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November 03, 2006

TIP #52: Ask Them

Phone. Email. Face-to-Face. Voice-Mail. Snail Mail. Instant Messaging. There are plenty of vehicles for communications.

But there's one mistake many of us make when choosing the method. We communicate to others the way we want them to communicate to us. So, if you like phone conversations, you probably use that option frequently with others.

But that's backwards for the workplace. It's not how you want to communicate, it's how your client, boss or coworker wants to be communicated to. And if you don't know, ask them.

I was reminded of this recently. I tend to be an email person. So, when I wasn't getting answers from a new staff member to my email messages and queries, I started to wonder what was going on or what the problem might be.

Turns out it was a communication style conflict. She preferred face-to-face communications and was saving up her topics for our weekly meeting. Since that wasn't working for me, she changed approaches.

If you want to communicate effectively, keep in mind the method you choose should reflect the preferences of the person you want to communicate information to, especially when it's a client or a boss.

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Posted by Nan Russell at November 3, 2006 11:32 AM