Tips for effective communication

Communication is a really inefficient activity and that's because it takes a lot of effort to do it well.  This can also be exacerbated when in an environment with mixed cultures where participants may find the "listening" part of communicating a greater burden.  Additionally, there are environmental modifiers that can affect the likelihood of having good communication such as: noisy environment, people who are tired or irritated, unsuitable venue, unsuitable timing, etc.  Here's some tips that I have for increasing the likelihood of having a successful session of communication&

Find a neutral venue to carry out your discussions.  Don't invite people into an area where there are likely to be distractions while communicating.  I see this a lot with programmers who are supposed to be showing a peer how a piece of code is written and are constantly disrupted by Instant Messenger, Email or Telephone calls.  If that scenario arises then I would strongly advise the developer to consider pulling the network cable from the back of their machine until they have finished communicating.

Before you begin your communications, clearly identify your objectives and take the time to summarize them to all other parties involved in the session.  This is easily done by adding a bullet-point listing of objectives to a Meeting Request when sending it out - one of my pet peeves is receiving Meeting Requests which have an ambiguous subject line and no details outlining what it is that we are meeting for.  At the end of the communication session - and, optionally at regular intervals during it - have a way to confirm that all parties have the same understanding.

After the communication session, have some way of checking back at regular intervals to ensure that what you have communicated is progressing as expected and, if not, take the time to re-communicate to ensure a good outcome.

Remember that the most important part of communication is listening.  I read in a book last week that, if you want to be thought of as a great communicator then, all you have to do is to be good at listening!

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