How To Improve Your Business Communication
12 Aug 2022
What a Business Owner should know about communicating effectively. Article By Kieran Perry
Makes Yourself A Better Boss
I find that the more an employee knows about our company the better he understands its goals, its corporate ideals, its background, and its place in the community the better worker they are.
Why is this? It is safe to assume that if a person feels he is part of a common effort that he is participating not passively but dynamically he will be a loyal employee. This kind of employee is the best salesman a company can have, both inside and out side the business.
How well are businesspeople communicating with the public- what kind of image do we create in the minds of the people who, in the final analysis, are in the driver's seat? Let's not delude ourselves. Business in general, and especially the larger businesses, continue to be a popular target of demagogues and opportunists on the one hand, but also of plenty of well-intentioned people on the other.
Time and again the business owner finds himself on the defensive, communicating only because he has been forced into it. And yet I am convinced that the vast majority of our opposition isn't opposition at all. They don't know our story because we haven't told it to them well enough and often enough-and by "our story" I don't mean slanted propaganda in the insidious sense of the word-l mean facts, objective facts that speak for themselves.
No one has a greater stake in effective communication than the business owner, and I mean communicating day in and day out as an integral part of running the business.
Consider the shareowners for instance, the owners of a business. How many managements are only going through the motions of good communications with investors? How many are really succeeding in reaching the shareowners -telling them what the company is doing, why it is doing it, and what the trends are in their particular industry?
The other day, one of the most attractive annual reports I have ever seen came across my desk. From an artistic standpoint it was a masterpiece, and that is where the superlatives end, be cause the text was almost a complete waste of time. Here was just another annual report that represented what management wanted to say, rather than what the shareowners were interested in knowing. That report failed to communicate for one basic reason: It didn't talk in terms of the self-interest of its audience.
This raises an interesting question: If management cannot communicate with the owners of the business, how can it communicate effectively within the organization. The answer is that it usually doesn't, because poor communications with one major group usually means poor communications with another.
Don't Be Afraid To "Be Yourself" Grow Your Business
Here I would advise everyone from the district manager in London to the newly hired trainee in Manchester to use his own language; the language he uses at home and in the car pool. Those who are timid about "being themselves" when they write letters or memorandums should remember that everyone has some language talent, their own way of using words effectively. And they should put this talent to work - but always remember your target audience.
By and large, those of us who want to communicate more effectively would do well to heed the advice of Dr. Rudolf Flesch, who admonishes us to use: The familiar word in place of the un familiar. The concrete word in place of the abstract. The short word in place of the long. The single word in place of a circumlocution. We must remember that fancy language does not cover up or excuse fuzzy ideas, decisions or actions. It results only in additional vagueness.
There is no mystery about good communication. Neither is there a quick "Open Sesame," approach. Leo Rosten, the author who was named "Communicator of the Year" by the University of Chicago alumni recently, said in his acceptance speech:
"The communicator is the person who can make himself clear to himself first. Most people are not clear because they really don't know what they are trying to say... Good style is not much more than clean, clear thinking. And the person who retains that stubbornness which says, 'I don't understand that,' learns how to make it clear to himself and then make it clear to others."
The Sales Fix Formula book by Kieran Perry has solid business advice and sales tips for any any business entrepreneur.
Business Coach Belfast
Kieran Perry is a trusted business advisor and sales coach working in Europe, offering business coaching, sales training, executive mentoring, and management consultancy to clients across the UK and Ireland.
He has a proven track record of helping businesses of all sizes and industries achieve their goals. Kieran shares his insights and strategies for success through his blog and offers sales training courses to improve sales skills and techniques.
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His services include independent business advice, business coaching, sales training, executive mentoring and management consultancy to business owners, directors, start-ups and individuals across the UK and online. To read more on his business advice view his Blog for more business strategies, or see his Pricing, or Reviews . Follow Kieran on Instagram.