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No business today can expect to thrive without making communicating a priority. Communicating clearly and concisely is paramount for all areas of the business, both internally and externally. There are a number of different ways in which your business might choose to communicate, whether this is verbally or otherwise, electronically or in person. Introducing a communications policy is often advisable, or in lieu of this, you should still outline your expectations regarding how your employees should be approaching their communicative endeavors. Let’s dive in.
Always Ensure Accuracy
First and foremost, all business communications, regardless of who the recipient is, should be geared towards delivering accurate information. This is obviously not always possible, especially for emerging information or data that is contingent on other factors. However, while guesswork might be necessary on occasion, the guesses should always be based on factual data. Obviously, you should also communicate that the information may be subject to change. After all, accuracy, transparency, and continuity should be the cornerstones for all of your business’s communicative efforts.
Remain Patient & Calm
Businesses often deal with people of all ages, both internally and externally. This does mean that the business is likely to benefit from a varied knowledge base; however, this does also mean that there are likely to be different levels and areas of knowledge.
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Therefore, patience is likely to be needed when trying to deliver information and explain concepts that are otherwise unfamiliar to people. Your staff is far more likely to get their point across and have it understood if they have explained it patiently, provided context, and answered follow-up questions.
Oftentimes, this means remaining attentive to the other person, perhaps pre-empting their needs and responses. For example, The Hartford offers multiple different forms of business insurance, you can get an online policy, and they also have a page of FAQs and information designed to pre-empt your questions and provide you with all of the information that you might need.
Training and Developing Communicative Processes
Once you have thought more deeply about how you want your staff to communicate with each other, external business contacts, and consumers, you need to train them to do so. Think about the process in place and refine them. You will then need to make your employees aware of this. Build a communications policy and ensure that all staff are aware of it and are adhering to it.
This is likely to include the things listed above as well as other factors like trying to avoid interruptions during meetings or referring to other colleagues who are perhaps more knowledgeable about whatever it is that you are communicating about. The policy should encompass all areas of communication, including verbal and non-verbal, through whatever mediums are used by the business.
To Sum Up
The way in which a business communicates and the relevant policies and processes surrounding this are often integral to the success of the business. Poor communication leads to misunderstandings which can often snowball and may lead to dips in productivity and affect the business’s bottom line.
