In the previous chapter, we described a set of techniques for understanding and motivating people and supporting them so they can do their best work. Here, we put the spotlight on a particular set of skills every good boss needs: namely, well-developed communication skills. Although there are many styles that work – from the flamboyant to the understated – there are some common themes that all good communicators share. This chapter focuses mostly on these points of substance to give you some very practical advice on improving your written and oral communication.

The starting point for effective communication is perspective-taking – putting yourself in the shoes of the recipient of your message. For the most part, the people to whom you are communicating are busy and easily distracted. Their scarcest resource is their own attention. If an e-mail is confusing, they will ignore it and move on. If a talk is boring, they will quickly look down at their smartphones. Your job is to hold their attention for long enough to get your message across. It's as simple as that.

We start with the seven Cs – the key principles of good communication (#60). These were developed before the Internet came along, but they are as relevant today as they ever were. We discuss them here particularly in the context of written communication, but they could apply equally to oral communication.

We then discuss two practical techniques. One is learning how to speak well in public (#61) by preparing carefully and working on your delivery. The other is writing effective e-mails (#62), a skill that many people still struggle to master, even though we typically send dozens of e-mails every day.

We finish the chapter with two broader techniques for communicating in an interactive way, rather than through the mostly one-way medium of a speech or e-mail. One is building “high-quality connections” with people at all levels (#63) to help you get closer to them and to build trust. The other is communicating effectively across cultures (#64), which we discuss using the classic framework of Dutch sociologist Geert Hofstede.

60. Understand the Key Principles of Good Communication (The Seven Cs of Communication)

When we communicate, it is smart to be humble in our approach and focus on the needs of our audience. That way, we're much more likely to achieve our goal, which is to get our message across.

Unfortunately, it's all too easy to indulge our own egos by writing in a complex, dense way that seeks to impress people with our knowledge and expertise. We may appeal to a tiny audience of experts and enthusiasts if we do this, but we will lose our wider audience.

This is when it's useful to have the seven Cs of communication – used for many years in the public relations industry – in mind when you're crafting your message. According to the seven Cs, a written message should be:

1. Complete – Your message should contain all the information your recipients need and answer common questions they might have. When talking about something that has happened, you need to convey the who, what, when, where, and why. If you want them to do something, you need a clear call to action.
2. Clear – Use words carefully and precisely. Use short rather than long words. Break complex sentences down into simple ones.
3. Concise – You should keep your message as short as possible, with no unnecessary words or details. Members of your audience are busy and easily distracted.
4. Concrete – Keep your message grounded in reality. Focus on facts, figures, actions, and strong images rather than on ideas and generalities.
5. Considerate – Focus on the needs of the recipients. You need to get inside their minds: Understand what they want, and give it to them the way they want it.
6. Courteous – You need to understand the value system of members of your audience and craft your message in a way that respects this.
7. Correct – Accuracy is important, as are spelling, punctuation, grammar, and flow. Make sure you double-check all these things and that your data come from a reputable source. If your organization has a style guide, use it.

Source: Adapted from Cutlip and Center 1952. Reproduced with permission of Pearson Education, Inc.

61. Speak Well in Public

Whether we're delivering webinars, presenting plans to senior managers, contributing in a meeting, or briefing our teams, we all need to speak in public from time to time. Even the most experienced presenters can feel a burst of adrenaline when they do this, but for some, it's terrifying!

It is right that we feel some nerves when speaking in public. These are “moments of truth” that help us look good when we speak well and reflect badly on us if we stumble or say the wrong things. The good news is that, with preparation and practice, you can learn how to control your nerves and be a highly effective public speaker. Go through these stages when you are delivering a speech:

62. Write Effective E-Mails

Used well, e-mail is a wonderful communication channel that allows us to share information quickly, give precise instructions, and encourage others to take action. Used poorly, it's a waste of time and an annoyance.

Many of us receive several hundred e-mails a day, and sifting through them to find important requests or nuggets of information can impose a huge workload on us. No one enjoys wading through poorly constructed e-mails to achieve “inbox zero.”

So, when you send an e-mail, make sure it is easy to read, process, and answer. Here are some useful tips:

1. Don't over-communicate by e-mail. Don't send e-mails when you can get a quicker answer by talking to someone. Don't e-mail when your message is complex and could be misunderstood – have a meeting instead. Above all, don't send e-mails that could upset people – you need to communicate messages like this in person so you can observe the other person's reaction and correct the situation if your message gets taken the wrong way.
2. Have a clear, concise subject line. Briefly summarize what the e-mail's about, put in a deadline date if there is one, and indicate the level of priority. This helps recipients decide whether to open the e-mail.
3. Focus on one subject. For example, don't ask questions about a project and then discuss an HR issue in the same e-mail. Your recipient is likely to address your first subject well and miss the second subject entirely. Instead, send separate e-mails, or at least number your points.
4. Keep your e-mail brief and to the point. Give recipients the information they need, but keep the e-mail as short as possible. People expect to pick up the essence of an e-mail in a few seconds, so long or complex ones often get set aside for later.
5. Be polite, and check for tone. Before sending, read the e-mail from the recipient's perspective. Make sure the tone is positive and that nothing could be misunderstood or taken the wrong way. It's horribly easy to upset people with a rushed or poorly considered e-mail.
6. Proof your e-mail carefully. Check for spelling, grammar, and punctuation. People at all levels will judge your professionalism and attention to detail by this, so make sure their judgment is positive.

