7 Steps to Business Communication Success

Copyright 2006 Logical Writing Solutions, Inc

What is success? The answer to that question is both
personal and institutional for those of us who work in the
business world. In essence, success is the ability to
accomplish the task at hand. Technically, it is "to achieve
one's aim to prosper".

You need thriving business relationships to prosper. In
fact, we can measure much of our business success in terms
of the viability of business relationships. Relationship
health is directly affected by the quality of
communication. Use the following steps to achieve
communication success and to strengthen your critical
business relationships.

Step 1: Identify a few communication weaknesses.

Can you think of any communication challenges that you
face? It's time to brainstorm and quickly make a written
list.

Here are a few questions to get you thinking about your own
communication challenges: * Are your employees happy and
satisfied? * Are your clients glad to provide referrals? *
Are your partners and stakeholders well-informed and
confident? * Do you feel motivated and inspired? * Do your
conversations flow?

As you review the bulleted list above and consider your
communication challenges, identify each challenge but don't
get bogged down with other details.

Step 2: Decide to address the most bothersome communication
weakness.

This choice is yours to make. However, whatever challenge
you choose, you will find that the other relationships are
naturally strengthened as you develop proactive and
positive communication skills. You do not have to fix
everything at once in order to benefit from this exercise!

Now that you have selected your challenge, it's time to
stop and think about what makes it so challenging. In other
words, if success was easy you wouldn't be working on this
right now. Many leadership or business management
challenges are a result of busy-ness. Leaders don't realize
that others need communication that is: * Professional *
Complete * Positive * Concise, and * Wholly relevant
without any irrelevance

If you are a leader or a manager, communication is your
job. People expect you to do it and do it well. The
responsibility for communicating is yours. It would be
literally impossible for others to compensate for your poor
attention to communication.

In spite of the advice of gurus world-wide, there seems to
be a reluctance to buy into this idea. We all want to
believe that we can just do our jobs well and receive the
kudos. We want to believe that we are responsible for our
own success. The truth of the matter is that most of us
will be hindered, more or less, when we ignore
communication or become passive.

Communication may not come naturally, and you may need to
work on it. Communication brings power to your professional
and personal life. Critical relationships can thrive with
your attention.

To gain an understanding of how to resolve the weakness,
you need to look at your communication patterns. You will
develop communication that is regular and has flow.
Communication, however, is not just about giving out
messages. Communication is listening and speaking,
receiving messages and conveying messages. Typically,
listening is the thing that gets us into trouble. We don't
do it.

Step 3: Listen to others for a week.

I know you're grumbling! Is a week really necessary? Yes.
We're not just talking about passive listening either; you
will ingeniously create opportunities for listening.
Listening must be practiced, and acting on incomplete
information may be more harmful than doing nothing.

Consider how long you have been without the power of
listening, and realize that a week is a small price to pay.
While you are listening, you are reserving judgment and
allowing the answers to come to you. Others often already
know where the problem lies. They may even have ideas as to
how you can fix the problem. Active listening requires
practice, so be patient.

You may politely and nonchalantly ask for input during this
time, but keep things casual and neutral by not being too
intense and by refusing to form or give your opinion. This
gives others the freedom to develop their thoughts and
express them without disagreeing with you. Be sure to take
notes on potential solutions.

Step 4: Define success and the benefits in this area.

After a week, you will probably have many ideas about how
you could move forward. First, take a moment to define your
ideal outcome. This is your defined target. You may not
feel that you can make the mark on the first try. However,
you need to choose to believe that success is possible and
likely, and that you will have a reasonably positive
response to your efforts. Your attitude affects your
motivation and your outcome.

In addition, think about what benefits you hope to achieve.
How would life or business be better as a result of your
desired outcome?

You are painting the picture of what you'd like to see. For
example, "Our clients know that we value their relationship
as well as their business. We don't tell them this; we show
them. Every call is answered in a polite manner. Each
concern is personally addressed. We listen when they speak.
We thank them for their input. We keep them informed of new
products and company news. We are considerate in our
pricing. We thank them for each purchase. In return, they
have no interest in checking out other providers, and they
remain loyal in spite of the efforts of our strong
competitors. We have steady growth in our revenue."

Step 5: Make your proactive communication plan, being sure
to establish checkpoints.

This plan will come out of your definition of success and
your listening activities. Some examples of proactive
communication would be providing customer service seminars
for your employees, taking on a visible role that reaffirms
your commitment to personal service, starting a service
blog discussing best practices, scheduling individual
meetings to check in with employees, or establishing
standards of excellence and rewarding employees who excel
or improve. Notice that these items are not remedial. You
are not resolving past problems, but establishing a firm
foundation for the future.

Also notice that you would choose one activity to plan. For
example, if you choose to focus on a customer service
seminar, you will define the necessary tasks and place
those tasks in your planner. Choose your communication
activity based upon whether you need a long-term or
short-term effort. Also, consider the availability of
resources and plan accordingly.

You may have to practice needed skills. For instance, if
you are planning to present a customer service seminar
yourself instead of outsourcing, you may need to schedule
time to develop your presentation skills. If you are
nervous about your skills in an area, practice those skills
until you become calmly confident.

Step 6: Implement your plan.

Implement your plan, keeping your ideal outcome in mind as
you go. Review checkpoints frequently to ensure that you
are on track. Involve others in the plans when possible, or
have an accountability partner. As things fall into place,
you may be surprised at how well everything is going! Once
your activity is complete or the communication fix is in
place, it's time to take a realistic look at what you've
accomplished.

Step 7: Evaluate the results.

Congratulations! How did you do? If you look at your
definition from Step 4, you will be reminded of the gains
have you have achieved. You may also note unforeseen
obstacles that you overcame. Remember to thank those who
helped you along the way, and make sure to reward yourself
for your efforts.

Now you've seen the power of communication at work.
Communicating will become easy (or easier) as you go
through the 7 Steps to Business Communication Success
again. Communication is the key to your success.

----------------------------------------------------
Dot Olonovich helps executives and businesses to improve
their relationships and profitability through
professional-quality communication and writing. Her unique
qualifications include an accounting degree and extensive
business knowledge. To learn more about Dot, go to
http://www.logicalwriters.com or contact her at
dot@logicalwriters.com or 610.933.1989.