This happens every day in the workplace and it is costing companies thousands of dollars. Imagine the cost if this happens when your prospects and clients don’t fully understand your proposal or presentation.
People tend to think they communicate effectively, but what they say and what people hear aren't always the same thing. The general result of miscommunication is uncertainty.
When your workforce is uncertain about what you are trying to communicate to them, they become passive or take incorrect action, therefore proper communication is key to a thriving business.
When we try to get out point across, we first need to understand what causes miscommunication. There are thousands of reasons but we are going to look at the most common ones that people make.
The first is that the speaker is not structured. They start talking in circles and repeat themselves which just adds to the confusion. You will be more effective if you start by saying something like: there are three factors that I would like to discuss about the current budget. The first factor is …; the second factor …. and the third factor is … Structured communication helps people to organize the information accurately.
The second most common cause of miscommunication is that people start to talk too technical and too specific, too soon. Have you ever listened to someone and you thought they are talking about a specific point, only to find out after 2-3 minutes he or she is actually talking about something completely different?
As the speaker it will better if you take one minute to give a holistic overview of what you want to address and then become more specific. You will be even more effective if you take one minute to explain each point holistically before your explain that point in detail.
The third reason for miscommunication is pronunciation and mumbling. Australia is a multicultural country and English is not always people’s first language. As a speaker you should slow down your normal speaking speed to help people to listen and process what you are saying. Remember that people do not listen with their ears, they listen with their brain.
By slowing down, you will pronounce your words clearer. If you have a thick accent and people cannot understand the words you pronounce, it will be beneficial to see a speech or vocal therapists.
Here are helpful tips to be clear, concise and compelling.
1. The easiest ways to ensure listeners understand what you are saying, is to give an example. After you made a point or said something technical, you can say: “which means …” and try to explain the point in an example or story.
2. Use simple and easy to understand English words. Get rid of the jargon. You do not want to discombobulate your audience.
3. Use clear transitions between each points and topic. Tell your audience when you are going to cover the next point. You can say: “now, let’s look at the budget expenses.” This will help your audience to follow along and stay on track.
4. Give people a reason as to why you say something. When you do not give people a reason, their mind starts to wonder to draw their own conclusion, and this is when miscommunication takes place.
5. Be specific with instructions. If you tell two people to create a financial report, you will get two different reports because you didn’t specify exactly what you wanted. Your instructions were too vague. Rather say: “please create a financial report of the 3rd and 4th quarter’s expenses of 2013 - 2014”.
6. Summarize your main points. For example, at the end of a meeting you can quickly recap the most important information and tell people specifically what they should do.
By minimizing miscommunication you will sound more professional and your audience will walk away knowing exactly what you said and what actions to take. Your company will thrive and your sales will increase when people know what you are communicating.
Contact Trevor at: ambrose@changingtools.com
