No matter how hard you work to hone your professional communication skills, communicating with others is never foolproof. Two people participating in the same conversation may walk away with entirely different ideas of what was actually said. How can you avoid misunderstandings and miscommunications?
Rephrase and Repeat: After your conversation partner makes an important point, rephrase what they’ve said and repeat it back to make sure you fully understand. For example, you might say, “So you’re saying that you think outsourcing our production is the best course of action given?” or “Just to make sure I understand you correctly, you need a minimum of three days to finish this project?”
Ask Questions: If you have any uncertainty about what our conversation partner has said, don’t be afraid to ask for clarification or more detail. For example, you may say, “You said that you weren’t entirely happy with the way the research and development team has handled this project. Could you tell me a little more about what you mean by that?”
Be Direct: People don’t always say exactly what they mean, particularly in business communication. While trying to say something delicately or in the most pleasant way possible is certainly understandable, make sure you still convey all of the essential information in a clear, direct manner. Often your conversation partner will not be as adept at reading between the lines as you think they are, and indirect speech may leave you both with different ideas about what was said.
Do you want to improve your professional communication skills and learn how to make your speech work for you? Give us a call at 212-308-7725 or visit us on the web at www.corporatespeechsolutions.com and let our team of corporate speech-language pathologists help you craft your speech into your most powerful professional tool. Don’t live in NYC? No problem! Our services are Skype ready, so CSS can help you improve your communication from anywhere in the world.