Errors in business communication and ways to prevent them

Man is a social being.We live among our own kind, and every day we have to communicate with many people. Successful communication depends on the ability to establish contact with one person or with an entire audience. Unfortunately, not everyone knows the rules of successful communication and makes typical mistakes. Such mistakes can lead to unpleasant consequences, especially mistakes in business communication - because they can significantly damage your career. And vice versa: good speakers with communication skills are usually successful people. So that you can learn how to conduct a conversation correctly, avoiding awkward situations, we will introduce you to typical communication mistakes that should be avoided.

Communication errors

Mistake # 1 - inattention. During the conversation, many people often inattentively listen to the interlocutor. In their minds, they are already thinking about what they themselves will say in a minute in response. If you listen carefully to all that you are told, you will catch much more information, often very curious. And this will give you even more new topics for conversation. Talk with the person in the first place about what interests him. As William King said: "A gossip is someone who talks to you about others. A bore is someone who talks to you about himself. A virtuoso of communication is one who talks to you about you. "

Mistake No. 2 - too many questions. If you begin to fill the narrator with questions, then the conversation becomes like an interrogation. The more so that annoying questions can bring down the interlocutor with thoughts and lead the conversation aside.

Mistake # 3 - a long pause. Everyone knows how it is uncomfortable in a situation where it is necessary to continue communication, and there is nothing to talk about anymore - all the usual topics have already been exhausted. Before you start nervously picking up all the events that have been mentioned recently in newspapers or on television, think about what can be a more interesting topic for the continuation of the conversation. For example, tell us about an interesting book that you recently read, or discuss episodes from the last series of your favorite series (of course, first you need to make sure that this series is like your companion). You can talk about what causes interest in both of you - about music, architecture, figure skating ... The main thing is not to let a long, awkward pause hang. Because then it will be even harder to establish contact.

Mistake #4 – monotony of speech.Sometimes it is not so important what you say, but how you say it. If you speak with a change of intonation, accompany your speech with gestures, then this is what can make your story memorable. But what if you mumble something on one note? Imagine someone playing the same note on the piano for five, ten, fifteen minutes in a row... You will just want to kill him! Another important factor in the success of a storyteller is clear and not too fast (though not too slow!) speech.

Error number 5 - gloomy or angry expression. The proverb says that "everything becomes more beautiful with a smile"; and as for the conversation, it is doubly true. Smile not only makes it easier to establish contact, it also has another amazing effect: it helps to attract and retain the attention of others. Another smile helps to settle disputes and conflicts more quickly. "An angry fist does not strike a smiling face," Confucius said.

Mistake No. 6 is the habit of interrupting others. Every participant in the conversation should be able to calmly express their thoughts. You can not interrupt the speaker to draw attention to his person. The ability to strike a balance between speaking and listening is not only one of the principles of effective communication, but also the question of the worthiness of your manners.

Mistake No. 7 - "I'm never wrong!"The goal of our communication should not be the desire to defend our point of view at all costs. Such intransigence and inability to respect the point of view of another person will lead to the fact that the conversation will lose its ease, and the matter can even reach the conflict.

Mistake # 8 - conversation on negative topics. Bad health, problems in the family, troubles at work - this is not something that would be interesting to hear your interlocutor, unless he is your personal doctor or psychotherapist. To make conversation easy, it's better not to talk about your intimate problems, but about funny cases from your life. You can tell something interesting about what you are fond of in your spare time. If you show your sense of humor and ease of your temper, then the surrounding people, of course, will continue to strive to communicate with you.

Mistake No. 9 is boredom. Sometimes people do not even notice that they say that others are not interested. Is it possible to listen with interest, for example, an enthusiastic story of a man about the advantages of his new car, which lasts for half an hour, and even in a predominantly female audience? You should be ready in such a situation to calmly transfer the conversation to another topic of interest to everyone. And do not ever talk to others about what might be of interest only to you. Do not make such mistakes in communication and do not make others consider you boring interlocutor!

Error number 10 - indifference. If someone shares with you their experiences, do not hesitate to say about what you feel about this. If you just stand and listen in silence, you will get the impression that you are indifferent to both the person you are talking to and what he is talking about. Do not be passive during a conversation, otherwise people will begin to avoid contact with you.

The most common mistakes of business communication

Communication errors in business communications havetheir own characteristics, although they overlap with everyday communication mistakes. In both cases, genuine communication is a mutual, two-way process, not a one-way delivery of information. And if there is a lack of two-way communication in business, it can seriously damage the business. You must take this into account if you want to have a successful career. Unfortunately, many managers and executives perceive communication with employees or clients as an opportunity to take on the role of a teacher who knows everything in the world and expects others to passively absorb the knowledge coming from him. And they are unaware of the main communication mistakes, making them over and over again. What are these mistakes? Let's look at some of the most typical ones:

