Man is a social being. We live among our own kind, and every day we have to communicate with a lot of people. The success of 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 admits typical mistakes. Such errors can lead to unpleasant consequences, especially mistakes in business communication - after all, they can significantly damage your career. And vice versa: good speakers who have communication skills are usually successful people. So that you can learn how to talk properly, avoiding embarrassing situations, we will introduce you to typical communication errors that should be avoided.
Communication errors
The most common mistakes of business communication
Communication errors in business communications have their ownFeatures, although overlap with everyday errors in communication. In both cases, true communication is a mutual, two-way process, not a one-way delivery of information. And if there is no bilaterality in business communication, this can seriously damage the business. You should consider this if you want to make a successful career. Unfortunately, many managers and managers 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 knowledge emanating from him. And do not know about the main mistakes in communication, allowing them time after time. What are these mistakes? Let's look at some of the more common 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 must also take into account the fact that different peopledifferently perceive these or other forms of communication. "Listeners" will not focus on notes, but they will easily accept even the most lengthy conversation. "Readers" well perceive information in writing, and during a conversation they can miss many important details. If you talk to the "reader" or write to the listener, you may not be able to convey the necessary information to them. So 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 arevalue - and when working in the office, and in small businesses, and especially for managers and managers. Some people from birth are gifted with the ability to get along and communicate effectively with others; but in our time it is necessary to learn the right communication and using communicative technologies. Such technologies in the twenty-first century created ample opportunities for communication both with colleagues from one office and with international partners. But each means of communication can provoke a new "model series" of possible communication errors. We have already mentioned them, now we will take a closer look.
- Email. E-mail provides limited means for transmitting messages, because it does not include the two most important elements of communication - voice tone 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, on the urgency of fulfilling an order, will simply not be noticed. To avoid communication errors via email, you need to use a simple, concise language and literal language. Other possible errors:
- 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 communicationand it is difficult to describe. The main thing that you should remember and what you must do is to consider the main goals of your business communication and the actions necessary to maintain these goals. Ask yourself: how can I communicate most effectively? And be ready 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 quite confident in your communication skills, start using our advice and take note of the cautions. We have every reason to believe that they will easily teach you effectively and communicate without error with all colleagues.