poingology: Wipe Away Half-Assed Communications

Sad to say, but many business communications I receive are simply crap.

Verbal: Company representative answers questions by guessing and "shooting from the hip". Her misinformation is acted upon by others who later must undo their actions when the real information is found. She loses the respect of co-workers and causes chaos on the project.

Lesson: Engage brain, perform research, then open mouth. If you don't know, say "I don't know. I will find out and respond later today."

Written: Plant manager sends email with Excel attachment. The email contains a portion of the content, the attachment carries the rest. The attachment has no date, company name, title or author name.

Lesson: Put your content in either the email or the attachment if it is on the same topic. Don't split it up. Think about trying to recreate the chain of events later. Make your project history easy to track.

If you send an attachment, make it a credible document complete with date (not an auto-date) company name, your name and document title. Add a logo. Remember, every document is a reflection on you and your company.

Verbal: Salesperson goes to manager and starts talking in the middle of the subject rather than at the beginning. Confused manager is forced to ask, "What customer are you talking about? What project?"

Lesson: When you talk, start from the beginning. You owe every conversation a topic and a subtopic before you launch into your discussion: "Hi Rita, I am calling about the Green project, where we are having a late delivery problem..."

Written: Project manager writes an official report sprinkled with colloquialisms.

Lesson: Some phrases are fine when spoken but look awkward on paper. The written word is more formal. Don't write as if you are talking over a couple of drinks. Have a more literate co-worker proofread your report and learn from their comments.

Web Ads: The following misspellings were present in a single page view of ads posted on a popular website:
harnessess the power of the internet (sp)
Trully Amazing. (sp)
Dont missout.Clikk here. (sp,sp)
Please visit us and see the animation of the books. (syntax)
Simply read an Ad Then this Money Making program is for You. (weird caps)
Home Buisness Solutions Tailored For You (sp)

Lesson: Want to sell on the internet? Your credibility depends upon your ability to write correctly. Your words are often the only thing seen by potential customers.

Verbal: Project manager comes to supervisor and begins rattling off an analysis of current cost numbers on his job. Supervisor's brain, which was already filled with other information, implodes. Wrong decisions are made based upon misunderstandings. There is no paper trail to review later and see what went wrong.

Lesson: If you have a list of numbers to share, put them in writing with succinct descriptions for each number. This discipline might cause you to better understand and analyze your data before you present it to others. When you do present it, you will be more credible. Your audience will be better able to absorb your data during your presentation now and also later.

Written: Job applicant writes two-page (single spaced) thank-you letter after job interview to the company he interviewed with. It drones on and on about how much he likes the company and how much he could contribute. The busy recipient of the letter thinks, "This guy can't get to the point. He spends too much time writing an overly long letter. He will do this if he works here. Nothing will ever get done. Next applicant."

Lesson: Have you noticed we are in a sound-bite society? As a group, we all have A.D.D. (Attention Deficit Disorder). Long letters went out with Thomas Jefferson. Less is more. If your new sentence restates a previous sentence, delete it. If you tend toward blab-osis, write a separate list of your key points, then write your letter, allowing yourself only two sentences to make the point.

Verbal: Job applicant receives a job offer during an interview. He looks at the offer and makes a sour face. He says, "Is that the best you can do?" Interviewer immediately regrets making the offer and mentally discards any possibility of improving it.

Lesson: A job offer is a gift. Whether it meets your needs is a separate issue. Don't make the gift giver feel ashamed or belittled by showing emotional dissatisfaction. Business is business; it revolves around transactions which are negotiated based upon a win-win scenario.

If the offer doesn't meet your needs, do the following:

1. Thank the offerer for the offer. Express that you feel complimented by the fact of having been made an offer. Appreciate the effort expended by the offerer.

2. If you are not sure about how to respond, tell the offerer that you would like a few days to think about the offer and/or discuss it with a significant other. Ask if a particular date would be acceptable for a response. If so, respond on that date.

3. When you do respond, be clear about where you are going before you start communicating. If salary is the issue, have your target salary, and also the minimum salary you would accept, clearly in mind. Also, have your reasons for these clearly in mind.

4. When it is time to respond, start by, again, thanking the offerer. Express the hope and desire that you will be able to join the company. Then gently, even apologetically, break the news that you can't accept the current offer. State your reasons.

Here is my list for the best reasons your offerer should increase his offer:

Other offers you may have received. This calibrates you to the market.
Your previous salary, along with your desire to continually improve your position in life. This is market-based input which also communicates a drive to succeed which most employers would find attractive.
Your family's minimum living requirements. Human needs are tough to argue and are not offensive. If your family needs a certain salary level in order to survive, the employer will understand on a human level and will be motivated to try to reach that level.

Best of luck sharpening your business communications!

Like this article? Bookmark it at Del.icio.us

To receive these postings hot off the keyboard,
subscribe to poingology, the newsletter

Mark Meshulam offers:
keyboard hotkey shortcuts and screen grabs,
email ticker reminder system,
send large files with FTP and links, all at
www.poingo.com