Be Consistent in your Communication

EVERY Saturday after walking my dog, I travel over to the local Waffle House and I order the exact same thing: 4 eggs over medium, 2 sausage patties well done, grits with cheese, wheat toast with strawberry jam, a glass of water, and a cup of coffee with cream. You're probably thinking, how can you eat that every Saturday? Don't you want to try something different? To that I say, there is something wonderfully pleasing to have expectations that are met each and every time. In a world that is full of uncertainty and inconsistency, this little spot each week grounds me to the fact that I can find something that will not disappoint me and my expectations.

Whether it is a service being provided or goods being purchased, we each have things that we appreciate when they are consistent. Consistent quality. Consistent appearance. Consistent reliability. You get the picture. We appreciate consistency in relationships, partnerships, and friendships.

As the year 2020 has shown us, the only consistency seemed to be bad news, and that trend continues. Perhaps you have also noticed that while many times justified, the current events have given us a pass to be inconsistent. Things are out of stock, orders take longer to fulfill, there are restrictions in place that prevent meetings and in person transactions. We accept this as the 'New Normal', but is it meant to be used as a pass to be inconsistent? Where we have little or no control over so many things, the one thing we do have control over is COMMUNICATION.

Communication that is consistent, accurate, and understandable, can help strengthen our business and personal relationships. Going back to the Waffle House story, they have a unique way of communicating the customer's order to the cook. In all the chaos and at times indecipherable noise, the cook understands exactly what the customer wants because the wait staff communicates in a manner that is consistent, accurate, and understandable.

Case in point, I recently traveled to see some of my family and I stopped at a Waffle House in the town of Piqua, OH right off of Interstate 75. You guessed it, I ordered the same thing I order every Saturday morning back in South Carolina. The food, even the grits, were of the same flavor and consistency as back home. To me, that was a thing of beauty. The thing is, we all have the ability to provide that level of customer satisfaction regardless of our profession, product, or services. How so?

We have at our fingertips access to a plethora of communication mediums. We have email, texting, phone, video conferencing, social media, fax and even old fashioned mail. Additionally, the cost is very little or non-existent for using these methods. Despite all of these avenues of communication, many times the communication is not consistent, accurate, or understandable. Why is this?

An initial thought is that standardization and training are big factors why communication varies between customers and companies.?We have all probably heard the saying, "No news is good news.", however, I would beg to differ. No news allows the person to paint a picture of what they now perceive to be really going on. Often times this picture is not a pleasant one. It is far better to share bad news rather than to keep the other entity in the dark. It is better to be specific and clear in our communications rather than offer some form of ambiguous direction. If an item is going to be late, then say it is going to be late. If you don't know, then say you don't know, but that you will find out, (And then follow-up with that promise). Most people do not like to experience uncertainty as this can also make one feel vulnerable. Communicating to an individual exactly what is going on provides stability and also allows the person or company to adjust to the information accordingly. Communicating in an exact manner is a matter of respect for the individual. Never assume that the listener 'Can't Handle the Truth'.

At this point, you may have asked yourself, why is there a picture of a waterfall at the beginning of this article? Well, for one, I really like waterfalls; however, there is another reason. Waterfalls are continuous. The water is always falling, being constantly in motion. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, the water is flowing. It does so whether or not it is being observed by people. It may vary in flow, but it does keep flowing persistently. A waterfall has the ability to wear away even the hardest and toughest obstacles with its patience and consistency. It is a lesson we can all learn from.

Winston Churchill once said, "The difference between mere management and leadership is communication." Be a Leader with consistency in your communication.