CONNECTING IS CRITICAL!

The importance of communicating both effectively and efficiently

BY Archana Law

I was recently on a phone call while struggling with weak network signals and multiple disconnections – and I’m certain that others have endured this frustrating experience too!

Verizon’s ‘Can you hear me now?’ campaign in 2004 captured the annoyance and frustration a person feels when his or her phone drops a call. Have you ever thought about why you react the way you do when you’re disconnected?

It’s because the disconnection wastes your time, interrupts the flow of what you’re trying to accomplish and undermines your productivity. The bottom line is that ‘connecting’ is critical in terms of communication!

We’re aware of bad telephone connections but how about when we communicate with others in person? Do you know when a connection has been made, it begins to weaken or the ‘call’ has been dropped?

Back when people gathered around the water cooler at work instead of chatting on a collaborative software tool, the company bulletin board was a central repository of information. Employees could see the latest updates and stay informed about what was happening.

Nowadays, the gig economy, remote work and the absence of a central gathering place makes it harder for people to communicate across the organisation. Although incredible technological advances have resulted in more efficiency and productivity, some have undermined our ability to communicate and collaborate.

Work, which used to fit relatively neatly into hierarchical organisational structures, now resembles a web that crosses profit and loss boundaries, legal entities, cultures, time zones and languages. This makes time bound responses extremely difficult.

Today’s leaders, managers and other knowledge workers struggle with proliferation, the information overload and attention fragmentation, as they wake up to hundreds of emails and texts even before they’re out of bed.

Yet, some things remain constant. Companies that are filled with people still exist to unite around a common purpose, values, strategic objectives and getting things done. People remain the most critical asset of most businesses. And organisations continue to need great leaders, managers and employees at all levels to get things done for optimum results.

Here are some suggestions to improve how we communicate, connect and collaborate.

EMPATHISE Empathy is about relating to other people’s emotions and expressing understanding – particularly when they’re under stress, facing challenges or making difficult decisions.

In her book titled ‘Trampled by Unicorns: Big Tech’s Empathy Problem and How to Fix It,’ the CEO of Techstars Maëlle Gavet contends: “If you define corporate empathy as the ability of a company and its leadership to understand what’s happening in the world around them, and how their decisions impact people inside and outside the company, you actually have a better company.”

INTERACT According to author John Maxwell, the law of connection says that you must touch a heart before you ask for a hand.

While it’s imperative to design new ways to deliver products and services (better, faster and cheaper) when a customer, client or process has a problem, there should still be a human being responding at the other end. People want to talk to people and feel understood. So monitor Twitter and respond authentically to Facebook comments, and thank users for starting a conversation.

Smile and laugh to release endorphins, and relieve stress and anxiety. In a calm state, we’re able to see issues objectively, connect better with colleagues, boost rapport and offer focussed client service, which translates into a major competitive advantage.

LISTEN Learn to listen to understand. This enables us to hear what someone is saying – not only his or her words but also the emotions behind them.

By paying attention to tonality, micro-expressions, hand gestures and facial expressions, we can understand the emotional resonance behind the words. And this will enable us to act appropriately to build stronger connections and make better business decisions.

CLARITY AI has consistently been making its way into the communications sphere – from Siri on your iPhone to Alexa in your home and to the GPS guide in your car. But if you speak gobbledygook, only nonsense comes out.

You need to craft simple, meaningful messages that get to the point rather than long drawn out speeches, emails or custom videos.

REPEAT And finally, repeat your message using different modalities so that people can remember and retain the content irrespective of the devices being used.

If your message sounds like a conversation, it helps engage the recipients and provides a two-way channel through which you can be asked questions and more importantly, provided with ideas and insights for higher alignment.

People won’t go along with you if they can’t get along with you!