6 Tips for Improving Business Communication
Business communication is a vital part of a successful small business operation. Whether you are the boss at work or an employee, you can benefit from learning good communication skills and employing concrete tools to help aid in communication.
Practice Active Listening
Active listening refers to the type of listening that goes beyond verbal and into observing physical cues. Body language and facial expression can indicate the speaker’s true sentiments and should be noted while listening to the verbal cues, as well. This technique is used in conflict resolution and counseling, too. The practice was first encouraged in 1957 by two authors who published works that suggested that activity was equally as important as passivity in listening. The three steps to active listening are comprehending, retaining, and responding.
Express Yourself at Work
Business communication is just as much about expression as it is about receptivity. In communication at work it is important to express oneself, honestly and confidently. There are always interpersonal issues at work and, until they are brought up to the boss or to co-workers, they can only wait to be resolved. Additionally, expressing yourself at work means that your wonderful ideas can be heard by the boss and the team.
Keep Up to Date on the Latest Tech Tools
There are countless devices and applications that can be used to enhance the quality of communication in the workplace and for business. When communicating with co-workers and management in a remote workplace, it is essential to have tech tools that enable active listening. This means utilizing Skype, Facetime, and even the revolutionary new app Zoom. When you use face to face technology, the message is conveyed more effectively to all team members. Additionally, when holding meetings with clients it is necessary for the employee to make the process as engaging as possible. If the client is a ways away, it is helpful to use interactive tools like Zoom.
Write Well-Composed E-mails
E-mail communication can actually be a very effective means of communicating a message to the client. When composing an e-mail the writer should ensure that he is writing in a way that he would appreciate receiving as the reader. The Golden Rule applies here that you should e-mail as you would like to be e-mailed. Formal formatting including headers and “Dear __________” at the beginning of an e-mail help the reader to feel appreciated and important. It also helps the reader, or the client, to respect your professionalism and, therefore, place greater trust in your abilities as a potential hire.
Practice Zoom Conferencing
As mentioned above, Zoom is a wonderful new tool that has been developed only within the past year. It makes video conference calling far more interactive and personal, leading to a fortification of engagement between the employee and the client. The perks of Zoom include ease in screen sharing, creative backgrounds, and even record your video calls. The benefits of recording video calls are that you can save them to be revisited and also send them to your workplace superiors. You can also access meeting analytics on Zoom, which brings the business benefits of this app to a whole new level. Zoom is free of charge and you can host up to one hundred users on the app.
Use Two-Way Radios
Two-way radios can be used in the workplace when it is necessary to communicate within the same building, but from far distances. Rather than picking up the phone and making a phone call, two way radios maintain constant communication throughout, as long as the volume is turned up.
