How to Close the Written Communication Loop

Whatever job you are in, communication plays a key role. If you are aspiring to be hired by a large company or a small one, your communication skills will help you be more effective. Louis D. Brandeis said “Nine-tenths of the serious controversies which arise in life result from misunderstandings, result from one man not knowing the facts to which the other man seem important, or otherwise failing to appreciate his point of view.” In other words, communication can be challenging if not complicated.

There are four basic forms of communication that will help you land your next job. They are: writing, reading, speaking, and listening. According to studies, writing makes up nine percent, reading sixteen percent, speaking thirty percent and listening forty-five percent of all communication. The interesting point I would like to make here, is that in the 21st century, we put an inordinate amount of emphasis on communication through reading and writing. Examples include a variety of sources such as written reports, newspapers, traffic signs, post it notes and we have not even mentioned the biggest one of all, online communication. Today this includes emails, and the many facets of social media. Everything from Twitter to Facebook to LinkedIn to Google to you name it. This is another major contributor to miscommunication in our business and personal world.

When you communicate with others through a written form of communication, you can count on miscommunication happening for a variety of reasons. First, you cannot accurately communicate the feelings behind the words used. Both you and the other person cannot really hear the tone of voice or see the facial expressions being used. Also, the other forms of body language, like eye contact and body posture, cannot be observed or clarified.

Once something is written in hard copy or electronically and is received and read by the other person, it is permanently out there. It cannot be retrieved or erased. It has been communicated. This is where it is critical that when you are communicating through any form of written communication that you be as accurate as possible.

One recommendation is to take the time to reread your communication, out loud, to yourself, before you put it in the mail or hit the send key. By doing this, you can catch common errors in grammar and punctuation but more importantly, you can avoid errors in meaning. One final way is to have another person read your written letter or email before you send it. Having a second set of eyes can do wonders for helping you send out clear and concise written communications every time.

Tom Borg is president of Tom Borg Consulting, LLC. He is a business consultant, speaker, coach and author. Please see more of his blogs at businessworkforceblog and manufacturingworkersblog. You can view additional job postings at Nexxt