68 / BECOMING MORE EFFECTIVE
Communicating
successfully
Communication is about sharing and receiving information through a
variety of channels, from formal presentation to general conversation,
emails, reports, and letters. How you communicate, and the channel
you use, say something about you—so take care!
Knowing your audience
The first lesson in effective communication
is to think about your audience—the people
with whom you are having a conversation, or
who are reading your email or report, or are
listening on the other end of the telephone.
Communication is a two-way process and
your job is to make it easy for them to
understand and focus on what you are
saying or writing. Think about their level
of knowledge of the subject, whether they
are likely to understand technical terms
or jargon you may be using. What is their
particular interest in what you have to say
and what outcomes do you hope to achieve?
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Keeping it concise but clear
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Keeping it short, but not abrupt
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Putting key information in
attachments, not in the main body
of the email
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Reading your email carefully before
pressing “send”
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Using sloppy grammar
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Using too many abbreviations
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Including so much detail that the
email runs for several pages
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Copying in others without thinking
about the implications
COMPOSING AN EMAIL
Dos
Don’ts
of employers claimed that
a spelling mistake would
make them instantly reject
an application from a
candidate for a job
61%