When we communicate in real life, we can read the situation – and we (hopefully) adjust our approach according to the cues that we are picking up. If we see that the other person is getting flustered or annoyed by what we’re saying, we might choose to take another tack. Or perhaps pursue it again another day.
The key is really to dig deeper. What are you really worried about? Is it how the other person will react? Is it that you don’t know what to say or how to say it, and you’re worried it might be clumsy?
What would they want to know that would ease concern over a change, or angst over some gossip that’s doing the rounds?
If there is ANY chance of an email being misinterpreted. If the content is sensitive. Or if the receiver is time poor and likely to skim read .. Ask yourself – what’s the purpose of putting this in writing? Is it to avoid the conversation? Perhaps to protect myself in case something comes back to bite me?
The communication process doesn’t need to be onerous. It doesn’t need to involve large town halls and full on presentations (although of course there is a place for those). It just needs to be regular, on message and provide employees the information they need.
Of course, these are often the conversations that we put off because we think they will be difficult, awkward or uncomfortable. And so things don’t get said when they need to be said. Feelings fester. Positions become entrenched. What was a smaller issue becomes bigger. What was fixable becomes less so.
So, leaders and organisations everywhere will be pleased to know that there are tangible things you can do. The good news? They’re relatively easy to implement and you probably know about most of them already.
A senior leader in a well known company gave me an example of how her leadership team aren’t communicating with their teams about forthcoming organisational changes. This
Communication involves both parties. The person saying the words, and the person receiving and then responding to said words. And we all have a choice as to how we interpret and respond to any given communication. We are not passive robots simply receiving data.
If there was one skill that I wish I could bestow on the general population, it would be to be able to speak one’s mind
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