Communication is one of the most important aspects of running your business. This is done through memos, emails, meetings (live or virtual), updates, and messages.
When you run a business, excellent communication serves as a relationship-building tool that strengthens the relationship between you, your employees, and your clients.
In business, you are continuously providing a service that extends your growth and success. Because you are dealing with a variety of people, the best communication strategies will help you handle conflicts, create solutions to nagging problems, and make your workplace a harmonious and productive environment for everyone.
These 7 business communication tips will help you on your path to even greater success.
- Be Clear
Clarity cannot be over-emphasized. When you are in business, you should strive to communicate clearly. Clear communication prevents miscommunication and a varied interpretation of your message.
It is also important to state the reason for each communication in business. When you do this, you are more likely to have your listener’s attention and practice business communication skills effectively. Be succinct and direct in a way that is all about them. Superficial chit chat is just that, superficial.
- Practice Active Listening
Communicating effectively in business is double-sided. Just as you should learn to speak clearly to avoid mistakes that can cost you business, you should also practice active listening.
Non-verbal cues, such as nodding your head, looking the speaker in the eye, turning towards the speaker, and other facial and body gestures, present interest in the speaker’s communication. You probably have heard this before… we have two ears and one mouth, so listen twice as much as you speak. Most people don’t ask enough questions and really listen to what people are saying.
- Stay Away from Absolutes
Habits are hard to break, and personal relationships can get heated. When in business, your employees and vendors have their habits and may bring these behaviors into the business.
Though these habits may be detrimental to your business success, how you communicate your displeasure in business can help you to have people who respect you and want to support you and your firm’s goals.
For effective business communication, it is important to stay ways from absolutes like ‘never,’ ‘always,’ and words that paint a continuous habit of your employees. When you say this, it instantly puts the person on a defensive mode, preventing them from listening to you and adhering to corrections, comments, suggestions, and recommendations.
Finding more constructive ways to pass essential information will put you on a path to business success through effective communication.
- Avoid Speaking for Other People
As a business owner, you are the voice of your business. The responsibility of performing exceptionally lies with you as you have to set the professional example.
When an employee does something that affects the business, you should speak to them about how that behavior or attitude affects you as a person other than how it affects every other employee.
By doing this, you are giving all your other employees a voice to explain their views without generalizing them. This helps your employees develop their individual thoughts and ideas that can help your firm as a whole perform more effectively.
- Ask Questions
Asking questions helps you understand what the speaker is saying accurately. The problem most people have with asking questions is that they think it shows ignorance or they assume they know exactly what someone is saying, and it could be very inaccurate.
In business, it is important to ask questions when you don’t understand something or even to clarify. Doing this will improve your understanding of the communication and help you gain even more effective business communication skills.
When you ask questions, you are able to reaffirm that you understand the message being passed.
- Confirm What You’ve Learned
Simply asking questions helps reaffirm your understanding of the message. When you confirm what you have heard, it improves your business communication by letting you use your language to explain what you think was said.
When you repeat what was said to you, it doesn’t mean that you agree with what was said; it shows that you are heard what was said and you understand the general idea of the message being received.
- Communicate Through the Right Medium
In business and in life, there are different strokes for different folks. When communicating in your business, you should learn to use the right medium to pass valuable information, so that it’ll be received and interpreted accurately and appropriately.
Most businesses use emails, memos, letters, chats, text messages, and verbal communication. Even though this works in every organization, you should understand that high achieving businesspeople who speak fluently may be unable to pass information articulately using some mediums.
Writers who are comfortable with putting their thoughts on paper in an articulate manner may also have a problem speaking publicly, for example.
You should find a balance that allows you to communicate effectively depending on the best way for the person or people to communicate.
Effective communication is directly related to your success in business because communication is at the root of every business. Practice these effective communication strategies to set you on a path to increased success.
It is amazing to me how many people don’t have a specific agenda for meetings they hold and then they wonder why meetings take so long. Our time is valuable, so we want to use it wisely. To help you with creating an agenda and action items that will result from the meeting, take a look at my worksheet template and modify it to work for you.
The purpose for the Agenda & Action Item Worksheet is to provide clarity on what you want to accomplish in the meeting… and clarity on who is going to do what following the meeting. Download this template and see how it might be of value to you in your various meetings with clients, prospects, strategic alliances, team members, etc.
To download my complimentary meeting agenda and action item worksheet template, go to http://tinyurl.com/yy24484q.
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