How to improve communication to get better results

Whether you are in a job search, small business, entrepreneurial endeavor, or volunteering, there are ways to improve communication to get better results. Last month, I talked about how to improve your communication to avoid workplace meltdowns. By working with clients at all levels (entry-level to executive), occupations, industries, and ages, I know communication is so critical and how the wrong words can create a meltdown situations. In that post, I talked about how to improve communication by understanding the particular communication style for the individual, if you missed that, you can go back and read it here.

Our communication tools have changed so dramatically that I suggest, we need to improve communication by improving the way we use our tools and which tools we use in specific situations and for specific people. This can mean more effort.

Improve communication by using the right tools for the right situation

What do I mean by tools? We communicate with a myriad of different tools every day but sometimes our expectation is that everyone will respond to the same tools and in the same time frame. Take a look at the tools below:

• Cell Phones or LandLines
• Voicemail
• Text Messaging
• Twitter Direct Messages
• Facebook Messaging
• Emails
• Facebook Wall Posts
• LinkedIn Messages
• Skype Chat or Calls
• Facetime
• WebEx

Are you using the wrong communication method?

By texting or Facebook messaging with people who never look at their messages, you may be expecting communication from someone who will never see it. While I text, I do very little of it and since my Twitter feed comes in the same place on my cell phone, I don’t check it frequently unless I know someone is leaving me a message. An urgent message would likely be missed.

If you use Facebook messaging to communicate, don’t generally expect them to reply immediately unless there is a conversation. I wouldn’t leave an urgent message if that isn’t where they would look.

In this day and age when many people are trying to control their use of electronic devices, emails may not be read every five seconds. Some people are trying to adhere to checking email only 3 times a day. If you choose this as your point of contact for an urgent message, it might not be read.

As you look at the list above, some of the methods or tools might be your go-to means of communication but for other people, they may never use them. To improve your communication, be sensitive to the potential that your choice of communication may not work for other people and improvise when you don’t connect.

Job seekers often use email to communicate with hiring managers. Email may work for some people but it never hurts to pick up the phone. Unless a hiring manager texts you first, I would recommend not texting to communicate with a hiring manager or human resources. When you improve communication strategies and fine tune them to the circumstances you get better results.

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