words in the
wrong way or simply use too many words.
Beating around the bush, couching your
message in obscure terms or burying it in
a mass of unnecessary verbiage may cause
mental static in the people you’re trying
to communicate with, resulting in confu-
sion and irritation. At best, this will slow
them down; at worst, they may ignore you
altogether. Either outcome will damage
productivity, both yours and theirs.
Therefore, whether you’re communi-
cating with employees or superiors, you
have to make every effort to get your point
across with a minimum of noise. It’s crucial
to choose your words with great care, so
you can say precisely what you mean as
directly as you can without being curt or
offensive.
Let’s look at several ways to accom-
plish that.
GET STRAIGHT TO THE POINT
Have you ever tried to discuss
something with someone who rambled,
refused to be pinned down or liked to
dance around the subject? If you have, then
you know how annoying it can be – and
how non-productive. Maybe the speaker
was afraid you’d be angry or upset if he
came right out and said what he had to
say, maybe he simply wanted attention or
maybe he just liked to listen to himself
speak.
The reason why doesn’t matter. It
doesn’t even matter if the person was
amusing or instructive to listen to, as some
ramblers are. What matters is that they
wasted your time,
and theirs, by not
getting straight to
the point. You don’t
want to do this to
other people, so
your communica-
tions, especially your
by Laura Stack
written ones, should
be brief and concise.
Some people avoid terseness because
they don’t want to seem rude, and admit-
tedly, verbal interaction is often necessary,
or at least useful, in the workplace as a
form of social lubrication. There’s no doubt
that politeness pays and that you should
do your best to stay in your co-workers’
good graces by being genuinely nice.
Nonetheless, in most workplace situations
there’s no excuse not to get right to the
point. You can smile when you do it; this
should take the edge off for those who are
easily offended.
If being straightforward is a problem
for you, practice what you want to say in
advance. Take a results-oriented stance,
envisioning exactly what you’re trying to
achieve. Then edit your message toward
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