Communication is a vital and inevitable part of human society. It is rampant – we use it in all aspects of our lives – social, work and everyday chores are bounded by the way we communicate with one another. More often than not, however, what has the biggest impact is not the way we communicate, but the way we do not.
At work, communication is important to our leaders, teams and departments. Good communication and interpersonal relationships are imperative to overall business performance and sustainability. Yet its importance tends to be neglected. Peter Drucker, the father of modern management, once said that 60% of all management problems are the result of poor communication. Many professionals fall into common communication traps that undermine their authority and obscure their message. So what are the most common mistakes?
1. Failing to ask for clarification.
Whether it is a CEO who does not know what the board wants to see at the board meeting, or a junior employee who does not understand what the boss wants in a pending report, the rationale is the same: nobody wants to look incompetent in front of authority. We waste time guessing, miss the mark too frequently, and often end up creating more work for everyone.
This also works the other way as well. Managers doing the delegating do not clarify with employees because they are worried they will be micromanaging or quashing creativity. Most employees would rather take a few extra minutes to have clarity from managers, and save lots of time and energy by getting it right the first time round.
The solution is simple: if you do not understand what success looks like, ask for clarification, specifics or examples. If you ask well-informed questions, then you will look a whole lot smarter than if you execute incorrectly.
2. Being overly agreeable.
This often occurs when we want to be a likable team player so badly that we come across as a ‘yes’ person. Every idea is great, each deadline is possible, and new projects are all a plus. This happens frequently in professional services relationships, when enthusiastic sales people agree to a client's unrealistic expectations, only to have the persons responsible for carrying out the task cringe at the impossibility.
Nonetheless, we often cannot achieve what we signed on to do, or deadlines are missed because we are overextended, and so our credibility is damaged. The intention, to be a good colleague, is an honorable one. However, what people respect is honesty. You will build more trust and admiration by being truthful to yourself, and others, by saying ‘maybe’ or ‘no’ when that is the best answer. When you find yourself tempted to state agreement even though you do not feel like it, express your true opinion. You can still say this politely, and rather than simply say what you cannot do, let the person know what you can do, and that you believe to be the best solution for all.
3. Using a "One-Size-Fits-All" Approach to Communication
If you use a "one-size-fits-all" approach to communication, you may overlook people's different personalities, needs, and expectations. In fact, your communications need to address those differences as much as possible.
For instance, if you are preparing a presentation, make sure that you appreciate that people have different learning styles and that you cater for these. This means that everyone – from those who learn best by reading to those who prefer a more hands-on approach – can benefit from your session.
Other mistakes include being vague and unclear, being too negative, interrupting other people, littering your speech with qualifiers, making inappropriate jokes, swearing, rambling, giggling and much more. However, these mistakes are not exclusively limited to employees. There are many examples of companies falling into the trap of poor communication or a misconduct of such.
One example of communication failure is BP's Oil Spill. BP caused the legendary oil spill that stretched across the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Their PR strategy included airing a number of expensive commercials and apologizing at every chance they had – something the public found disingenuous. Ultimately, they received criticism from President Obama and others, who said the money they put into the ads should have been put into cleaning up the mess. Tony Hayward of BP also made the fatal mistake of saying he wanted his life back, which showed a blatant lack of respect for those who had actually lost their lives in the explosion.
But BP's example is not unique. JP Morgan/Chase can also demonstrate poor communication, when in 2013, their blunder had it all: terrible timing, badly misreading the public and a complete and utter misunderstanding of social media. "JPM’s marketing wizards decided to set up a Q&A on Twitter with superstar banker Jimmy Lee at the same time the bank was being hit with a $13 billion fine for its transgressions during the financial crisis," Argenti says. "After 24,000 tweets – arguably one of the fastest and most negative reactions to any major global brand on Twitter – they pulled the campaign and realized that maybe their reputation wasn’t what it once was."
Another example is Yahoo. When a company suffers the biggest cyber security breach of all time, it is inevitably going to suffer bad press. But when they chose not to disclose the breach for two years, they seriously damaged users' trust, and shattered a multibillion-dollar acquisition deal. Just two months after agreeing to sell to Verizon for $4.8 billion, Yahoo in September disclosed a security breach affecting more than 500 million users. A "state-sponsored" hacker absconded with users' names, emails, phone numbers, and encrypted passwords. Companies get hacked all the time, but this incident stood out for its sheer size alone. This hack affected the sensitive data of more than 1 billion Yahoo accounts, surpassing the original breach revealed earlier in the year. And just as before, this hack stemmed from a few years back, taking place in 2013. Following the announcement of the second hack, shares of Yahoo plummeted more than 7% as investors worried that the Verizon deal could be severely affected or completely abandoned.
At the end, everyone makes communication mistakes. However, you will protect your reputation if you avoid the most common errors and strive to think about your audience's needs. Prepare each email, document, and presentation carefully, and give yourself time to check it. Above all, remember that communication is a two-way process. Be ready for questions, and listen to what your audience has to say. Being a good communicator takes effort. It is like being a good athlete – you have to practice if you want to be good at your craft.
Nesrin Nazlieva
Sources:
http://www.beefmagazine.com/business/1001-common-communication-mistakes
http://grasshopper.com/blog/8-epic-failures-of-communication/
http://www.businessinsider.com/biggest-pr-failures-of-2013-2013-12
https://www.inc.com/salvador-rodriguez/biggest-pr-fails-2016.html
http://www.businessinsider.com/worst-communication-mistakes-professionals-make-2014-3
https://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2011/07/15/five-communication-mistakes-that-are-holding-you-back/2/#321d2d8b2309
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/common-communication-mistakes.htm