Are we singing from the same hymn sheet?
How many times have you read the home page of a website, or a corporate newsletter, or even a notice on the board in your canteen and thought, “What on earth are they trying to say?”
Office jargon, verbose, and overly complicated messages litter our communication. We aren’t entirely sure why people choose to use ten words instead of two, but it seems to be happening more and more.
Telling your staff that the organisational environmental footprint has exceeded the original annual strategy and in order to recuperate from the financially debilitating fallout, the company management team has set in motion a suggested maximum illumination output for the week starting Monday 3rd – instead of asking them to turn the lights out when they go home – is tiring.
So, let’s not bore the ocean guys.
A survey run by SPANA of 2000 office workers concluded that 7 in 10 staff simply shut down when people start running things up the flagpole, developing a strategic staircase of discovering a hidden synergy. It’s not how we speak, and it’s difficult to understand.
If you want to be understood (and maintain a level of personal dignity) then make sure that your communication with others, whether by mail, SMS, or Skype, is real. More importantly, if you are trying to communicate effectively with your customers, then it’s vital to speak in the language of the people.
Yes, there will be times when you are told that you have to hit the ground running to grab hold of that low hanging fruit, and to ping your manager by end of play to see if your idea has legs.
The rest of the time we encourage you to keep your communication simple and authentic which is a sure-fire way to connect with real people.
Mailmech are all about communication. Why not take a look at the products that we stock which make your life – well – simple. Visit us at mailmech.co.za.