"To be a good leader, you have to be a good communicator. As a leader, you have to communicate your intent every chance you get, and if you fail to do that, you will pay the consequences."
--- William H. McRaven
One of the most overlooked, (but easiest to fix), problems found in business today is poor communication. Whether it is communicating a price change to a customer; communicating the need to come up with more agreeable terms with a vendor; communicating an advertisement for your company to a media outlet; or communicating instructions to employees, our communication needs to be clear and concise in order to be understood. It needs to be the vehicle that transports our thoughts, ideas, direction, and feelings in a way that others can actually see and understand what is in our heads. It is not an easy task, but it is one that we all need to get better at by continually striving to improve in every form of communication.
"Mastering" communication is a misnomer. There are no masters of communication. There are some who are better than others at communicating, but the journey to mastery is a lifelong conquest. And it should be. We should all make it a point to learn how to better communicate in business and in life.
"The newest computer can merely compound, at speed, the oldest problem in the relations between human beings, and in the end the communicator will be confronted with the old problem, of what to say and how to say it."
--- Edward R. Murrow
Spellcheck, grammar check and other friendly software found on most computers is very convenient. It helps us to avoid embarrassment by sending an email or typed letter to a customer without any spelling errors or quotations placed incorrectly. The problem is that we can still send a poor message that is spelled correctly, and not accurately communicate what we want the recipient to know. Most people would rather receive a message they understand with a few misspelled words than a message that doesn't make sense, but at least the words are spelled correctly.
"It is insight into human nature that is the key to the communicator's skill. For whereas the writer is concerned with what he puts into his writings, the communicator is concerned with what the reader gets out of it. He therefore becomes a student of how people read or listen."
--- William Bernbach
Make a commitment this week to become a lifelong student of communication. Take one hour every week to study the art of successfully communicating. Read books about how to get your message across, how to negotiate, how to make a speech, how to write a correspondence, how to speak on the phone, and many more. There is more material available on communication than you can digest in one lifetime. Why not take advantage of the available materials and learn how to improve getting your message from your head to your customer, vendor, employee, and family?
"A big part of the job of being a showrunner is, in my way of thinking, being a good communicator because there's really no other way to have hope for getting what you want, at the end of the day."
--- Vince Gilligan
Communication is the foundation of your business. Without effective communication, you will not have customers. You will not have a product. You definitely won't have anybody to help you make those products. Stretching every day to seek perfection in communication will enhance every aspect of your business and your life. Great communicators aren't hurting for business.
"Why fight technology at all? The audience is always going to tell you what they like best. And you, as a storyteller, as a communicator, are going to be required to adjust to that."
--- Ron Howard
Part of becoming a great communicator is learning how to use the advantages of technology to communicate. Don't use digital devices for communicating because all the cool kids are doing it. Use technology as another tool for advancing your message and reaching more people. Use it because it will help make you a great communicator.
