Communication

Consider the statistics…  Research has shown that in face to face communication, words account for only 7% of a message.  93% of the communication is non-verbal, that breaks down with 55% of communication being what is “seen” and 38% tone of voice. Do you see any potential for miscommunication?  I do!  And I’ve experienced it as I’m sure you have.

Global Communication Now consider how global changes are affecting communication in business. You’re not just dealing with your business in Georgia, but you might also have technical support sites in India, parts suppliers in Taiwan, and manufacturing plants in Mexico. It’s bad enough when a miscommunication between you and your team means they have to re-work a project, causing another day of work. Now consider a miscommunication between your manufacturing plant and your parts supplier! Poor communication in business is costly!

And there’s more Poor workplace communication from employees to customers results in hard feelings, frustration between each other, and even losing customers if they have another place they can go to get the items or service you offer. You’ve experienced this if you’ve called for technical support to nearly any major company in the past few years. With so much globalization, it can be a huge struggle for both parties to understand each others’ accents. In this case, the poor communication is due to language barriers, but that doesn’t negate the consequences. On the other hand, effective workplace communication from employees to customers makes happy customers. And happy customers are repeat customers.

Closer to home We’ve all had situations at work where we did something a certain way thinking that’s what was said, only to be told later it’s wrong.  Or maybe you gave “clear direction” to an employee only to find out they didn’t really understand what you meant.  We’ve all been there. The same kind of communication affects us at home as well, either between our significant others or children.

Business Communication Business communication in its simplest definition is just what it says: communication in business. But because people are so different and the business workplace is often so hectic and bustling, effective workplace communication can be difficult to achieve, let alone master. Consider, too, that workplace communication is no longer only through meetings, phone calls, or memos posted around the water cooler. When email became the main course of communication in the workplace, misunderstandings and hurt feelings arose. Why? Because missing in email (and other written communication, too) is the tone of the writer, the non-verbal cues, the body language.

Out of the loop That whole electronic process leaves our limbic system, the part of our brain that connects with others, out of the loop.  Sure you can interpret what was said, often based on previous face-to-face dealing with that person. When you get an email that makes you feel hurt or angry, before you type a long outcry take a moment and talk to the person when you aren’t feeling so hurt or angry. Maybe wait an hour or maybe a few hours. Many times people type a long response to something that they perceive is a wrong without thinking it through.  Your amygdala is reacting to the perceived wrong. Hopefully you read my full story and know what amygdala means.  The emotional fight or flight center of our brains can be easily over-stimulated from too much chaos and too many other things going on.

No related posts.