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10 Steps Toward Better Business Communication

Ultimately, no matter how high-tech your business tools,

development and implementation of new initiatives will depend

upon effective, productive communication between real live

people.

Why do some business meetings result in boredom and lack of

focus, whereas others send attendees charging out equipped to

wage battle? Why do some supervisors confuse their workers with

vague, contradictory suggestions while others support their

charges with vision and assistance and help them build their own

path to success?

It boils down to good ol' human interaction - a subject somewhat

out of vogue since the advent of the motherboard - but guess

what? It ain't going away. Without good clear human

connectivity, a mile-high stack of computers won't save your

company from faltering.

So here is our list of steps you can take to improve your

business communication.

1. Remember your vision. You are doing things for a reason. What

is it? When you remember why you are doing something and can

really feel its importance, that is the time to share your

vision with others. Encourage them to speak of their vision for

the future. Charge each other up with thoughts of where you want

to go. Catch a buzz from envisioning the big picture.

2. Keep the vision alive. People will get mired down with the

day to day. Find times to stoke the dream, even informally.

3. When a mutual vision is established and accepted, it is time

to talk about how to get there. These talks have two distinct

parts: brainstorming and action planning. In brainstorming, you

share ideas about what kinds of actions can get you to your

goal. But these ideas should be loose and a little wacky. Pick a

few uncommon ideas and throw them out to model creative thought.

Let your co-workers know that it is time to think freely without

criticism. Have fun and laugh. Have a posterboard and write the

ideas for all to see, in order to foster associations which

could lead to even better ideas.

4. When the ideas seem exhausted, it is time to get serious and

build a plan. Cross off ideas which are clearly unworkable. Boil

the ideas down to 3-5 action items.

5. There should be one person assigned with overall

responsibility for each action item. That person is accountable

for its development. She might solicit others to assist. She

might assign tasks. Nonetheless, she is the key person for that

work item.

6. Follow-up is a fundamental business activity. Without

follow-up, all the good work and ideas which are in play will

wither and die. Meetings or other follow-up venues must be

scheduled regularly to keep all the pots boiling. The top person

for each action item must be asked about progress by the person

responsible for the overall plan.

7. Review and analyze results and make necessary adjustments.

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Then build on the good and drop the bad.

8. Do not stigmatize failure. Remember that failure is necessary

for success. If you can really internalize this idea, you will

be able to fearlessly and logically parse the good and bad in

your plan. If you truly embrace failure as a part of the success

process, you will be able to make the review/analysis phase

engaging, creative and extremely useful.

9. Notice when people do good things and tell them. Some very

hard working people toil for a very long time without hearing

even one positive sentiment. It's an idea as old as Andrew

Carnegie and Reader's Digest, but it may be even more important

today. Our computers separate us from human contact even as they

connect us. Reach out in a human way. Pay a well-earned

compliment. Then watch the startled, then untrusting, then

relaxed and very gratified looks you get back in return.

10. Remember that you are a role model. People watch you. If you

act fairly, they will trust you. If you are mean or egotistical,

they will dislike and undermine you. If you help them, they will

help you. Think of the people you most admire. Think about their

effect on you. Can you absorb some of that goodness and pay it

forward?

About the author:

Mark Meshulam offers the Poingo Productivity Suite, a suite of

simple software programs which make your work easier and much

more fun at http://www.poingo.com.

Also, see his blog at www.blog.poingo.com