How Do You Stop All This Miscommunication in Your Business?

In This Episode

Communication. Keeping it simple and good is more difficult than it sounds. No matter what type of business you’re in, there will always be communication challenges because you will be dealing with people. Don’t confuse keeping it simple with communication being easy. It’s difficult to keep it simple!

A common challenge we hear from business owners is they are tired of having to repeat themselves. It might sound something like, “I’ve told him a hundred times before how to properly document that!” Our response, so tell him for the 101st time because it still hasn’t sunk in. Keep in mind there are three key ways people communicate and learn: Visual, Audio, and Kinesthetic.

The majority of people learn/communicate visually. Nearly as many do it Kinesthetically (based on feel/tone). The smallest amount (less than 10%) prefer to communicate and learn Auditory (hearing/listening). Too many folks rely heavily on the Auditory portion of communication (i.e. they talk you to death). Then it starts to sound like all of the adults in Charlie Brown! Try some whiteboards and flip charts…put a little passion into what you’re saying! How’s your handshake?

Another key is “active listening”, which is basically having someone play back to you what they heard to make sure you’re on the same page. That’s why “Presenting” is one of our 7 Keys to Success. Also, try having some regular meetings with your key people so you can make sure everyone is on the same page and you’ll know it by including the active listening component!

Here’s a list of the Top 10 Things to make you a good communicator: