Effective communication strategies can help you build strong working relationships with clients and customers, team members, managers, and internal customers. Use the tips in the following list:
Respond to requests by emphasizing what you can do to help meet them.
Follow through and do what you say you’ll do.
Listen without passing judgment and don’t rush in to give advice.
When you have concerns, work them out with the source, not with others.
Communicate with respect in every interaction regardless of whether you like the person.
When others give you assistance or support, express appreciation for it.
Focus on issues, not personalities, when you discuss work matters and problems.
When differences in views or ideas occur, work first to understand them from the other person’s perspective.
Be direct and sincere as normal practices.
Use humor in good taste.
About This Article
This article is from the book:
About the book author:
Marty Brounstein is the Principal of The Practical Solutions Group, a training and consulting firm based in the San Francisco Bay area that specializes in management and organizational effectiveness. Marty's consulting work includes one-on-one coaching with managers and executives, assistance to groups working to become productive teams, and guidance and direction for organizations establishing practices for high performance and employee retention. His training programs target management as well as employee-development issues including leadership, team development, customer service, and effective communication.
As a consultant, speaker, and trainer since 1991, Marty has served a wide variety of organizations from high tech to government, for profit to not-for-profit. He has a bachelor's degree in education and history and a master's degree in industrial relations. Prior to beginning his consulting career, he spent a couple of years as a human resources executive.
This is Marty's fourth book and second for Hungry Minds, Inc. He is the coauthor of Effective Recruiting Strategies: A Marketing Approach and author ofHandling the Difficult Employee: Solving Performance Problems. In 2000, he wrote Coaching and Mentoring For Dummies. This article can be found in the category:
