When dealing with a personal or professional relationship, Clarity is key for CLEAR communication.
To ensure that your message is clear for your audience, you must think of what you want to say and become aware of what the end result will be once you’ve said it. You should be mindful of what words you will use, and also how you are saying those words to get your point across. Think about your tone, length of the message and allowing for your audience to provide feedback or give their input.
In any conversation, if you aren’t crystal clear on the what, why, and how of your communication, no one else will be either. They will be left trying to fill in the gaps, making assumptions and, all too often, not following through correctly. This failure to clarify is where most communication jumps the rails, especially in the workplace.
How can you be clearer with your communication?
You can use or develop your self-awareness to become hyper-conscious of how you are communicating, as well as what you are communicating.
Ask yourself, “what is your intention in this specific communication?” Is it:
- To share information?
- To receive information?
- To express appreciation?
- To correct or provide constructive feedback?
- To champion someone’s efforts?
- Something else entirely?
Or, is it possible that your intention is to make the other person feel badly, or to elevate your own position? Being honest with yourself by checking in first, sets you and the other person up for the best results. If your intention isn’t honorable, take some time to think over the situation and find another way to handle it.
Before responding to any question or situation, ask yourself what the bigger picture is. What does the other person really need from you? And what is it you are expecting?
By having clarity in your intention and your message at the onset, it makes getting to the end point a much smoother ride.
Inquiring minds want to know; what is one thing you do to ensure the clarity of your communication with others? Share in the comments below!
