How can you communicate better with colleagues and clients?

Understanding your audience is critical to effective communication. By tailoring your message to their needs, preferences, and styles, you enhance comprehension and engagement. Some people are visual learners and respond better to infographics or diagrams, while others are auditory learners and prefer verbal explanations. Additionally, personality traits can influence communication style: some prefer a more formal approach, while others appreciate a casual, direct conversation. To understand your audience, research their backgrounds, ask probing questions, observe their behavior, and, most importantly, listen actively to their feedback. Communication isn't just about transmitting information. It's about building mutual understanding.

The power of knowing how to communicate with your audience is huge! If you're 1:1 you can quickly establish how someone learns by their speech patterns (EG if they use a lot of visual language such as "I see" or "It looks like" they are more likely a visual person. Auditory language audio, etc). If you are addressing a larger audience, rotate what kinds of language you use. If most of your audience responds better to 1 type of phrasing, don't exclude others but maybe concentrate more on the preferred one. Some people have secondary types (EG I am audio/visual, but am hard of hearing, so often respond better to visual options when learning)

Keep the discovery as simple as humanly possible by asking questions like: "Which is the most efficient way to get back with you- email, call, or text?" or "if I haven't heard back from you by ____, may I follow up on _____" *PROTIP on timelines- be liberal! Ask when you should hear back (so they give their timeline) and then add a few days to your follow-up. Accountability is important, but life happens and no one likes a pest! You can further clarify by asking things like, "when I am just looking for quick, high-level feedback... " or "when I'm really looking to get a detailed understanding and may need more of your time..." Asking someone's preferences and then sticking to them is a sign of respect. Respect builds relationships

In my experience teaching international college students, it was very important to be mindful of cultural differences in communicating with them. Here are a few key points I had to consider to avoid misinterpretations 1. communication styles - while some cultures may be more direct and explicit, others may rely heavily on non-verbal cues; 2. gestures and body language - what may be considered a polite gesture in one culture might be seen as offensive in another; 3. language nuances - idioms and expressions may carry unintended meanings in other cultures. If you work with teams and clients from different cultures, be aware of cultural nuances in communication to avoid misunderstandings, especially in today's globalized work environments.

When choosing a channel for communication, you need to consider a wide range of options, including appropriateness of the channel. E.G. Millennials and Gen Z seem less keen on speaking on the phone than previous generations, so again, can it be done with voice notes or by instant message? Can you use the asynchronous nature to your advantage? Allow for better phrasing and respond to a challenge rather than react? We also need to consider other people's circumstances. For example, if you have 1 remote worker in your company, how do you ensure they don't feel left out? Do you bring them to the office semi regularly? We have many choices we can make with comms these days. When done well, it enhances the benefits to all involved.

Selecting the right channel of communication hinges on your audience, intent, and message content. Some conversations necessitate a face-to-face or video call, providing the opportunity to read non-verbal cues and ensure clarity. Others might be more effectively handled through email, chat, or a phone call, offering convenience and efficiency. Each channel carries its own advantages and potential drawbacks, impacting how your message is received and interpreted. Consider factors such as the urgency of the message, the complexity of the information, the sensitivity of the topic, and the recipient's availability when choosing the best channel. Always aim for a channel that promotes mutual understanding and effective dialogue.

Choosing the right medium for effective communication involves considering urgency, formality, complexity, audience preferences, and time zone differences. You can use email for formal communication and written records, instant messaging for questions and informal discussions, video calls for face-to-face discussions on complex topics and phone calls for longer conversations. You can also use collaboration tools to build teamwork, social media for public announcements and newsletters to reach a broader audience.

If your organization relies heavily on email communication, it can get cumbersome in a big hurry. Have you ever received a response to only one of your seven questions? Ways to get the answers you need might include: - A subject line stating you have 3 questions. For example: Project X - 3 Questions - Due by EOD. - Keep it short. This can be tough, especially for us who like to provide context, thinking it will elicit a response in kind. Nope. Still only one or two word answers to one blasted question. - Read the room. Or at least read how your intended target generally responds, then tailor your interactions accordingly. If email just isn’t working to get the answers you need, ask what the best way/channel is to communicate with them.

Ah concise, and accurate communication. Something I am dreadful at! Partly because of ADHD and dyslexia. However, this highlights why communication should be clear and concise. It avoids confusion and wasted effort. This is especially key when the area of personal development is challenging for the individual. So use tools like ChatGPT or other OpenAI/ AI platforms to help abbreviate your text. If you have a character limit, state it in the prompt. "Shorten this to 750 characters" or "Make this a tweet" works well in my experience. Long form content has its place, but direct communications are best short and sweet. Even if it's something I massively struggle with personally!

