We all know that communication is pretty much everything in our day to day lives. We need to have clear communication in order to be successful, especially in business. Without communication, we don’t have anything. It is important, especially as a leader that we are conscious of who we are working with and in the context in which we are working (PSU, 2018). In order to effectively communicate, it is important that we are actively listening whether that be face to face or behind a screen because “listening is at the heart of all successful communications” (Moran, Abramson & Moran, 2014, p.39).
In my company we have a big communication issue, especially when it pertains to email. There have been several discussions over the course of the last year about how people are communicating via email. Throughout email communication, we must pay close attention to what we are writing because we need to make sure that people are going to fully understand the message that is being relayed. You want to keep it short and sweet but also to the point in a way that is professional. For example, today I was working on a project and when my installation manager came back with an install price for me, it was twenty-nine thousand dollars over budget. So, in the email I replied, “Hey, the budget is three hundred thousand, is there any way that we can get the price down?” He replied with “get a bigger grant.” There was nothing other than that statement. No further detail. No further explanation. When I first read it, I was ready to get mad. Was he joking? Was he trying to be funny? Was he being a jerk? Who knows, because a statement like that leaves room for interpretation and this is where communication gets lost. Our commentary says that “the sender, for instance, might not encode enough meaning into the idea being conveyed” (PSU,2018). In this example, my installation manager used few too many words and it left room for error in communication.
When you are in a face to face conversation you have the ability to help read body language and you are able to access what the other person may be feeling based on their facial expressions and the body language, they are giving to you. When you are behind a screen it is hard to gather the tone of someone’s voice or how they are trying to convey a message. Therefore, when writing emails it is so important to write them in a professional way with a good word choice, correct punctuation, and use of capitalization in the proper way. NOT LIKE THIS. These things which may seem small, can be so easily misinterpreted and often times, because we are not in front of the person we can’t tell that whether or not the person on the receiving end has misunderstood the message. Errors in communication can happen so easily, it is important for all of us to do our part and maintain professionalism through email even when we think it isn’t needed.
Like we read in our commentary, there is no one size fit all solution for tackling communication globally. It is important for us to not only be conscious of what we are saying to our peers via email but it is especially important when we are working globally. As a leader, we need to be conscious of who we are working with and in the context in which we are working (PSU, 2018). Leaders need to have an understanding of how to communicate with people globally via email and because of the lack of being able to pick up on verbal cues it becomes especially important to be clear, concise and professional when communicating electronically.
References
Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (9th ed.). Oxford: Routledge.
Pennsylvania State University (2018). Introduction to Leadership in a Global Context. Errors in Communication. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1942644/modules/items/24935382
aun72 says
Hi Molly,
You chose a great topic to write about. This is a very common issue in the workplace, where leaders and colleagues have difficulty conversing with each other because of a miscommunication error. Face to face interaction usually has less complications because of body language and overall verbal communication. Over email however, communication can be taken out of translation and it is important to be concise but also as clear as possible for the other party to comprehend. When I was styling at work with clients who shopped online, my main form of communication with these clients was online through an email system called Kustomer. What I liked the most was that there is an option to create a shortcut, which was basically a template of information that I could kind of copy and paste the same message to multiple people. This made communication consistent and clear for each client. However, when I had to personalize my messages, sometimes I would make mistakes because certain information applied to particular people and I would confuse facts about clients.
Overall, my main point is to reiterate exactly what you said. Communication both verbal and nonverbal is important. In a global sense if we pay more attention, leaders and colleagues of all different cultures will not have a hard time understanding the message being communicated. Great job this week.