Love it or hate it, with technology we are now communicating more than ever before. But are we communicating more effectively? When it comes to work and everyday life, communication is key. We have all heard that a thousand times and I’ve probably rolled my eyes a thousand times when someone has said it, but it is such an important skill to learn.

The complexity of dealing with different personalities and how easily information can be interpreted incorrectly, depending on the state of mind, can often lead to miscommunication. I once worked with a production controller, who over email, would always reply with just one word and always in caps – DONE. You don’t get more concise than that. I knew that he was a very busy man so I never took his emails to be anything more than to the point. Other colleagues would complain about his shortness but I always thought that he was just being efficient.

If you don’t know me or if by now you haven’t realised I’m dyslexic, it’s because our copy queen, Tegan, has hopefully fixed as many errors as she could possibly find before body slamming her laptop out of pure frustration. I am a poor speller, like really bad, like dab bab. I have to double and sometimes triple check what I’ve written to make sure I haven’t spelled a client’s name wrong or wished someone an Eddie Moohbaroque (Eid Mubarak). I use spell check more than I do Photoshop and I add certain words and phrases to my phone or computers dictionary often. It’s a huge help when it comes to remembering how to spell a client’s name or terminology that pertains only to a field of work.

I also like to talk face to face when I have something important to say. Vital information can easily be misinterpreted via email or text and it could cause damage. It’s important to see someone’s body language so that you can gauge whether the information and tone was completely understood. Unless you’re dealing with our laziest team member, Loki, who never quite seems to understand the concept of the word sit, well unless he’s getting a BEENO. Or maybe he’s just better at reading body language than me.

Too much communication can also lead to problems. Never bury the lead. If your email is about a certain task or topic try to place the main points at the top of the email and leave the nonessentials at the end. Nothing drives me crazier than scrolling through 70 paragraphs of pixels to find out the email didn’t have anything to do with me in the first place. As I am sure you can tell by now I am a huge fan of getting to the point.

DONE.

Jacques

Disclaimer: Any mention of actual persons (living or deceased), blog deadlines missed and dogs brought into disrepute is completely accidental.