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2018 Issue 1 | GearedUp
50
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Communication Continued from page 49
that end( mentally in the case of verbal communication, literally in the case of written words) to make it plain and specific. Tweak your message as necessary to avoid sounding brusque, then deliver it assertively, as simply as possible.
AVOID UNNECESSARY QUALIFIERS AND HEDGING
Some people just can’ t seem to deliver any message, especially a request, firmly and directly. They hem in everything they say with so many qualifiers –“ what if’ s,”“ maybe’ s” and“ could be’ s” – that, ultimately, what they’ re trying to say gets lost, causing the recipients to waste time on interpretation and clarification.
In other cases, the bad communicator hedges the message with terms that make it seem less important than it might actually be. Instead of simply telling the IT department that they need a certain backup file right away, for example, they might say something like,“ Um, if you have a chance, could you pull this file for me? No hurry.” This gives the recipient the opportunity to ignore the request or push it down the priority scale if they want, no matter that it’ s urgent to the sender … because that hasn’ t been made clear.
There’ s a word for this kind of poor communication:“ mealy-mouthed,” from the old German slang term for an inability to communicate directly. It’ s often used in a contemptuous way for someone who’ s unwilling to state a personal opinion or come down one way or another on an issue. This might play in the social and political rings, but it’ s painful and unproductive in the business arena.
Some people hedge and qualify out of habit, often because they simply don’ t want to commit themselves to a specific point or course of action. Other people are mealy-mouthed from the best of intentions: because they don’ t want to bother or irritate someone, or because they want to soften the blow of a potentially controversial or loaded statement … but you know what road those good intentions pave.
Some qualification is unavoidable, especially when the information you’ re imparting is based upon the actions of people you have no control over or the situation is simply uncertain. But again, you can avoid the worst of the problem by delivering your communications assertively
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and as simply as possible, without unnecessary frills. Avoiding uncertainty or hesitation. Use the active tense rather than passive: say things like,“ I need this file …” rather than“ This file is needed …” because it sounds more direct and imperative.
Diffidence or timidity will only hold you back, so say precisely what you mean. If someone asks you a question, give them the specific information they’ ve requested. You can be helpful and add additional information if you think it’ s relevant, but don’ t waste their time with stuff they clearly don’ t need. If you’ re asking for information or imparting instructions, be imperative in your delivery. Never tell someone to get you something“ if you get the chance” or“ when you can.” You need to take charge and make your requirements absolutely clear. Speaking of which …
MAKE YOUR REQUESTS AND REQUIREMENTS PLAIN
The bottom line with workplace communication is that it must be as simple and unambiguous as humanly possible … and there’ s the problem. It’ s easy to advise someone to say only what needs to be said, but it’ s not always obvious how much that needs to be.
It’ s possible to be too terse in an attempt to be clear and direct. If you tell someone,“ I need information on the Jones account,” that’ s direct, all right, but you’ re being too vague because you haven’ t asked for enough. Which Jones account do you mean? If there are two or three Jones with different first names, you’ re already tripping over the speed bump of uncertainty. Furthermore, what information do you need? Everything in the whole file, or just this year’ s financials? And when do you need it – within the next hour, by the close of business or sometime in the next week?
So don’ t hesitate to explain as much as you need to in order to be fully understood, especially in terms of deadlines and deliverables required. Just don’ t dump so much information on the listener that they can’ t understand what you’ re trying to say. This can be a difficult judgment call, and again, pre-editing is crucial here. Examine your message closely. If all they really need to know is in the final line of the message, then cut everything else and just use that final line.
It’ s also important to use the right words to get the point across. If what you’ re trying to say doesn’ t seem quite on the mark, then spend some time refining it
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because that’ s likely to pay off in dividends of greater comprehension. As Mark Twain once pointed out,“ The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and lightning-bug.”
Diffidence or timidity will only hold you back, so say precisely what you mean. In general, your language should be simple and easy to understand. Don’ t address someone like they’ re a third-grader, but on the other hand, don’ t use fancy words just because you can and avoid overusing jargon when it’ s unnecessary. Before you refer to something by an acronym or an abbreviation, be sure that it’ s a shared term. For example, it won’ t help to ask a new intern to get you the RFP for the DFW DCH account ASAP if they don’ t know that an RFP is a request for proposal, and DFW DCH is shorthand for the Dallas / Fort Worth branch of the Dalquist, Culpepper and Harrison Law Firm.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT IN ALL DIRECTIONS
In the military, someone who receives a verbal order is often required to repeat it back immediately to acknowledge that they received it. This is especially true in the Navy. It’ s standard operating procedure for a simple reason: If a message is poorly relayed and the wrong action taken, the results can be disastrous.
Your personal miscommunications may not have devastating results, but they can certainly damage productivity. Therefore, acknowledgement of those communications is absolutely essential. When you receive a message from someone, whether they’ re above or
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