To avoid ambiguity, poor understanding, and confusion in communication, strive for clarity and brevity. Avoid jargon, slang, acronyms, and superfluous words that can cloud the intended message. Instead, leverage simple, direct language. Ensure your information is specific, precise, and devoid of assumptions, sweeping statements, or overstatements. Thoughtfully structuring your message enhances comprehension, so logically arrange your points, emphasizing key takeaways and required actions. An aptly articulated message fosters effective communication, enabling all parties to clearly understand the intended message and the necessary steps.

In the personal development world, I believe most people who work in the industry are empathetic and respectful to their clients. But are we to ourselves? This is somewhere I have seen many coaches and mentors say they need to work on, and in doing so, they actually improved their ability to relate better with thier clients. Showing your own processes, own beliefs, thoughts and actions the same empathy as you do. clients is tricky, especially at first; however, it provided me and many colleagues with huge insights into ourselves and our clients, so is worth the effort.

Empathy and respect are cornerstones of effective communication, underscoring the importance of recognizing and understanding others' feelings, needs, and viewpoints while respecting their beliefs and preferences. Upholding courtesy and professionalism throughout your interactions is paramount, avoiding rudeness or offensive conduct. Displaying empathy and respect can be as simple as choosing positive, supportive language, validating others' emotions, and admitting to or apologizing for mistakes when necessary. Remember, your words can significantly influence the emotional climate of a conversation, so choose them with care.

Engage actively in communication with empathy and positive energy. Your audience need to feel safe and comfortable. You must have a good understanding of the topic and be a good improviser in the meantime. Communicate from your heart and be honest. Be patient and respectful and allow time to your conversations.

For the sake of clarity, the 7% rule is a mangling of the 7-38-55 ratio established in a highly unrepresentative, single-purpose behavioural experiment using a psychology paradigm that does not align with human communications. It was done by Albert Mehrabian in 1967 specifically to look at the weighting given by college graduates to CONTRASTING body language, voice tone and word content. It has little or no relevance to actual, dynamic communication in person-to-person interactions. Says who? Albert Mehrabian.

The "Only 7% of communication is verbal" rule gets misquoted a lot. The original (I believe) was 55% of communication is body language, 38% is your tone, and 7% is based solely on your words. This shows why so much gets misconstrued over text. We have no tone, let alone body language. Face to face we have everything available to us, but 45% of what someone is saying is still from their mouth, so we must listen carefully or we'll miss out on nearly half the information. Where a client can't see me, I took the step of covering my mouth when they are speaking. It forces me to concentrate on what is being said. I remember more and provide a better experience because of it. Especially when selling my services. Give it a try and see if it helps.

Don't listen for places you can interject your expertise. Listen for a complete story to get a bird's eye view of their world.

Active listening is a cornerstone of effective communication, requiring keen focus and responsiveness. It isn't just about staying quiet while the other person talks; it entails avoiding distractions and biases and tuning into the content and emotional undertones of what's being shared. Non-verbal cues like eye contact and nods demonstrate your engagement while asking clarifying questions, summarizing, or paraphrasing the speaker's points to ensure understanding. Thus, active listening isn't a passive skill; it's an active engagement that fosters deeper connections and improved comprehension.

Building Rapport is an important aspect of communication. No matter how good our communication skills are, we must be adaptable and sensitive to the other's map of the world. The term ' coffee' may have different connotations depending on our experiences of the world, so fitting into the other's map of the world can build long term connections for personal and professional accomplishments.

Feedback is vital for growth and collaboration. It fosters trust, improves performance, and enhances decentralized projects. Feedback can be formal or informal, positive or negative. Being open-minded, constructive, and timely is essential, along with objectivity and specificity. Avoiding personal attacks and blame promotes a healthy feedback culture. In this decentralized environment, feedback empowers individuals and communities to learn from mistakes, iterate, and create innovative solutions, fostering a vibrant and thriving ecosystem.

Don't overthink it! When you're in your head, trying to find the perfect words, or impress someone, or worried about whether they like you or if you have spinach in your teeth, guess what you're not focused on...THEM! Treat the other person as the most important person in the world at that moment. Be human. See what happens.

Listen to their language. If it looks a lot like they offer perspectives, points of view, angles on things, paint pictures of brilliance or ugly disasters, see things in a good/bad light, draw the future as bright or dark black, and greet you 'see you later', use visual language with them. If they speak about singing from the same page, talking the same language, tell you a lot that you do(n't) strike a chord with their tune on the matter, and greet you 'talk to you later', use auditory language with them. If they are touchy feely, seem to have a good nose for people/things, dig their heels in and put their backs into their work, and greet you 'touch base later' or 'catch you later', use kinaesthetic language with them.