Message Not Received

Whither Good Communication Skills?

Many businesspeople lose profitable opportunities due to their poor communications skills. Some leaders love to sling acronyms, jargon and buzzwords such as “paradigm shift, synergy, net-net, low-hanging fruit and optics,” which are far less effective than plain English. Miscommunication can occur even if companies don’t use buzzwords.

Most businesses use electronic mail as their primary method of communication. They send tons of emails to their employees, clients and prospects, but too many messages cause readers to tune out as often as badly worded communications do.¨Whether communication occurs via a companywide memo or face-to-face between two people, messages must be clear and concise.

Technology Affects Communication

Twitter is a common social media channel. While users ignore the majority of tweets – more than 70%, according to some estimates – others replay on an endless loop. Such was the case when public relations executive Justine Sacco boarded an 11-hour flight from London to Cape Town, South Africa, after tweeting, “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!” During her flight (which...