The Art of Effective Communication - Part 1

One key to effective communication is making your expectations clear. This sounds simple, but it gets overlooked so many times.

Possibly, the reason you got result B rather than result C from Bro. Jones was because you did not make what you expected of him clear...to him. For example, "Call Mr. Palmer and get his travel requirements" is not as clear as "Call Mr. Palmer and get his travel requirements. And please do this before next Tuesday." This makes the difference between whether you get your information next week or in 2 weeks. It saves you having to call Bro. Jones on next Tuesday asking for your travel information and hearing him say "I didn't know you wanted it by today." And you save yourself from the "I should have done it myself" trap.

If there is one thing that I have learned, it is that communication is not just you talking. What I mean is that if the person you are talking to does not grasp what you are saying, you have not really communicated your point. The goal of communication should be mutual understanding and not just to spout out a bunch of information.

When communicating with volunteers, co-workers, or vendors you should confirm everything. According to Mike Murdock, you should be wary of people who never carry paper and a pen or never make the attempt to get paper and a pen when communicating with you because they trust and rely on their memory and they want you to do the same.

You should also be wary of people who don't ask additional questions about an assignment or instruction because few instructions are complete at the beginning. When people don't ask additional questions about an assignment, they are not giving any thought to it. Lastly, avoid people who always reply to your requests with "I will try to get to it" because they will never get to it.

If you are this person, get yourself together quick. When given an assignment you should be asking questions like "Is there a deadline?" or "When do you need to have this budget completed by?" or "Is there anything else I should know about this project?"

Skill in communication involves a number of specific strengths. Strength in listening is vitally important. The following list provides some suggestions for effective communication:

• Give your full attention and fight distractions
  
• Listen openly, with empathy for others
  
• Ask, repeat or rephrase what is being said to make sure you fully understand
  
• Judge the content, not the messenger
  
• Pay attention to non-verbal cues and body language
  
• Ask the other person for as much detail as she can provide
  

This was an excerpt from chapter 4 of my Basic Training 101 manual. We'll continue this topic next week and I'll give you the remaining 7 suggestions for effective communication.

©2008 Church Secretary Essentials / Pensational Print Media Group

NOTE: You're welcome to use or "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete, unaltered and includes this blurb with it: Tamala M. Huntley, "The Church Secretary Coach," is the author of the revolutionary manual, "Basic Training 101: Effectively Managing Multiple Projects... A Super Easy Guide to Getting More Done, Reducing Office Clutter and Producing More With Less Stress." To learn more about her book and sign up for more FREE tips like these, visit her site at http://www.ChurchSecretaryEssentials.com