What is clear and direct communication?
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It’s All About Communication Show
Most of us would likely agree that good communication is essential to successful business. Communicating your value to the market, communicating your vision and objectives to your staff and business partners, two-way communication with your customers to match their needs with your offering and ensure they are satisfied. Communication can be challenging in any business but in an international business context communication becomes much more complex. Even those of us who pride ourselves on being good communicators need to make extra efforts to ensure that we are really understanding and being understood when working with colleagues, partners and customers in international markets. When I first came to work in a European-wide VP of Sales role I had a difficult experience that taught me a great lesson about authenticity and the benefits of direct and clear communication. I was in my early thirties at the time and I’m a loud American woman. I had a wonderful boss who is a very charming and understated Englishman. He was concerned that my management style was too commanding and too direct to work well in Western Europe although I’d already had great success in the Nordics, Russia and the US. For the first couple of months in my new role I tried very hard to moderate my style and be more consultative and less commanding. What happened was that I was less clear, less myself and less a leader. Since clear communication is absolutely essential for achieving success in international business, my new soft-touch, super subtle communication wasn’t working. People whose native languages were not English, even though they were fluent in English were missing the point. I was struggling to get results from the sales teams across Western Europe and felt they weren’t taking me seriously in my new role. So much so that the team in one of the biggest markets in mainland Europe actually told me to my face that they didn’t rate me, thought I was a jumped up administrator and they were planning on making me cry just like the other “girl” who had been sent in before me. That got my ire up as those of you who know me can imagine. Months of extreme self-control came to an end and I exploded in a rant about their poor sales performance and how we would see who would be crying! In no uncertain terms I told them they ‘d better change their attitudes and that I wasn’t going to put up with their ****! As one of the largest teams of sales professionals in a key market I expected great things from them and they had better get serious and deliver. I wasn’t proud of losing my cool and spent the entire night at the hotel worrying that I’d behaved badly and let the side down. In the morning, I went in to the office and couldn’t believe the transformation. They had filled in their key account plans that I’d been trying to get out of them for weeks. They’d updated their pipelines. They even gave me coffee and invited me out to lunch. In short, they took me seriously. They responded to my clear and direct communication about my expectations. I realized that in my extreme efforts to moderate my management style I’d messed up one of my greatest management strengths, that of being a clear and direct communicator. The story has a happy ending all round. They became one of the company’s top performing sales teams and won some great business with really big strategic accounts. I embraced my direct way of communicating again but with continued sensitivity to local cultures and management styles. Joel’s coaching focuses on effective ways to communicate your value and contribution to leadership. If you ever wondered why you are not receiving due recognition for your work and value to the company this program is definitely for you. Recent research has suggested that written and verbal communication is involved in 90% of all
business transactions. Whether you’re just making small talk or closing the biggest deal of your corporate career, the art of communicating clearly and effectively is one area of executive presence that should not be taken lightly or, even worse, overlooked. It’s key to becoming a great boss—or
succeeding at any level. At its most fundamental level, effective communication is the exchange of thoughts, information, ideas, and messages between people or groups. But it’s not communication unless the transmission is understood. Communication can happen verbally, nonverbally, in writing, and through behavior as well as by listening
and using feedback. No matter who or what audience you must address, the art of communication can be a daunting task. Communication Competency – Learn 7 Steps to Help You Be Clear & DirectHere are seven steps to clear and effective communication for even the most difficult conversations.
The virtually endless benefits of clear and effective communication are not hard to achieve as long you as keep your message simple enough to be understood, interesting enough to be remembered, and, most importantly, respectful enough of others to be respected. These tips will help you radiate executive presence both on the phone and in person, helping you to thrive as a leader as you master the art of communication. Copyright ©2005-2022 Joel Garfinkle, All Rights Reserved. Joel Garfinkle is recognized as one of the top 50 coaches in the U.S., and the author of 7 books, including Getting Ahead: Three Steps to Take Your Career to the Next Level. He has worked with many of the world's leading companies, including Google, Deloitte, Amazon, Ritz-Carlton, Gap, Cisco, Oracle, and many more. Visit Joel online at Garfinkle Executive Coaching. Subscribe to his Fulfillment@Work Newsletter and receive the FREE e-book, 41 Proven Strategies to Get Promoted Now! This article may be reprinted or forwarded to colleagues and friends as long as the above copyright notice and contact information is attached in its entirety. If you reprint this article, please advise us that you have done so and forward a copy of the article, or a link to the web page where the article can be viewed, to Joel Garfinkle. What is the direct communication?Direct communication is a way of conveying clear messages or instructions. It involves sharing what you feel or think without the possibility of a recipient becoming confused. In the workplace, direct communication helps clarify who has the authority to give instructions and what the instructions are.
What is a direct communication example?Examples of direct communication is: honestly telling another person you appreciate their work ethic. telling your boss that you actually are sick and can't make it into work.
What is direct and indirect communication?direct communication, the speaker is responsible for clear communication. In indirect communication, common in high-context cultures, the meaning is conveyed not just by the words used but by nonverbal behaviors (“pauses, silence, tone of voice” [Ting-Toomey, p.
What are the importance of clear concise and direct in communication?Keep it concise
Aim for short, direct sentences. Saying less forces you to focus, and the more focused you are, the higher your chances of getting your message across. Be sure to define exactly what you want people to understand and what, if anything, you're asking them to do. Saying less has another advantage.
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