If you want to share a new idea, update a colleague on progress or address a user issue, some of these tactics might help in your communication. They have been acquired from leadership courses and training along the years.
If you are already a great communicator, this is not for you, but if you struggle now and then, it might be.
- Be up-to-date and informed
- If you want to solve a problem, voice the issue you want to solve as soon as possible and then the proposed approach or solution
- Write a short business case when proposing a new idea that needs extra financial investment
- Put what you are talking about in the context of other known references such as persons, projects or organisations to build trust in the idea
- Always follow things up and when doing so, share where are you now, and what’s next
- Keep to your promises
- Have a plan
- Mention the person’s name when talking to them
- Choose a comfortable and familiar place for the person/s you are communicating with
- What is your colleague’s communication style? Are they more receptive to words, images, or are they more touch with their emotions and how this effects things around them? Address them in the best way that suits them
- Think of other ways of building rapport if it doesn’t come naturally
- Take time to listen to how and what is being said
- Repeat back the essence of what you’ve heard if it is a longer dialogue
- In a difficult situation, don’t beat around the bush, be clear, but tactful
- Admit when you are wrong, say how it should have gone, what happened, and what action you’ll take to make sure it doesn’t happen again