63. Build Good Working Relationships with People at All Levels (Create “High-Quality Connections”)

To communicate effectively with people, we need to create open, trusting relationships with them so they'll be receptive to our messages, just as we will be to theirs. How can we build these “high-quality connections”?

According to psychologist Jane Dutton, building high-quality connections – including developing strong work friendships – helps us to be more productive at work, healthier and less prone to stress, more engaged, and generally more successful. She says we build high-quality connections by:

1. Engaging respectfully with people. This involves being punctual; being mentally present when you're engaging with them; being warm, honest, and authentic when you talk; listening mindfully; and communicating in a positive, adult-to-adult way.
2. Helping others. This is about encouraging and supporting others – for example, by sharing knowledge or directly helping them achieve their goals. Perhaps we introduce them to others as they integrate with a new organization and help them network with our contacts in a new industry. Or maybe we flex our schedule to help them do their job while also dealing with challenges in their home lives.
3. Building trust. Trust involves showing integrity and being dependable ourselves while also believing the people we're working with will do the same. We show trust to others when we're inclusive, when we delegate work to them, when we ask for feedback, and when we're (intelligently) open about our shortcomings in front of them.

If you are not already doing these things with the people around you, work on them. Sure, it takes a bit of thought and effort, but the benefits of building great working relationships can be enormous!

Source: Adapted from Dutton 2003. Reproduced with permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

64. Communicate Effectively Across Cultures (Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions)

Cross-cultural communication is one of the subtler skills that managers have to wrestle with, and this has become particularly important in recent years with the emergence of a much more diverse workforce, virtual teamwork, and global supply chains.

We're all aware that there are differences between people of different countries and cultures, and we've seen how much conflict can be caused by these differences. So it pays to develop cross-cultural sensitivity and to understand how your own culture differs from others'.

Geert Hofstede's cultural dimensions model provides a useful way into cross-cultural management. Developed over several iterations since the 1970s, the latest version of the model compares national cultures across six dimensions:

1. Power distance – This refers to the degree of inequality between people with and without power. People in high power distance countries, such as Malaysia or India, tend to be deferential to authority and are unlikely to initiate action without permission from the boss. In contrast, people in low power distance countries, such as the United Kingdom or New Zealand, are more likely to show initiative, welcome delegation, and want to be involved in decision making.
2. Individualism/collectivism – This describes the extent to which people in a society are integrated into groups. Countries such as the United States are relatively individualistic, so people are expected to be self-reliant, they are used to taking personal initiative, and they are comfortable doing business with people they don't know. In contrast, most countries in Asia and South America are relatively collectivist, so they identify strongly with community or work groups, they are happy to conform to group pressure, and they prefer to do business with people they know.
3. Masculinity/femininity – This looks at the distribution of roles between men and women, and it highlights the attitude toward traditional gender roles. Japan scores very high in masculinity, so people put a strong emphasis on competition and success, and there are few women in senior executive positions. In contrast, Scandinavian countries such as Sweden score higher on the femininity side of the spectrum, so people tend to work more through consensus, and they put a lot of emphasis on work–life balance.
4. Uncertainty avoidance – This refers to how well people cope with anxiety and uncertainty, and how much predictability people want in their lives. Greece and Japan, for example, score very highly on uncertainty avoidance, so people in those countries tend to resist radical change and they are attracted to job security. Singapore and Sweden, in contrast, rate very low on this scale, and people there tend to adapt more readily to major changes in their external environments.
5. Long-term/short-term orientation – This refers to how people link the past to the future. It is particularly useful in understanding why some countries develop more quickly than others. For example, China has a long-term orientation that favors thrift and perseverance and adaptation to changing circumstances, whereas African countries such as Ghana and Nigeria have a short-term orientation, where traditions are sacrosanct and behavior is rooted in the past.
6. Indulgence/restraint – This is the extent to which people feel free to be themselves and have fun. People in low-indulgence countries, such as Russia, are constrained by social norms and may be pessimistic. By contrast, people in high-indulgence countries, such as the Netherlands, are more likely to value their leisure time, be positive, and have fun.

So how can you use this framework? The first step is to be aware of these differences, which helps you to be more understanding and tolerant of the way people from other cultures behave when you meet them. Many Americans, for example, see people from Asia as passive and shy when they first meet them, but that is likely a reflection of their own individualistic worldview.

A second step: If you want to be more analytical about this, go to the Hofstede website and explore how your own culture compares with the cultures of the people on your team. You need to become a “detective” in such circumstances to figure out which dimensions of culture are most relevant. Remember that Hofstede's analysis is necessarily very general – there are many individuals who do not conform to their national stereotypes.

Finally, on the basis of this improved understanding, you need to be prepared to alter your style of management. For example, some techniques, such as delegation and brainstorming, don't work as well in high power distance or collectivist groups. One of the hallmarks of good bosses is their ability to adapt and to tailor their way of working to the needs of their team.

Source: Adapted from Hofstede 2010. Reproduced with permission of Geert Hofstede B.V. http://geerthofstede.com.

Other Techniques for Communicating Effectively

Communication is a huge topic. There are very many skills that you can learn to become a highly skilled communicator, and these include two particularly important ones that didn't make the cut in our survey. Learn more about these at http://mnd.tools/c11c.