Gone are the days of clear communication which promotes great customer service and relationship building.
As I navigate the process of buying a new property, I find myself at my wit’s end with the dismal communication coming from professionals. What’s even worse is that when I mention the miscommunication or gaps, it gets shirked off and pushed back to me.
Now before I get stuck into a story about my frustrations and the should’s and should not’s, I thought I would use an example of something very real in my world currently to speak about a bigger issue.
THE ART OF COMMUNICATION
And it really is an ART.
In a world where abbreviations rule and new jargon pops up every day, it feels like we’re losing touch with the power of language. What do our words really mean? What are we actually trying to say? And what happens when we don’t bother checking if the other person ‘got’ the message?
It seems like so many of us are just living in a bubble of expectations and assumptions. My clients learn quickly that that’s not a great place to be, it’s not empowering and it leads to an inevitable fall into victimhood where life happens to you and not for you.
If this is happening in the microcosm of my world, I can only imagine what is happening in the macrocosm of the world out there.
So, to all you entrepreneurs, executives, and business folks (in fact, anyone dealing with humans), let’s start paying more attention to how we communicate.
Here’s the truth: if you’re not taking the time to communicate clearly, things will inevitably go sideways. Mistakes will be made, deadlines will be missed, and chaos will reign. It takes guts to admit when you haven’t communicated effectively.
Some DO’s and DON’T’s:
❌ DON’T assume that the other person knows what is expected of them.
❌ DON’T simply copy and paste the fine print when someone’s got a question.
❌ DON’T confuse speed with effectiveness.
✅ DO make sure the other person is clear and check by asking them questions.
✅ DO carve out time for some good old-fashioned human interaction—whether it’s a call, a Zoom chat, or a face-to-face meeting (when possible)—to build trust.
✅ DO give your clients all the info and requirements they need upfront, even if it seems obvious to you.
Your credibility and rapport as a professional are laid on the foundation of your competence in communication.
Just something to chew on.
