Communication: What is the Purpose??

“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.” -Mark Twain

How often do you feel not understood? Do you feel like you need a translator in conversations in which you should be speaking the same language?? Do you find that people misinterpret what you are saying???

Poor communication and ineffective conversations can leave one shaking their head wondering what just happened. In business poor communication can slow projects to a stand still and can kill team morale and trust…not to mention how damaging ineffective communication can be to customer relationships.

However, good communication will improve business processes and their effectiveness, help to develop trust within teams and develop stronger and deeper internal and external relationships. In addition, good communication helps foster business opportunities.

We all know that strong communication skills are important in the office. While there are many things that go into improving such skills, a good place to start is by taking a look at the purpose of the conversation.

Below are two quick things you can do to develop stronger communication skills at the office by simply focusing on the purpose of the conversation.

1. Prior to entering a business meeting, it’s important to learn the purpose and goals of the meeting. Most meeting goals are to gain project or task status, to gather information, to request assistance or to offer service. When you enter the meeting, knowing the purpose and goals of the meeting will tell you where and how to focus your attention.

2. When speaking with a customer, always remember this person is your customer. The primary purposes of conversations with customers are to develop a deeper relationship, to gather information, to provide services and/or status, or to offer further services. Keeping these purposes in mind when communicating with your customer will help develop stronger relationships and give a better impression of your product and/or services.

In business, it is vital to have genuine relationships and conversations. Structuring your communication will improve the overall effectiveness of the conversation. This improved effectiveness will have a positive impact on the business in all areas including team development, sales, profits and workload!