Leadership Tips – 5 Communication Mistakes to Avoid

Posted on 20th March 2011 in Communication

Communication is a core leadership skill. There are three main types of communication:

1. Writing

2. Speaking

3. Listening

Many leaders excel in one or two of these areas but many struggle with at least one area. So what are the 5 common mistakes leaders must avoid when it comes to communication?

Mistake 1: Using position power

When leaders focus on their position power or status when it comes to communication they may well be less effective when it comes to listening. Their desire to get their point of view across or to be in control becomes the focal point rather than communicating effectively.

Solution: There leader will always have to take the final decision but it is important to listen to and understand the different views and contributions before taking decisions.

Mistake 2: Not being prepared

Leaders often find themselves having to communicate in demanding or even stressful situations. They might have to communicate a new strategy or closure of part of the business for example. Alternatively they might be communicating with the media in response to a product recall or a major incident. In these situations it is vital that the leader is properly prepared not just in terms of their message but also for questions that will be raised. When a leader is not prepared, they can easily say or respond in a way that does long term damage to their reputation.  Read more...

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Business Communication: Business Trends and Message Types

Posted on 13th March 2011 in Communication

Business communication has evolved greatly throughout centuries and continues to change at fast speeds. Relaying messages in a professional setting are vital to the production and life of an organization. Business communication plays a role in day-to-day activities at work, business trends may be observed, and message types may vary as a result from business communication trends.

            Communication can be verbal, non-verbal, and written. Verbal communication in a business setting is the most personal as it displays inflections, dialects, and diction. Verbal communication is the first communication form of each day for me at the office. When I enter into the five story corporate building in the a.m., potential communication is always anticipated. Elevator talk, passive greetings, and non-verbal communication are displayed within the business building. One entered into the office, a greeting is made to the corporate secretary as I walk to my executive office with a view. Late emails are answered and voicemails are returned after checking the fax machine for submissions while sipping on a cup of Starbucks coffee. My day has begun. Business communication plays a vital role in my day-to day activities at work. Within the first fifteen minutes of my work day, I have potentially communicated verbally, non- verbally, through the telephone, fax, and through electronic mail (email). Business communication allows me to manage my work day more efficiently. Faxed statements from local entities prevent lengthy wait times for postal mail shipments. Email allows me to send documents, receive documents, and relay messages at the click of a button. Additionally email can send bulk memos to inform a large audience of procedural updates and other applicable data.  Once an email is started, a simple reply is required to continue communicating. The telephone is a wonderful way to speak with clients, candidates, and other business to business (b2b) entities. The efficiency of business communications is the greatest asset.  Read more...

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Ten Commandments of Effective Communication

Posted on 9th March 2011 in Communication

Without communication we will not be able to interact in a civilized manner. Without communication we will not be able to create modern societies. Without communication we would not be able to create prosperity for ourselves. Without communication we would not be able to construct organizations necessary for the reproduction of material wealth. Communication is the most important building block of human civilization. According to the German philosopher Jurgen Habermas the social reality consists of two parts: system and lifeworld. The system consists of the political subsystem and the economic subsystem. The lifeworld consists of the private domain and the public domain. Communication in the system occurs strategically or is based on finding ways to find and refine various methods and techniques to make our lives wealthier and more efficient. Communication in the lifeworld is the opposite; it is based on symmetric relationships between people and is aimed towards finding consensus on many issues facing our social reality. Communication in the lifeworld is truly aimed at finding common grounds between all people involved. For this reason Habermas calls all interaction in the lifeworld communicative rationality.

If communication is so important then this implies a certain competency level in the strategies and tactics of communication possessed by all people irrespective of their education, social background, nationality, and common language. This is unfortunately not true because a large number of people do not have the proper communication skills necessary to become successful. Most of them are simply muddling through their daily lives using basic communication skills which are barely enough to keep their heads above the water. What are actually the characteristics of good communicators? Below are some typical characteristics which good communicators possess:  Read more...

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Streamline Your Communication in the Modern Day

Posted on 7th March 2011 in Communication

Communication is a basic tool of success in modern days. Communication means interaction between persons, or to a crowd. Interpersonal communication efficacy is considered as a skill since the bond of relationships relies on the power of it. The focus of the communication is to makes others understand about what you want to make them know. The primary need of the communication is that it must be clear and evident. The modern days are mentioned as the communication age since an evolution in the communication modes has been taking place. The developments in the communication have helped to shrink the world indeed into a global village. However, as the communication modes evolves, the necessity to streamline the communication also increases.


While streamline your communication, you must be conscious to use words, which are sufficient to convey your idea. The communication has to be molded considering various factors such as the occasion, mode of communication, and the person to whom you are communicating. Communication includes all the means of interaction such as speaking, writing, gestures, and expression. The basic protocol, which the person has to maintain in the communication, is considered as the etiquette of communication.  Read more...

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Effective Communication Skills and Strategies Training

Posted on 24th February 2011 in Communication

How to be a Powerful Communicator
By Brian Tracy

Your ability to communicate effectively with others will do more to make you successful than any other skill that you can develop. I’ve studied success and achievement in America for more than 30 years. I’ve spoken to more than a million people, individually and in groups, and I’ve taken extensive courses on the art of speaking and persuading others. I’ve read countless books and articles on how to influence, direct, control, negotiate and persuade other people in work and business. What I’ve learned over the years is that fully 85 percent of what you accomplish in your career and in your personal life will be determined by how well you can get your message across, how capable you are of inspiring other people to take action on your ideas and recommendations.

And more than anything else, we’re talking about happiness. You feel happy to the degree to which you can express yourself openly and honestly to others and to the degree to which others are influenced by what you have to say and how you have to say it. You can be limited in every other respect, education, contacts and intelligence, but if you can interact effectively with others, minute by minute and hour by hour, your future can be unlimited.

However, before I share with you some ideas, techniques and skills that you can use to accelerate your progress toward your goals, there are two major myths or fallacies about communication that we need to get rid of.  Read more...

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Project communication is the key ? 3 areas for improvement

Posted on 22nd February 2011 in Communication

Imagine a project without any type of communication. Or imagine a project with all the electronic tools and documentation available but people not reading, writing or talking. Only one more… Imagine a project in a vacuum, against a white background where all team members and stakeholders are on the same thinking and communication level. Yeah, right…

Whether it is a guy extending or building your house or your team members falling foul by not letting you know the difficulties they are experiencing with developing a certain software module, it will be the delivery of the overall project that will take a knock and result in the main user being unhappy.
Communication within a project and between a project and functional environment seems to always be an issue and will lead to trouble and/or project failure.
Most articles focus on the Project Manager and although a PM is a focal point to develop a communication plan or strategy, the responsibility of ‘good communication’ lies with the whole project team.

Now, what is good communication? Well, is there a good and bad communication? As defined by Wikipedia (and others), communication “… can be perceived better as a two-way process in which there is an exchange and progression of thoughts, feelings or ideas (energy) towards a mutually accepted goal or direction (information).”

We live in an information and communication age and any information needs to be communicated in order to be effective whether it is using electronic systems or verbally.  Read more...

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