Lack of understanding of body language. The body language conveys a huge amount of information, often much more than with speech communication. Employees who are not able to master at least the basics of non-verbal communication may not understand the true meaning of the message they hear. In addition, without knowing the language of the body, you can most unknowingly send contradictory signals that will undermine the confidence of you on the part of the interlocutor. For example, if you cross your legs or hands during a conversation, it can be perceived as a sign that your mind is closed from perceiving what you are told, although in fact it may not be so. Or another example: you are talking to a potential client and do not pay attention to the fact that his eyebrows are slightly raised and the look wanders somewhere away from you. And pay attention to it would be worth it, because it is a signal that you are not a very reliable and decent person.
Inability to listen. We have already talked about this - communication is a street with a two-way traffic, and the ability to listen in business communication is often much more important than the ability to speak. Listening is not a hereditary characteristic; this skill must be studied and trained to be able to communicate effectively. If you do not learn to listen, you can misunderstand and then distort the information, or one day, miss important instructions or advice given to you by the supervisor. Poor listening skills can also reduce the ability of managers to intelligently explain the task or resolve a conflict in a team.
Non-compliance with confidentiality. Some questions should not be made public until they are under discussion. If you are entrusted with a secret, you must keep it from everyone. But to lie, not wanting to disclose what to talk about with everyone while it is impossible, in no case is it worth it. If you resort to lies, then there is a risk that you will not be trusted. Instead of lying, learn to answer like this: "I do not have the right to comment", or: "I can not answer this question now."
Inactivity. If you do not do something or do not say something, it can still give people some information. Only information is false. If you do not praise, people get a "message" that they are not appreciated. If you do not explain the reasonableness of the decision, then you make it clear that you do not trust them. And if you do not tell the manager what goals you set for your company, people do not know how to help you get there.
Misunderstanding of the interests of the audience. In business communication there is always a target audience. A clear understanding of the interests of this audience will help make communication the most effective. Before you start communicating with the audience (regardless of its size: it's your performance in the conference room or communication with two clients or partners), you need to determine what the purpose of this communication is. This will provide information to convince, influence the choice, sell? What will you talk about, and what do they want to hear from you? What questions or objections can follow? Answers to these questions will help to establish full-fledged communication in a businesslike manner.
Use of inappropriate forms of communication. It may seem that personal (ie face to face) communication in our time is becoming increasingly inappropriate. Almost all of us now communicate with phones and computers. But still live, human communication is necessary for us more than communication with the help of technology. Of course, e-mail is very convenient for instant transmission of any amount of information; but the use of this type of communication is completely inappropriate for solving any emotional problems. In this situation, e-mail messages can be misinterpreted. It's better to resort at least to the phone. At the same time, telephone conversations on their effectiveness will never exceed the effectiveness of personal meetings. At the meeting, the interlocutor will not only hear the intonation of your voice, but also see your eyes, facial expression, receive from you other non-verbal signals.

You also have to take into account that people are differentperceive different forms of communication differently. “Listeners” will not pay attention to notes, but will easily perceive even the longest conversation. “Readers” perceive information well in writing, but during a conversation they can miss many important details. If you talk to a “reader” or write to a “listener,” you may not convey the necessary information to them. Therefore, do not hesitate to ask colleagues and partners how they prefer to receive information.

How to avoid mistakes in the age of communicative technologies

Today, communication skills are of great importancemeaning – both when working in an office and in a small business, and especially for managers and executives. Some people are born with the ability to get along and communicate effectively with others; but in our time it is necessary to learn how to communicate correctly and with the help of communication technologies. Such technologies in the twenty-first century have created wide opportunities for communication both with colleagues from the same office and with international partners. But each means of communication can provoke a new “model range” of possible communication errors. We have already mentioned them, now we will consider them in a little more detail.

E-mail.Email provides a limited means of communicating messages because it does not include two of the most important elements of communication – tone of voice and body language. Without them, your information can be misinterpreted – a sarcastic joke can be perceived as an angry attack, irritation will be ignored, and a hint, for example, about the urgency of an order, will simply not be noticed. To avoid mistakes in communication via email, it is necessary to use simple, concise language and literal wording. Other possible mistakes:
The receipt of your letter is not tracked. Sometimes we rely too much on email. But sometimes your letter can get into spam or junk mail folder, after which it will automatically be deleted. Therefore, if you sent an important letter and did not receive a response, call and see if it was received.
Incomplete reading of his mail. If you send a letter with detailed information, training, or with answers to specific questions, then they expect that the letter will be read completely. But often we do not read the letter to the end, and after a while we begin to ask questions, the answers to which have already been given to us. Therefore, it is necessary to take the habit of reading the electronic message from the beginning to the end.
Telephone communications. As in electronic communication, here the essential inadequacy is the inability to reinforce the message with the body language (although there are at least intonations of voice and the pace of speech, which are also important non-verbal signals). The lack of conversation on the phone is also in the fact that it occurs in real time, which excludes the possibility of editing and fine-tuning messages, as it can be done in electronic or written correspondence. One rash word can negate all your efforts. Therefore, you can not start a conversation on the phone, thoroughly not having prepared it. Other errors:
Answer the call before you hear the voicemessage. Most often your failed interlocutor leaves us a voice message, which briefly describes the essence of the issue that he wanted to discuss with us. We, when we see an unaccepted call, immediately dial the number of the caller. And he has to spend his time and patience on a second explanation. This is unprofessional behavior. Take for a habit first check whether there is a voice message, listen to it, take note of the information and only then call back for a constructive conversation.
Receiving a call at the wrong time. If you are in a meeting or at a meeting, take the rule of putting the phone into vibration mode. It will be completely inappropriate if you answer the call directly during a business conversation, and your interlocutor will have to sit and wait until you finish. It will also be a mistake if you pick up the phone only to tell you that you can not talk right now. If you are at a meeting or a conference and you received a very important call, first get out of this room, and only then take the call.

All errors and omissions in business communication disclosedand quite difficult to describe. The main thing you should remember and do is to think about the main goals of your business communication and the actions necessary to support these goals. Ask yourself: How can I most effectively convey a message? And be prepared to ask others: How do you prefer to receive messages from me? American writer Anne Morrow Lindbergh once said: "Good communication invigorates, like coffee." If you want to make a good career, but are not yet completely confident in your communication skills, start using our tips and take into account the warnings provided. We have every reason to believe that they will easily teach you to communicate effectively and without errors with all colleagues.