Use More Words

Good morning,

I hope you had a great week. This morning’s success tip might seem counter cultural in today’s world of instant messages and email on the fly, but that’s why it’s even important than ever: use more words.

We live in a fast paced world that values brevity, as do I (get to the point, please!). But getting to the point is pointless, unless it’s clear. My point is - clear communication saves money and saves relationships.

1) Saves Money – Imagine the enormous number of salary hours spent by employees trying to decipher or follow unclear communications. Yes - we all want the job done fast, but if you want it done fast and right, don’t skimp on the instructions.

2) Saves Relationships – “I thought you arranged tonight’s babysitter! When you said, ‘we’re going need a babysitter this weekend,’ I didn’t know that meant you wanted ME to call her. Now what do we do?”

At work and at home, using just a few more words can make a big difference. I’m not advocating for long rambling meetings (too many words!). Rather, I’m reminding us that a clearly written communication can help keep a meeting brief or even eliminate the need for a meeting at all, while a badly written communication can lead to multiple meetings and hours of lost productivity caused by wasted time deciphering unclear instructions.

In conclusion, there’s a big difference between being brief and being concise – which involves getting to the point quickly but also clearly. While brevity may be the soul of wit, making the audience LOL, brevity can be the death of communication, leaving people wondering WTF. (Oh yeah, and watch out for acronyms…)

Have a Sunny Day!

Clarity

Clarity Patton Newhouse
Metropolitan Lincoln Mercury
32000 Ford Road
Garden City, MI 48135
www.MetroMichigan.com
313-670-7505

P.S. One of the important pieces of information often left out of instructions is “why.” Telling someone “why” something needs to be done enables them to engage their own reasoning to fill in gaps in the instructions and/or help improve the results.

By the way, if you’re interested in more - or clearer - instructions on how to communicate effectively, I suggest checking out the “Top Ten Clear Writing Tips” contained in The Clarity Kit (I had nothing to do with it!), which is available online at http://www.nald.ca/library/learning/clarity/2/2.pdf.

Also, the book “The One Minute Manager” by Kenneth H. Blanchard contains good ideas for concise verbal communications.