There's a vast amount of material available about face to face communication. Most of it is good, sound stuff. But to be truly effective you must look beyond the words. The Secret. Successful face to face communication is all about meaning. That's it. And that's especially so at work. That's the purpose of the words, pictures, body language and the other communication elements. If we fail to convey our precise meaning, our communication has failed. Thinking in Pictures. Decades ago I was a raw young trainer. To teach" communication to front line supervisors my boss had a big chart which said We think in pictures. We've communicated effectively when the picture in our mind is transferred perfectly into the mind of the person we're speaking to". Easier said than done, you might say. But it's still true today. Saying What We Mean. Many of us aren't very good at saying what we mean. We may try hard. But sometimes we're satisfied to transfer a picture that's a bit fuzzy at the edges at best and quite indistinct at worst. Unknowingly, we forget that the listeners' real concern is not with the words we use. The listeners' prime concern is to understand what those words mean. Listeners search for meaning all the time. Gurus talk about all sorts of non-verbal cues such as body language to emphasize the importance of meaning. They help listeners find meaning. Some Useful Techniques. 1. Speak clearly and distinctly. 2. Listeners will not tolerate speech that they can't understand because of poor diction. 3. Avoid Jargon. Jargon is a listener killer". If you must use jargon, explain it. If you're unsure whether your listeners understand technical terms, check with them first. Don't use jargon if it means your listeners will have problems understanding what you mean. 4. Use Clichs Sparingly. A clich is defined as an expression used so often it has lost its force". I'll stick my neck out" and say that if you're not on the same page" as your listeners, you'll have a negative impact" on the end result" if you overuse clichs. 5. Encourage Questions. I'll go a bit further and add when listeners want to ask them". If you don't want to stop to answer questions, always let them know when they can ask them. If possible stop frequently and seek questions for clarification. I'm referring here to day to day conversation as well as announcements and presentations. Speak To Express Not To Impress. Clarity is essential for effective face to face communications. Clarity of ideas leads to clarity of expression leads to clarity of understanding. It's not unusual for listeners to be mightily impressed by a speaker's words ... but not have the faintest idea what the speaker means. That's speech making not good face to face communication. It's highly prized in many places. Bit it's a problem in the workplace. Conclusion. There's much more to effective face to face communication than I've covered. I admit that. You can make it as complicated and elaborate as you like. Or you can reduce it to its very core. Either way, understanding what people mean when they speak is still the essence of effective face to face communication. That responsibility is shared between speakers and listeners.
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