Improving Communications in your Office

In this day and age we have lots of methods to communicate /talk to people with.

We have machines like computers, mobile phones, and fax machines – in/out office trays and all these have the capability to send our messages direct without having to talk to a person face to face.

Interpersonal effects:

Now have you ever noticed when you have been watching a special segment on the TV or listening to something special on the radio or maybe you have got your attention on a book or article, someone says something to you or asks you a question and you ignore them? (not normally out of rudeness –it’s just your attention was not on the person) Look at just how they get a bit irate at you in no time at all.

You look at them with a look of confusion as if to say “what’s all the fuss about?”

This all happens because people don’t answer or acknowledge what a person has to say (it has nothing to do whether you agree with them or not really) they just don’t know if they have been heard.

The saving grace is, when you are in the same room you can pull that person’s attention to answer you or at least acknowledge you in some way with a nod, wave of the hand or just a grunt – at least you feel better with that person.

Try this:

Start talking to someone and you talk, they listen you stop and they talk and you listen, they stop – you say nothing? (In other words ignore them a little)

Get the idea – feel the frustration, if not, start talking to someone again and then ignore them and watch the reaction from them.

In the office:

NOTE: The point I’m trying to make is aligned with emails between people.

I’m not talking about sales letters or the like from people you don’t know.

How often do you send an email with a request or something and people don’t let you know they received the communication – you can be hung up for days wondering “did they receive it?” – That’s all, did they receive it?

If you would like to improve the lives of people around you, be they family, friends, workers or clients, please let them know you have received their communication with an “Ok” or a nod or “I got it”. Something that will let them know you got the message, strangely enough it will start happening to you too.

The same goes for the email or office memos – let people know it’s been received.

“You can’t read people’s minds” and they can’t read yours either.